This isn't a new complaint, but it's one that keeps resurfacing because the city keeps failing to fix it. Residents moving into new apartments are discovering that their only broadband option is a company infamous for monopoly pricing, abysmal upload speeds, and customer service that makes the DMV look hospitable. Smaller providers like Monkeybrains and Sonic exist in theory, but their coverage is spotty and dependent on building-level infrastructure that's often missing or decrepit.

As one SF resident put it bluntly, rather than "wishing for some grand solution that will never come (the San Francisco way)," renters should just pressure their landlords to find the in-building wiring that alternative providers need. It's practical advice — but it's also a damning indictment that in 2025, individual tenants have to play cable detective just to avoid a monopoly.

Another local pointed out that providers like Sonic only operate where overhead phone lines exist, which rules out huge swaths of the city. And here's the kicker: San Francisco law technically guarantees residents the right to choose their own provider. But providers have an equal right to simply not serve your building. So your "choice" is purely theoretical.

The real question is why City Hall hasn't treated broadband like the essential utility it obviously is. We've spent billions on transit projects that run behind schedule and over budget. We've debated supervisorial pet projects until the cows came home. But a citywide fiber plan? Crickets.

Municipal broadband has worked in cities like Chattanooga and Fort Collins. It's not a radical idea — it's basic infrastructure. Yet San Francisco, swimming in tech money and tech talent, can't seem to muster the political will. Maybe that's because Comcast's lobbying budget is more reliable than its upload speeds.

Competition drives down prices and improves service. That's not ideology — it's economics. Until this city gets serious about breaking the broadband bottleneck, we'll keep wearing the "tech capital" label like a participation trophy.