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If you have an independent local ISP, use them! In SF both Monkey Brains and Sonic are excellent, pro-Net-Neutrality, pro-privacy ISPs who offer non-exploitati

If you have an independent local ISP, use them! In SF both Monkey Brains and Sonic are excellent, pro-Net-Neutrality, pro-privacy ISPs who offer non-exploitative contracts for internet access which is unfiltered, blazingly fast, and incredibly cheap!

woolvalley 8y ago
When I brought up those two ISPs to coworkers, they said they experienced frequent enough outages. Do you use them? What has your experience been like?
- andrei_says_ 8y ago
  See dslreports for up to date local isp speed and reliability records. http://www.dslreports.com/ http://www.dslreports.com/
- jdblair 8y ago
  Sonic quality depends on the quality of the AT&T wiring to your home. At my old house in Oakland, Sonic meant 3mbit DSL because AT&T had not updated the old twisted pair. It meant I bailed and signed up for Comcast. My new place in San Jose has fiber to the premise, so I signed up for Sonic again. Good bandwidth, Rock solid service.
  - medmunds 8y ago
    In SF, at least, Sonic has started stringing their own fiber. But it’s not in every neighborhood yet, and even in places where they are installing fiber, some streets may be left dark, (Including, frustratingly, a big swath of Portrero Hill where the utility poles are “overloaded”.) If you’re in a larger building (15+ units), there are a couple of other fiber providers that may be an option, if building management is up for it. MonkeyBrains is a wireless ISP. I regularly get 25-40 Mbps from them (though they don’t guarantee that). I’ve had only occasional slowdowns and one outage lasting a few hours. (So, more reliable than Comcast had been, at least for me.) I’d heard rumors MonkeyBrains was planning some equipment upgrades that would let them deliver 60-80 Mbps, but no official announcement or timetable.
- confounded 8y ago
  I use Monkey Brains. I have very occasionally experienced a momentary drop in connectivity which immediately recovered. These have been less frequent than the times I had to call up Comcast and debug an outage over the phone.
- 7402 8y ago
  sonic.net (and pair.com, for hosting) are two companies where I have always been delighted on the few occasions when I had to call tech support, due to the intelligence and effectiveness of the people on the other end of the line. It's just such a pleasure to talk to someone who is actually listening to and thinking about your problem, instead of simply reading from a script.
komali2 8y ago
If only it was that easy. I can't remember which was which, but one company needed to put an aerial on the roof which my landlord rejected (even though it would save the 15 tenant units here shitloads of money), and the other one simply didn't have lines to our unit, and this is right on Russian hill so pretty Central SF in my opinion. Comcast has a functional monopoly in my area, and that has been true my entire life except when I lived abroad. Our suburban home in Wisconsin, and again in South Carolina. Five different homes in Houston. Three in California. I shudder to think about the amount of information Comcast has on me, particularly if they snoop my network activity.
hughes 8y ago
How do I know if I have an independent local ISP? I only see a large ISP advertising in my area.
- confounded 8y ago
  Advertising is rarely a good way to learn anything. I heard about Monkey Brains from a pal. From a quick search, the only comparison site that seems to mention them is Yelp.
- andrevoget 8y ago
  broadbandnow.com lets you see all Internet providers in your area
bluetidepro 8y ago
> If you have an independent local ISP, use them! Lol If only. I can't remember the time I rented an apartment and had even an option other than a monopoly like Comcast. I've literally never seen it available in the midwest. You always just have the single choice, sadly.

woolvalley 8y ago

When I brought up those two ISPs to coworkers, they said they experienced frequent enough outages. Do you use them? What has your experience been like?

andrei_says_ 8y ago
See dslreports for up to date local isp speed and reliability records. http://www.dslreports.com/ http://www.dslreports.com/
jdblair 8y ago
Sonic quality depends on the quality of the AT&T wiring to your home. At my old house in Oakland, Sonic meant 3mbit DSL because AT&T had not updated the old twisted pair. It meant I bailed and signed up for Comcast. My new place in San Jose has fiber to the premise, so I signed up for Sonic again. Good bandwidth, Rock solid service.
- medmunds 8y ago
  In SF, at least, Sonic has started stringing their own fiber. But it’s not in every neighborhood yet, and even in places where they are installing fiber, some streets may be left dark, (Including, frustratingly, a big swath of Portrero Hill where the utility poles are “overloaded”.) If you’re in a larger building (15+ units), there are a couple of other fiber providers that may be an option, if building management is up for it. MonkeyBrains is a wireless ISP. I regularly get 25-40 Mbps from them (though they don’t guarantee that). I’ve had only occasional slowdowns and one outage lasting a few hours. (So, more reliable than Comcast had been, at least for me.) I’d heard rumors MonkeyBrains was planning some equipment upgrades that would let them deliver 60-80 Mbps, but no official announcement or timetable.
confounded 8y ago
I use Monkey Brains. I have very occasionally experienced a momentary drop in connectivity which immediately recovered. These have been less frequent than the times I had to call up Comcast and debug an outage over the phone.
7402 8y ago
sonic.net (and pair.com, for hosting) are two companies where I have always been delighted on the few occasions when I had to call tech support, due to the intelligence and effectiveness of the people on the other end of the line. It's just such a pleasure to talk to someone who is actually listening to and thinking about your problem, instead of simply reading from a script.

komali2 8y ago

If only it was that easy. I can't remember which was which, but one company needed to put an aerial on the roof which my landlord rejected (even though it would save the 15 tenant units here shitloads of money), and the other one simply didn't have lines to our unit, and this is right on Russian hill so pretty Central SF in my opinion. Comcast has a functional monopoly in my area, and that has been true my entire life except when I lived abroad. Our suburban home in Wisconsin, and again in South Carolina. Five different homes in Houston. Three in California. I shudder to think about the amount of information Comcast has on me, particularly if they snoop my network activity.

hughes 8y ago

How do I know if I have an independent local ISP? I only see a large ISP advertising in my area.

confounded 8y ago
Advertising is rarely a good way to learn anything. I heard about Monkey Brains from a pal. From a quick search, the only comparison site that seems to mention them is Yelp.
andrevoget 8y ago
broadbandnow.com lets you see all Internet providers in your area

bluetidepro 8y ago

> If you have an independent local ISP, use them! Lol If only. I can't remember the time I rented an apartment and had even an option other than a monopoly like Comcast. I've literally never seen it available in the midwest. You always just have the single choice, sadly.