Arts and CultureSF Bay Area

Monkeybrains: The Awesome Internet Service Taking on Corporate Giants

Updated: Nov 06, 2023 12:23
The Bay's best newsletter for underground events & news
Monkeybrains

image courtesy of Monkeybrains

This post was made possible by the fine folks at Monkeybrains. Sign up with them right now and use the code “Broke Ass Stuart” to get a free month of internet service! 


First off, fuck Comcast. Their customer service famously sucks, they are way too expensive, and they are part of what amounts to a broadband internet monopoly. While we’re at it, fuck AT&T too. Thankfully, if you live in the Bay Area, you have a far better option when it comes to getting that sweet sweet internet piped into your house. Enter Monkeybrains.

Monkeybrains has been a local, independent internet service provider since 1998 and has developed a rabid following because, quite simply, they rock. And I’m not just saying this because they’re giving me money to do so, I’ve been a very satisfied, paying customer of theirs for six or seven years now.

Why is Monkeybrains so great? I’m glad you asked!

First of all they are cheap and uncomplicated. They only cost $35 a month, and there are no bundles, contracts, or sketchy hidden fees. If you’ve ever used any of the corporate giants, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

[Sign up with them right now and use the code “Broke Ass Stuart” to get a free month of internet service!] 

On top of that, they are locally owned and operated. So when you call in, it’s not outsourced to some tech support farm in Tulsa. The person on the other end of the phone is someone just like you, who lives in the Bay Area and knows what you’re experiencing.

Also, Monkeybrains is, and always has been, Net Neutral as fuck. While the big boys like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T, try to rig it so that you’ll have to pay extra money to get Hulu and Netflix to stream properly, Monkeybrains still believes in the dream of the Information Superhighway. Plus they won’t sell your data to third parties, so you don’t have to worry about anyone finding out about your Gossip Girl blog.

Monkeybrains and the City of San Francisco collaborated to bring gigabit Internet and stadium-grade WiFi to the COVID mobile testing site at 7th and Brannan.

And my favorite part about them, besides being cheap and reliable of course, is that Monkeybrains gives back to the community in a major way.

  • They’ve given free internet to over 3500 affordable housing units.
  • They’ve provided internet for essential workers at emergency COVID shelters, including six hospitals.
  • They hook-up internet for most of San Francisco’s navigation centers.
  • For anyone who is a student or a teacher with the SF Unified School District, they have a promotion waiving installation fees for the duration of shelter-in-place, which is a great opportunity to switch providers with no contracts or fees (click right here if you’re interested).

Plus, remember the adorable baby bison webcam we wrote about the other week? Well Monkeybrains are the folks who  provided the uplink to make it happen (psss, you can watch it right here).

So, are you ready to ditch your corporate internet? I thought so. You can learn more and sign up right here. Don’t forget to use the code “Broke Ass Stuart” to get a free month of internet service!

Broke-Ass Stuart works because of reader support. Join us now.

Howdy! My name is Katy Atchison and I'm an Associate Editor for Broke-Ass Stuart.

I want to take the time to say thank you for supporting independent news media by reading BrokeAssstuart.com. Supporting independent news sources like Broke-Ass Stuart is vital to supporting our community because it amplifies the voices of a wide variety of diverse opinions. You also help support small businesses and local artists by sharing stories from Broke-Ass Stuart.

Because you're one of our supporters, I wanted to send over a pro-tip.

Our bi-weekly newsletter is a great way to get round ups of Broke-Ass Stuart stories, learn about new businesses in The Bay Area, find out about fun local events and be first in line for giveaways.

If you’d like to get our newsletter, signup right here, it takes 5 seconds.

Previous post

BREAKING: Kamala Harris Is Joe Biden’s Vice Presidential Pick

Next post

Israel Turns to Unlawful Detention When Propaganda Fails to Silence Anti-Zionists


Broke-Ass Stuart - Editor In Cheap

Broke-Ass Stuart - Editor In Cheap

Stuart Schuffman, aka Broke-Ass Stuart, is a travel writer, poet, TV host, activist, and general shit-stirrer. His website BrokeAssStuart.com is one of the most influential arts & culture sites in the San Francisco Bay Area and his freelance writing has been featured in Lonely Planet, Conde Nast Traveler, The Bold Italic, Geek.com and too many other outlets to remember. His weekly column, Broke-Ass City, appears every other Thursday in the San Francisco Examiner. Stuart’s writing has been translated into four languages. In 2011 Stuart created and hosted the travel show Young, Broke, and Beautiful on IFC and in 2015 he ran for Mayor of San Francisco and got nearly 20k votes.

He's been called "an Underground legend": SF Chronicle, "an SF cult hero":SF Bay Guardian, and "the chief of cheap": Time Out New York.