Santa Rosa’s Sonic expands its internet service into more San Francisco neighborhoods

Santa Rosa-based internet service provider Sonic announced Tuesday an expansion of its fiber-optic network into more San Francisco neighborhoods.

The company, the largest independent internet provider in California, said it would start installations in the late summer in the neighborhoods of Excelsior, Mission Terrace and Crocker Amazon, as well as northern Daly City.

The company began its move into San Francisco in 2016, touting its low introductory rate of $40 a month, highly regarded customer service and some of the toughest customer privacy policies in the sector. It also moved into some East Bay areas with its download speeds of 1 gigabit per second, 50 times faster than the typical speed in the country.

In Sonoma County, Sonic provides fiber-optic service to portions of Sebastopol - its first fiber-optic pilot project in 2011 - and some business parks for its commercial clients. CEO Dane Jasper last year said the company needs to build up a large San Francisco customer base to make it more economically feasible to go into more Sonoma County residential areas down the road.

“We believe all consumers should have more choice when it comes to selecting an internet provider in their local communities,” Jasper said in a statement. “Today’s expansion brings us one step closer to our goal of making faster, affordable internet a reality for all Bay Area residents.”

You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 707-521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @BillSwindell.