Why is Decent Internet So Hard to Find in San Francisco: Part 5 of 5 (CONCLUSION!)

Okay, folks. I now have upgraded my Internet. 32-40 Mbps downstream (not quite "up to 60"), but much better than 14-16 I used to get. And upstream? Steady 6 Mbps with occasional blips to 8, compared to barely 1Mbps before. 

And this technician knew exactly what to do. And he's from Sonic, not AT&T. As I reported previously, that other guy was useless. 

However, the work is not done. My new router is up, so HALF of everything is working. This PC and most tablets are good. 

But none of the IOT devices are working, because I haven't been able to rename the new DSL modem's AP into my old name just yet. 

But that's mainly my fault. And I got it working eventually. 

Now I just need to cancel my AT&T service... 

Why is Decent Internet So Hard to Find in San Francisco? Part 4 of ???

Previously, I reported that Sonic scheduled someone to come out... after the AT&T guy refused to go on the roof to find the phone box for my building and basically reported "unable to get in" (not quite true). 

Another week, and Sonic was scheduled in today for 10-2. 

The guy ran my bell at 9:40. 

Nothing wrong with being early, except today. 

For those of you who read the previous entry, you probably figured it out. 

The restaurant next door isn't open yet. Pretty sure nobody arrives until 10:30 or so, maybe 11. I haven't looked at their hours. And you need to go through THEIR roof to find the phone box, as stated earlier. 

So this guy basically came out for nothing too. 

I was hoping to get my new Internet by mid-month, but at this rate, it won't be done until April, if at all. 

Right now, it seems they need to reschedule an AT&T guy or check restaurant hours next door and coordinate better. 

Fortunately, it seems that Sonic did get MY email... but whether AT&T will listen is a different problem. 

Will keep you guys updated. 

Why Is Decent Internet So Hard to Find in San Francisco? Part 3 of ???

 I previously reported that the AT&T DSL Tech came out, and probably decided to not climb the roof claiming no one was there to let him into the building, and this is DESPITE me telling him personally that he will find the phone box on the roof of the adjacent building. 

Well, now it's confirmed. I got a notice from Sonic...

Greetings,

AT&T has reported that no one 18 years of age or older was available on site to grant their technician access to your phone box for delivery of the lines for your new Fusion service. We will need to reschedule your appointment for a date when someone will be available to grant access...

My reply to Sonic:

Dear Sonic Support, 

I told the AT&T guy that the phone box is on the rooftop of the ADJACENT building. And must be accessed through the restaurant roof at 28 Waverly. He refused to listen to me. Keep mumbling "it's not possible, I can't climb a whole floor up". He did not even get on the restaurant roof to look for the box. 

That's what the PREVIOUS AT&T guy told me when my DSL was first installed a few years back. I don't know what to tell you. 

I know it's not Sonic's fault. It's AT&T for not keeping proper access notes, i.e. go in here, do that. It's not a dis for AT&T... They are huge, and not all techs can know everything. But not keeping detailed notes on how to access a certain junction box is just bad practice and not passing down institutional knowledge.  

A new tech was supposed to turn up yesterday, but I didn't see anyone. Maybe that guy or gal knew more about the install. Who knows? Will await next update from Sonic. 

Why Is Decent Internet So Hard to Find in San Francisco? Part 2 of ???

Previously I have documented how hard it is to get good internet service at my location, practically downtown San Francisco. 

Today the drama continues. Apparently, Sonic needs to pair up with AT&T to confirm the linkup to my building, so AT&T knocked on my door today, asking me how to get access to the roof. 

I told him I have no access to the roof, and neither does the landlord. The last time AT&T came by (a couple years ago, to install my current DSL), they did it by getting onto the roof of the adjacent restaurant. And that's what I told the guy. 

Then he keeps telling me "that's impossible" because my building is one floor HIGHER overall than the restaurant building. There is no way he can climb up that far.  

I told him that's what the previous DSL tech told me, and it was a few years ago.

I think he failed to consider that perhaps the telephone box is NOT ON my building.  

I am pretty sure he just gave up, instead of actually climbing onto the restaurant roof and look for the phone box. 

Guess my Internet may be delayed, darn it. 

Why Is Decent Internet So Hard to Find in San Francisco? Part 1 of ???

I live in one of the densest cities in the US... San Francisco. 49 square miles with 80000+ residents, yet getting a good reliable Internet connection is far more difficult than it should be. 

At this point, I am with AT&T DSL, because it's the standard phone provider, and DSL was counted as an add-on service. I sorta forgot to look at the overall picture, and turns out I was paying $170 a month for 2 phone lines and 1 18 Mbps down / 1.5 Mbps up ADSL line. Including tax. 

Which is ridiculous. That sort of connection won't even get me onto many "work from home" jobs which demands are much better connection. At times, I was getting even LESS than that. My actual usable speed is more like 14 Mbps down / 0.9 Mbps up, as tested by Speedtest. 

Screenshot of my Speedtest results from Nov 2020 to Feb 2021

So I clicked over to AT&T's website, and click on "upgrade my service". Turns out, they only offer ONE level of service to me... the Internet 18 ADSL plan. And I am already on it. And with phone and taxes, it costs me $170 a MONTH. 

My phone's LTE service (through Verizon) was much faster. Averages 80 Mbps down and 10-15 Mbps up. And Verizon is supposedly rolling out "5G Home Internet" in San Francisco. So I went to Verizon's website. Except they aren't. NEITHER 4G/LTE nor 5G Home Internet service is available at my address, and I've had my Verizon account for YEARS. Over a decade, actually. 

So I was thinking... can I use my LTE to supplement my DSL? Turns out, you *can* with Speedify. Connect / tether your phone to your PC, run Speedify, and Speedify will combine BOTH connections into one solid connection for your streaming or uploads or whatever you need. I have one of Verizon's unlimited plans for my cell. Problem solved, right? Wrong, unfortunately. Turns out, unlimited is for phone usage only. Tethering has a 15 GB limit a month, after which it slows down to 0.6 Mbps instead of 15 Mbps.  I blew through the 15GB data cap in TWO DAYS (just for uploading some gameplay videos). So that clearly won't work. I actually paid for a 3-year service (it's only like $3 a month) and I had to cancel. Fortunately, Speedify has a 30-day money-back guarantee. And I HIGHLY recommend the service if you can find a use case for it. 

So back to the search...  I was thinking... if I can't get Home Internet from Verizon, can I get it from one of their competitors? Given AT&T doesn't offer that, it had to be T-Mobile. Turns out, T-Mob has the SAME PROBLEM. No 4G/LTE Home service available at my address in downtown San Francisco, which is definitely in their service zone... for mobile, but not home internet. 

So what's a man who wants the internet to do? Check ALL competitors, of course. This brings me to... Comcast. Let's just say, I've heard horror stories about Comcast, lock you in with modem "rental" that you can easily buy one off eBay or whatever, have to call them every year to demand the promotional rate... But cable Internet does offer a lot better throughput without getting on fiber, which is very limited availability. 

So I get online and chat with Comcast sales rep. He said he will send an engineer out to do a "site survey" to verify availability and get back to me. 48 hours later, I got a call... Turns out, my block is NOT on Comcast's network, but good news... They will wire up my block in the next 60 to 90 days. Guess enough people on my block demanded it to put it on the schedule. But that doesn't help me at all then, does it? And the guy has the gall to ask me if I want to continue the install. I told him no (probably in an exasperated tone.)

I look around for other vendors, but there really aren't many other choices. 

I called Sonic Internet and they will set me up with dual-line bonded DSL which supposedly will do 60 Mbps down and 10-15 Mbps up. Not quite LTE speed but it's uncapped and unlimited. AND it comes with a phone line... for $130 a month (or less). So basically, it's 4x the bandwidth (or more) than AT&T's service, for $30-40 a month LESS than what I pay AT&T now. 

Sign me up, please. 

Then I cancel AT&T. 

I may revisit the situation in 12 months.  I can go without the phone line (nobody calls on the landline, it's not even connected) so Verizon 5G Home Internet will end up costing less and give me MORE bandwidth... if it ever rolls out.