Celebrating Sonic’s 25th Anniversary

Written by Dane Jasper
July 25, 2019 | 3 min read

This Friday, July 26th 2019 marks 25 years since we started serving our California communities with fast, affordable, friendly internet. We have grown a lot as a company since then, and for a local Internet Service Provider (ISP) competing with giant telecom and cable companies, this milestone is no small feat. That’s why we’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our customers for their support over the past quarter of a century. Without the loyalty of our Sonic members, we wouldn’t be where we are today – thank you!

Your support has been key. Your membership has allowed Sonic to continue to expand our fast, innovative fiber optic network. And your advocacy, making your voices heard on key policy issues that would stifle competition and limit our ability to deploy more fiber has made a difference. Make no mistake — the support we have received from our customers on regulatory policy has been vital to our 25 years of success.

We have come a long way in 25 years, but have never strayed from our mission: to fix internet access in America by deploying fast, affordable, and reliable internet for our members, backed by our award-winning customer support team. Today, we are offering the fastest home internet service out there: unlimited Gigabit fiber. This is long way from our service in 1994, which was cutting-edge 16.8kbps dial-up. Anyone remember that? These early members do:

“I’m a big believer in shopping local, and keeping our money here in Sonoma County. […] Believe it or not, calling Sonic tech support is one of my favorite things. I know I’m going to get a super competent and extremely nice person who will solve my issue..” – Blair Hardman at local business and Sonic member, Zone Recording (member since 1995)

“I work from home as a technical writer, so I always needed the fastest connection I could get. […] Plus I love supporting a local business, and having local support with humans who answer the phone. I’m always telling my friends who complain about their Internet provider to just use Sonic and lose all the hassles.” – Barbara Snyder, one of our first-ever members (joined in 1995)

“I stay with Sonic for not only their awesome customer service, but also their dedication to the privacy of their members and an open Internet. My most memorable experience is probably in 2001 when I was finally able to switch from dial-up to DSL […] It felt like I had finally realized the potential of the Internet.” – Brendan Coen, who heard about Sonic from a professor at Santa Rosa Junior College (my alma mater!), back when all we served was dial-up in 1995

This evolution did not come without its challenges. In an industry as heavily regulated as telecom, being an independent provider has always carried the weight of federal, state, and local policy changes. That’s why we’ve always advocated for sensible regulations that put you–our customers–at the forefront and battled the ones that put your access in jeopardy.

We’re thrilled about what the next 25 years will bring — no matter what, we won’t stop fighting to bring you the fast, affordable, friendly internet you deserve. Thanks for being part of our journey by helping spread the word about Sonic to your friends, family, and neighbors.