Had It With Comcast?
If you’ve ever been in the unfortunate position of having to wait for Comcast to restore your internet service, then you’ve truly seen the bowels of purgatory. Well, misery loves company, so take solace in the fact that you’re part of large and not-so-exclusive club.
Alternative to Comcast
When Bay Area small business owners call us asking for a smart alternative to Comcast or AT&T, we like to recommend Sonic.net. OK, so their website’s a little hokey…kind of a small-town thing going there. But there’s charm in that. As far as internet service providers go, however, we’ve been downright impressed by their speed, affordability, and customer service. In fact, we’ve found their Tier-1 support to be really sharp–easily as reliable as Tier-3 support with other service providers.
Sonic.net got a great write-up in the SF Chronicle’s Dot.Commentary column earlier this year, highlighting their broadband plans without data caps. Writer James Temple did a service comparison between Comcast, AT&T, and Sonic.net. Since their service offerings differ a little, it’s not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, but it’s still worthwhile checking out. Sonic CEO Dane Jasper has also blogged about Sonic’s policy of not imposing data usage caps on consumers–a practice that really distinguishes them from the big ISPs.
Sonic.net’s most popular plan seems to be their Business plan, with broadband + phone. One option covers one line at 20mbps for $39.95/mo. and includes unlimited calls nationwide and to Canada. Another option includes two lines at 40mbps for $69.95/mo–again with unlimited calls nationwide and to Canada.
The Wall Street Journal has also written about Sonic, calling it, The Little ISP That Stood Up to the Government. As the article describes, Sonic has received national publicity for fighting a secret court order demanding information related to Wikileaks supporter Jacob Appelbaum. While they lost the court case and were forced to turn over the contested information, Sonic has since embraced a policy of retaining ISP address logs for only two weeks.
Keep in mind that Sonic.net doesn’t provide the same service to every Bay Area community, but if they’re in your neighborhood, they’re worth considering as a great alternative to Comcast and AT&T. And, since they’re a Bay Area business, based out of Santa Rosa, you’ll be keeping your money local, too.
LimeTech is a creative tech company with a focus on innovation and adaptive change. We use technical know-how, design skills, and deep experience in entrepreneurship to help companies advance their business goals. Do you need IT planning, mobile app development, web design, or remote work solutions that will take your business to the next level? Get in touch today and find out what we can do for you.
