Ontario ATOTers, need help with unlimited ISPs

[mmntech]

For streaming HD content on Netflix and iTunes, do you guys think the 16mbps pack will be enough or should I go with 25. Quite a bit of price difference.

 

[sdifox]

For streaming HD content on Netflix and iTunes, do you guys think the 16mbps pack will be enough or should I go with 25. Quite a bit of price difference.

16 is fine

 

[mmntech]

16 is fine

Cool.

 

[RGUN]

All I got is some cell provider in the Philippines when I Googed it.

Sorry, I should have said "Start communications"

 

[RbSX]

I've heard good things with both teksavvy & acanac as 3rd party providers, but keep in mind they don't really offer support - which is not really a big deal IMO.

TekSavvy offers great support.

 

[CraigRT]

I have TekSavvy cable.. 300GB bandwidth allowance, (unltd is available, but why, with 300) 12megabit connection (always benches higher, one time over 20) and it's $42.95 per month. Also its month to month, no contract.

Have I had any gripes? Zero. it works flawlessly, it's always fast, and I get what I expect to see on a bill, unlike companies like Rogers who constantly screw up the billing.

I would recommend TekSavvy. Canada Computers sells starter kits too that waive install fees and you get to keep the modem etc.

 

[mmntech]

I have TekSavvy cable.. 300GB bandwidth allowance, (unltd is available, but why, with 300) 12megabit connection (always benches higher, one time over 20) and it's $42.95 per month. Also its month to month, no contract.

Have I had any gripes? Zero. it works flawlessly, it's always fast, and I get what I expect to see on a bill, unlike companies like Rogers who constantly screw up the billing.

I would recommend TekSavvy. Canada Computers sells starter kits too that waive install fees and you get to keep the modem etc.

Are they still offering that though? It's not listed on their website.

 

[mikercana1]

I am returning to Canada this summer.
Luckily I have another 2 months before that gets done, I have plenty time to make some choices.
I was contemplating going with Teksavvy?
Should I go with cable service or DSL?
If I choose cable service, I just do not have any Rogers cable service at the moment, do I need to get cable service from Rogers first?

I see in a thread above that CanadaComputers were selling kits compatible or made for Teksavvy service and that would wave some admin fees or something like that, is this still available?

Too many questions.

Appreciate your help

Mikercana1

 

[mmntech]

So I've kind of sat on this for awhile and a new unlimited ISP opened up in town. They're wireless. Runs in the 3.6ghz band through an antenna mounted on your roof. $45/mo for 15/1.5 and unlimited bandwidth. No contracts and they're not a reseller. Installation is pretty steep at $200.

Anybody have any experience with these wireless ISPs? They just opened a couple of months ago so there's no reviewes yet.
http://standardbroadbandhome.ca/

 

[KMFJD]

So I've kind of sat on this for awhile and a new unlimited ISP opened up in town. They're wireless. Runs in the 3.6ghz band through an antenna mounted on your roof. $45/mo for 15/1.5 and unlimited bandwidth. No contracts and they're not a reseller. Installation is pretty steep at $200.

Anybody have any experience with these wireless ISPs? They just opened a couple of months ago so there's no reviewes yet.
http://standardbroadbandhome.ca/

It's really hit or miss, when we first got wireless it was ok, then of course the node becomes oversubscribed and you get a real flaky connection during prime time hours, latency constantly jumping up and down, iw ould not recomend unless you live in a rural area.

/and for the love of god stay away from xplorenet

 

[sdifox]

my brother just signed up with acanac. he got the 28mbps cable for 40 a month, goes up to 43 after first year. seems ok so far, you should check it out.

 

[mmntech]

Well, I've sat on this for a few months and I think I'm going to go with these local wireless guys. They've been getting fantastic reviews so I think I'll accept the risks. Their best package is for for 15 down, 1.5 up. So far most subscribers are actually averaging above that, and 15 is the minimum speed they're guaranteeing. $45/mo plus $200 to install. Ping isn't great (50ms vs 25 I get now) but I don't game online.

Just gotta talk the family into letting me put the antenna up.

 

[coldmeat]

I've been getting faster speeds through NRTC than usual lately. I'm getting about 8mb/s when I'm only paying for 6. It used to be the other way around, I would only get about 5.

edit: forgot it's not teksavvy I'm on here, it's NRTC, but the speeds are still faster than usual.

 

[mmntech]

I've been getting faster speeds through Teksavvy than usual lately. I'm getting about 8mb/s when I'm only paying for 6. It used to be the other way around, I would only get about 5.

That's the big thing that worries me about DSL. At least SB seems to be providing a minimum for what you pay for according to their customers. Plus you're still dealing with Bell and Bell is ass. I'd dump them entirely if I didn't have satellite equipment tied up with them. Got it back in the era before DVRs, and they had better time shifting options than Cogeco.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I'm lucky enough that my ISP is still offering unlimited internet. Basically I have the choice between the local phone company (basically Bell) and Eastlink. Eastlink does have caps, so I stick with DSL because while the top speed is 8mbps/1mbps at least I can use it to it's full extent without worrying. Only thing I ever do that uses all the bandwidth is torrents and usually I'll let those go overnight anyway.

I really think there needs to be a stop to these caps though. Then there's cell phone data caps, that's just ridiculous. You can have such high speeds on the cell network yet they cap it at like 50-100MB. What's the point of having that much speed if you'll hit the cap in a matter of seconds using it?

 

[DaTT]

I also have the Cogeco plan you have, but I pay much less than you do. If you have been a customer of theirs for a while, call and speak to their retentions department. I pay like $43 for the same service you have, and it's locked in for 2 years.

However, the 80GB cap sucks...and actually 14Mb/s down isn't all that great anymore, 5years ago it was OK, but not so much anymore.

 

[mmntech]

I'm lucky enough that my ISP is still offering unlimited internet. Basically I have the choice between the local phone company (basically Bell) and Eastlink. Eastlink does have caps, so I stick with DSL because while the top speed is 8mbps/1mbps at least I can use it to it's full extent without worrying. Only thing I ever do that uses all the bandwidth is torrents and usually I'll let those go overnight anyway.

I really think there needs to be a stop to these caps though. Then there's cell phone data caps, that's just ridiculous. You can have such high speeds on the cell network yet they cap it at like 50-100MB. What's the point of having that much speed if you'll hit the cap in a matter of seconds using it?

There's a finite source of bandwidth so telecoms can either have more speed or more data. It's easier to offer speed because the uninitiated think faster is always better. If cell providers offered unlimited to everyone, it would A) choke the network, and B) people would use VOIP and iMessage bypass added costs for minutes and text messaging.

Wired connection caps exist for pretty much the same reason. Telecoms rightly fear that IP based telephony and TV will make their services obsolete. Better to ding you three times than just once. That's why I'm in favour of net neutrality, because once satellite and cable start to die off, that will be the next fight. Packaged internet and double (conservatively) the price. *Shudders*

 

[Red Squirrel]

There's a finite source of bandwidth so telecoms can either have more speed or more data. It's easier to offer speed because the uninitiated think faster is always better. If cell providers offered unlimited to everyone, it would A) choke the network, and B) people would use VOIP and iMessage bypass added costs for minutes and text messaging.

Wired connection caps exist for pretty much the same reason. Telecoms rightly fear that IP based telephony and TV will make their services obsolete. Better to ding you three times than just once. That's why I'm in favour of net neutrality, because once satellite and cable start to die off, that will be the next fight. Packaged internet and double (conservatively) the price. *Shudders*

Yeah sadly that's pretty much it. They could easily put more capacity, but why do that?

Would be nice if there was more competition but it's not everybody who has a few billion dollars to roll out their own cable plant, COs, etc.

I've always thought of how awesome it would be to start my own WISP, then later on change that to fiber to the home. Even if I had the money, I'm sure there's tons of hoops to jump through for that though, such as permits from the city to run cables everywhere.

 

[zCypher]

Any reseller of Bell DSL will be subject to exactly the same traffic shaping/throttling/whatever as it's entirely Bell's infrastructure. There is one exception to that rule that I know of, which is Colbanet in Montreal. They have an ADSL2+ dslam in the Bell CO, which means there's no throttling whatsoever (I had them for a while and tested it). Probem in my case is the CO was too far and I could only get 4 out of 24mbps.

If Rogers throttles, and Teksavvy resells Rogers in your area, then it's almost guaranteed that you will have throttling with Teksavvy as well.

If torrenting isn't a big deal for you, this might not matter so much. I can definitely recommend Teksavvy, I know enough people that have it and are pleased with it, I'm switching from Videotron to Teksavvy myself this winter when my contract expires.

Whether you go DSL or cable, it really depends on your area more than anything. In some areas, DSL is better and in others it's cable. What's nice about these resellers is there are no contracts, woohoo!

 

[coldmeat]

There was a lot of talk late last year that Bell was going to stop throttling, and since then I've seen both Teksavvy and NRTC stop throttling my torrents. They used to drop to ~50-60kb/s at 4:30pm and then again to ~25kb/s at 6pm until 1 or 2am. Now it's full speed 24/7, and with no cap at either of the ISPs.

 

[Iron Woode]

I have TekSavvy cable.. 300GB bandwidth allowance, (unltd is available, but why, with 300) 12megabit connection (always benches higher, one time over 20) and it's $42.95 per month. Also its month to month, no contract.

Have I had any gripes? Zero. it works flawlessly, it's always fast, and I get what I expect to see on a bill, unlike companies like Rogers who constantly screw up the billing.

I would recommend TekSavvy. Canada Computers sells starter kits too that waive install fees and you get to keep the modem etc.

I am using Start Communications (located in downtown London) basic cable internet with unlimited service for $34.95/month no contracts.

It works great and I easily hit 1mbs download speeds. I am very impressed so far.

I also stream TV and movies, including Netflix.

 

[shabby]

If Rogers throttles, and Teksavvy resells Rogers in your area, then it's almost guaranteed that you will have throttling with Teksavvy as well.

Nope, no throttling on teksavvy cable.

 

[zCypher]

There was a lot of talk late last year that Bell was going to stop throttling, and since then I've seen both Teksavvy and NRTC stop throttling my torrents. They used to drop to ~50-60kb/s at 4:30pm and then again to ~25kb/s at 6pm until 1 or 2am. Now it's full speed 24/7, and with no cap at either of the ISPs.

This is news to me. Good news. Very good news indeed.

 

[zCypher]

Nope, no throttling on teksavvy cable.

Yes, but is it resold Rogers cable or something else? I'm not all that familiar with how Rogers operates though, or even with the cable infrastructure. I understand more about the DSL side of things since I work in that, but it's good to hear they are not throttling!

 

[Iron Woode]

Yes, but is it resold Rogers cable or something else? I'm not all that familiar with how Rogers operates though, or even with the cable infrastructure. I understand more about the DSL side of things since I work in that, but it's good to hear they are not throttling!

Rogers was ordered not to throttle by the CRTC. Not sure if they can get around it, but so far mine has not been throttled (Start Communications resells Rogers cable internet).