When Comcast turned on Internet service in Sebastopol, it looked like a maneuver to put pressure on its negotiations with the city of Santa Rosa. It must have worked – after long delays, Comcast and Santa Rosa announced a deal today that will make broadband cable service available to Comcast subscribers in Santa Rosa. When? The Press Democrat says “by year’s end” on the front page, but later says service will be available “to parts of Santa Rosa” by April, and quotes a Comcast VP saying that he’s sure everything will be rolled out lickety split. Here’s the Press Democrat article about the deal.

Meanwhile, rumor has it that SBC will be rolling out price cuts and/or speed increases for DSL on February 2. Sonic is taking pre-orders for a deal available from February 2 thru February 14 for serious speed freaks – 6Mbps download speed for $44.95/month. A great deal if you need the speed! Here’s the info from Sonic.