Internet

We have a dedicated paired fusion line from Sonic. Upon installation our reported speeds (with dual Annex M) are 26.5/3.7. Our Sonic modem is in bridged mode, and the wifi network "sudoroom" is served by an Asus RT-N10+ running OpenWRT compiled from the latest git trunk. The router is named torta - admin access is by ssh & https. Contact Yardena for the key or password.

There is also wired and wireless internet throughout the building, which is provided by the Landlord and is another Sonic.net (14Mbit/2Mbits;down/up) line.

Service Provider Research for Posterity

ISP	Available?	Speed (dl/ul in Mbits)	Price	Static IP
Sonic.net	Yes	14/2 or 10/3 (per line, max 2 lines)	$107/first month, $59/mo. thereafter	Yes
Monkey Brains	Not until Q3 2013	8-20 symmetric	$250 install, $35/month	Yes
Raw Bandwidth	ADSL2 in 4months, but Ethernet over Copper work around avil	3 or 5 symmetric	$360 or $475 / mo.	Yes

Internet options for Oakland residents

Relevant email thread starting Nov. 23, 2013, with some good info: [1]

DSL

• DSL is a digital Internet signal transmitted over an ordinary phone line. It's typically faster than dialup, and it uses the line in a way that allows simultaneous use of the phone.
• The phone lines in Oakland are owned by AT&T, and you can buy DSL service (called "UVerse") through AT&T.
• Other Internet Service Providers also sell DSL service over those same lines; you can get this service without any direct business relationship with AT&T.
• Sonic.net is one such service. DSL plus phone costs a little under $50/month (including taxes, equipment rental, etc.)
• The quality and length of the phone line between your house and the telephone exchange's central office will dramatically affect the speed you can expect. In parts of West Oakland (and elsewhere?) the lines are very poor. On poor lines, you might get speeds like 3 MBit downstream, and 1 MBit upstream -- enough for a video stream like Netflix or a video call like Skype, but not enough to do multiple high-bandwidth tasks at the same time.

Cable

• Comcast is the cable TV provider for (all of?) Oakland. You can get Internet service through their lines. There are several speed categories; all are faster than DSL. Comcast offers many different packages; typically you will have to get cable TV and/or phone service along with your Internet connection. Many of their plans require a 1 or 2 year contract, which you will probably not be able to get out of if you move or change providers.

Fiber optic, T1, direct ethernet

• Fiber optic based Internet is outrageously fast. In Oakland it seems to only be available as a business service, not residential. See Sunstream, FastMetrics, and LMi.
• A T1 line (copper wire similar to phone wire, dedicated to networking) is what businesses have used for decades. It's generally too expensive for residential use and there are usually better options for business use.

WiMAX/other wireless

• LMI offers point-to-point wireless service, which involves installing an antenna on your rooftop. You need a line-of-sight to either the Berkeley Hills or Sausalito. Setup cost is high because of the installation (over $300) and 6 Mbps down/3 Mbps up costs about $55/month.
• Many cell phone providers now offer home Internet service that may be competitive with the options above. For instance, Sprint has plans as low as $35/month. This approach also has the advantage that you can take your Internet connection with you (if you have a portable modem).
• You may be able to "tether" your existing cell phone, providing Internet service to your laptop, without even signing up for a new plan; this can be really useful as a temporary measure, but is probably not practical for everyday use!
• MonkeyBrains: Currently available in San Francisco only. (Not sure about the note above, though -- perhaps it is coming to Oakland??)

Building-specific

• WebPass offers very fast Internet (100 Mbps) for $50/month, but it is only available in apartment buildings that have made an arrangement with WebPass. If you live in an apartment building, use their web site to check if your building has WebPass.

Mesh

• Some Sudo people are currently (fall 2013) trying to establish a "mesh" network that would allow you to make wireless network connections to your neighbors, and perhaps the Internet or other services. This is an aspiration, but will hopefully become a reality soon. See the wiki page mesh for techy details, or the more public-facing site:
• peoplesopen.net

Dialup

• Dialup Internet used to be the only common way to get online. Your modem allows your computer to "talk" over your phone line to the Internet. You can't use the phone for voice calls while you are online. The speeds are very slow compared to all other options listed here.