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Sonic.net rolls out new broadband in downtown offices

23 TENANTS GET ACCESS TO BUILDING INSTALLATION; COSTS LOWER, SPEED HIGHER

SANTA ROSA – Santa Rosa’s downtown office building at 50 Old Courthouse Square is getting wired for a ride into the future of broadband.

Sonic.net is using the 38-year-old, six-story structure as a showcase for its onsite broadband and advanced services for multi-tenant units.

Office buildings and complexes, apartment buildings and multi-use developments are increasingly targeted by broadband and telecommunications providers, who are able to lower subscriber rates by aggregating installation and maintenance costs.

Sonic.net intends to lower them even more and up the level of broadband speed by putting its multiservice aggregation equipment right into the building.

“We’ve been exploring the possibilities for some time,” said Sonic.net President Dane Jasper. “We’ve had requests from some of our customers who are tenants at 50 Old Courthouse Square, and it seemed a good place to start.”

Sonic is also equipping the building with public Wi-Fi so visitors to the businesses there can use their laptops and Blackberrys on the premises.

“It’ll be a model of a modern office building,” said Mr. Jasper. “Tenants will be able to get 24-megabit ADSL and symmetric Ethernet ... and turn-up will be very fast. You can move into a new office and turn on your broadband the next day.”

Sonic.net is installing the same network equipment at 50 Old Courthouse Square that it has placed in the AT&T central office, hence the term “on-net.” The installation was completed late last week.

The Santa Rosa central office installation launched Sonic.net into its new incarnation as a registered telecommunications company, selling its own DSL to customers within one mile of the downtown central office. In a few months, the company will offer voice as well as broadband.

Initially, the 23 tenants at the Old Courthouse Square building will be offered speedy, discounted broadband, but Mr. Jasper hopes to add voice within the year.

According to building owner Larry Wasem, managing general partner of the Airport Business Center, the proposal by Sonic.net to equip the building was too good to turn down.

“It’s a heck of a deal for me, for my tenants, and potentially for Sonic.net,” he said.

Airport Business Center property manager Sheree Meehan said response to Sonic.net’s announcement last week to the tenants has been very positive.

“I think most of them will want it, and it’s a great marketing tool for us. It’ll help us attract and retain tenants,” she said.

Sonic.net is looking for other suitable multi-tenant locations for the service.

“We can do large parks as well as office buildings,” said Mr. Jasper. “We would evaluate the needs of the tenants and then bring in equipment to give them the lowest cost, fastest broadband available.”

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