[conspire] (forw) Legacy DSL ending at Raw Bandwidth on 12/19/19 - please read carefully!

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Michael Paoli (Michael.Paoli at cal.berkeley.edu):

> Sonic's fiber would generally be a decent choice, except the don't
> provide static IP addresses on it and have pretty much said they
> won't be.  

Sonic does offer static IP on Fusion DSL (ADSL2+ & VDSL2) service.

Sonic does not offer static IP on Fusion IP Broadband or Fusion Gigabit
Fiber.  (They say, very vaguely, that the lack of static IP on those two
services might change in the future.)


Among the numerous reasons I distrust Sonic is that it requires (I
think?) particular makes/models of DSL 'modems'.  They supply one of
several models made by Pace.

One of their support Web pages mentions that, yes, if you're one of
those privacy-sensitive control freaks who are not thrilled about Sonic
being able to control and spy on your entire uplink from _inside_ your
house, you can indeed switch your Pace device into Bridge mode, but that
this configuration 'is not recommended or supported', and that 'iif you
configure your Pace [model #] as a basic bridge, Sonic.net Support staff
may need you to reset your modem to its default state for
troubleshooting purposes'.

I.e., 'If you don't let us have root on your router, gosh, I guess we
won't have total visibility into your end.'  Yes, guys, we know.  The
only point of contention is where you consider that a i bug, and I
consider it a feature.


Sonic's Fusion IP Broadband and Fusion Gigabit Fiber services both block
outbound connections to port 25 (SMTP).  Check out this mealy-mouthed
bullshit from their CEO about both the port-blocking and omission of
static IP availability:

  Customer's Q:  Does anyone know if Sonic is planning to offer static IPs
  to gigabit fiber customers anytime soon ?

  CEO Dane Jasper's A:  No, we are not. 

  Residential gigabit fiber service is not for business or hosting use,
  and the vast majority of consumer applications no longer require static
  IP addressing.

  Using a dynamic IP configuration also allows for a simpler, scaleable
  network architecture and straightforward management, key as we continue
  our rapid fiber network roll-out. Less complexity also reduces errors,
   increasing uptime.

That last paragraph in particular is such an insultingly absurd
smoke-screen, I almost turned on the kitchen ceiling fan out of habit.

Anyway, it's obvious that Sonic is definitely not the sort of company I
like to deal with.  I'm tempted to say 'Oh, just FOAD, Sonic', but
that's a tiny bit unfair.  They're not actually notably awful, they're
just way, way overhyped by some overly credulous members of the local Linux
community who really ought to know better.  (I'm not naming names, here,
because I'm trying to be nice, but you wankers know who you are.)

Of course, I'm not thrilled about Comcast, nor of course AT&T.  Relying
on an AT&T reseller would qualify as 'evil and incompetence mitigated by
outsiders who on a good day might be less so', i.e., uncomfortably tied
to AT&T IP-provisioning infrastructure in exactly the way that Raw
Bandwidth Communications DSL has averted.


> You can get static IP from Comcast Business, or from AT&T and their
> resellers.

Chez Moen has three still-unassigned static IPv4 addresses on Cheryl's
Comcast Business uplink (/29 CIDR netblock), so accepting Cheryl's
gracious offer thereof is currently my path of least resistance -- for
now.

> You might also check www.wavebroadband.com to see if they can reach
> you with their cable modem service.

I've now asked for contact (from Wave Broadband), which doubtless means
dealing with some slavering salesdroid in a few days  -- or a canned
statement that I'm not in their service area.  (They have one of those
deals where they want a chance to assess you and guesstimate the weight
of your wallet before they're willing to give you any specific
information.  If you've ever dealt with Oracle Corp. or with most parts
of IBM, it's like that.)

The availability map on this page suggests (if accurate) that they have
no service to West Menlo Park:  https://broadbandnow.com/Wave-Broadband