Home internet provider - what's a good alternative to Robbers ?

Ugur Dinch

Ugur Dinch

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We currently have the Grandpa package with Rogers, which DNE anymore, and now got a call from them saying that if we go over the limit (95gb), they will charge us upto $100 extra, what used to be upto $50. That now changes the whole thing for us as we do go over every month, avg'ing 200gb/month.

Rogers now offers a 75mbit internet with 250gb limit, but that is $99 and still with upto $100 extra for going over 250. I don't want it to be limited if we are paying that much.

What internet provider do you use ?

Where should we look if our onstraints are:
- base cost
- over the limit cost
- (landlord's choice) customer service
edit:
- reliability !
edit2:
- how fast to come and do the setup
 
Last edited:
I've heard good things about Teksavvy.
Never used it myself
 
DaveTheCanuck said:
http://start.ca

Rogers service, but cheaper, and better support.

Same for anyone in Cogeco areas.

http://www.dslreports.com/comments/2941
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Thanks for this info... I might just use this to get a better deal from Rogers, if possible.

I was with Acanac until their service became very unreliable. I switched to Rogers because they gave me the Express package (18Mbps/80gb) with 25% off for a year plus free modem rental. I think I pay $43/month with tax, but last month I paid $12 more due to bandwidth overage.

Since I download all of my TV, movies, and I just got into what.cd, I think I might need to switch or convince rogers to give me more bandwidth. 80GB just doesn't cut it.
 
velcom is good and cheap 400gb
 
I'm with Teksavvy in Brampton. I have never had issues for over a year now, and like Diesel I download ALL my media. I can't attest to their service yet, because I have not needed yet.
 
I'm with Acanac since 2009. Reliable, cheap (~450/year tax included), no cap, 500K real life DL speed. Don't know about customer service because I never used it.
 
I switched to Start 2 months ago and freakin fast/reliable service. My download speeds are usually in the 3 mb/s speed. Speedtest gives me a download speed ~ 30 mb/s and an upload speed of 1 mb/s.
 
Just pick the best price for a package that will suit your needs from Teksavvy/Start/Velcom. If it's cable, it goes through your cableco's last mile anyway (Robbers/Cogeco/Videotron) and if it's DSL it goes through the telco (rhymes with Hell), so one guy is as reliable as the next guy. In diesel's case, he was most likely on Acanac DSL and Bell kicked him off the remote to accommodate higher speed packages, which increases the distance and decreases the speed and reliability. Would have been better off going with Acanac cable (yes they offer both). I am personally on Velcom's DSL 25/10 400GB.

My main issue with Acanac (the cheapest option) would be the wait times if you're calling support. They're not nearly as bad with Teksavvy, Velcom's better than them and I'm not familiar with Start.

Some tips:

1) If you're thinking DSL and have higher speeds available in the area, get them. That forces Bell to keep you on a closer remote, which increases your speeds and reliability.

2) Another one for DSL - don't cheap out on the modem. I know you guys are tempted to just buy a $20 tp-link, but you'll regret it. $50+ tp-links are ok and I'd use one even if I don't use their wireless functionality. Higher end modems work better with higher speeds and are better at dealing with line issues on lower speed plans if there are any

3) What I don't like about cable is local node congestion - if you're in a densely populated area (GTA), it can get slower in the evenings when everybody's surfing/downloading/streaming. On a good note, it's generally more reliabla and you don't own your inside wiring so the cableco is responsible for it.

If you guys got some questions, ask them. Let's say I know a thing or two about the players and the technologies out there ;)
 
FiReSTaRT said:
3) What I don't like about cable is local node congestion - if you're in a densely populated area (GTA), it can get slower in the evenings when everybody's surfing/downloading/streaming. On a good note, it's generally more reliabla and you don't own your inside wiring so the cableco is responsible for it.
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I live around 15 or so 20 or more story condo/apartments and I get insane speeds with cable. I'm not at home to run speeds, but when downloading shows I am hitting 1.5mbps on a consistent basis.
 
I'm with Teksavvy, been with them for 3 years now, once while renting and now that i own. There have been scheduled interruptions but they are rare and they warn you. I'm maxing out my up/down all the time. In fact, i KNOW that DSL will support faster than 5/800 in my area but thats all thats offered up here in boonieville. No cable either...
 
FiReSTaRT said:
In diesel's case, he was most likely on Acanac DSL and Bell kicked him off the remote to accommodate higher speed packages, which increases the distance and decreases the speed and reliability. Would have been better off going with Acanac cable (yes they offer both). I am personally on Velcom's DSL 25/10 400GB.
Click to expand...

Actually I was on Acanac Cable. The problems happened back in June -- forgive my lack of terminology -- but it had something to do with rogers not assigning enough IPs to Acanac or something like that... for about 3 weeks my internet connection was very sporadic and more often off than on.

Now add the connection problems to Acanac's abyssal customer service, and I was a very unhappy customer. The only way I could contact Acanac was to email them from work -- their phone system was overrun. They offered no information as to what the problem was or when it would be resolved. I finally got some information regarding the problem by visiting dslreports. Luckily I was near the end of my year contract -- which is another thing I don't like, having to buy a year at a time to get the best price. After the first 30 days if you are unhappy, too bad... you are stuck for the year.

I am probably going to leave Rogers, but I will never return to Acanac. I might try start.ca because they offer free installation for existing cable customers.
 
I just got start.ca pro cable 59 bucks with 400GB limit. 30mbps download been pretty good so far. Just having issues getting the wireless signal to reach to the back of the house but that's a router problem.
 
Diesel said:
Actually I was on Acanac Cable. The problems happened back in June -- forgive my lack of terminology -- but it had something to do with rogers not assigning enough IPs to Acanac or something like that... for about 3 weeks my internet connection was very sporadic and more often off than on.

Now add the connection problems to Acanac's abyssal customer service, and I was a very unhappy customer. The only way I could contact Acanac was to email them from work -- their phone system was overrun. They offered no information as to what the problem was or when it would be resolved. I finally got some information regarding the problem by visiting dslreports. Luckily I was near the end of my year contract -- which is another thing I don't like, having to buy a year at a time to get the best price. After the first 30 days if you are unhappy, too bad... you are stuck for the year.

I am probably going to leave Rogers, but I will never return to Acanac. I might try start.ca because they offer free installation for existing cable customers.
Click to expand...

Ahh yeah, forgot about that time period.. Aca wasn't really on my radar at the time but yeah, it caused some difficulties.

Lol roger that on the customer service.. It can be a frustrating experience.

Heard good things about start but never really looked into them.. Been a Teksavvy customer for ever, and then I switched over to Velcom 25/10/400 because they gave me the best price for 25/10 with a static IP. DSL tech can be touchy, but I know that my inside wiring is up to snuff (ran it from the terminal to the office myself lol) and the modem is rented (no option to buy one), so I can't get DMC'd for anything.

Getting DMC'd = Having to pay the $100 Bell Diagnostic Maintenance charge if you open a repair ticket with Bell and the problem turns out to be with your inside wiring, cabling or modem. If you're on DSL, regardless of which ISP you're with, Bell would typically do line repairs. They will fix what's messed up with their infrastructure for free, but if they send out one of their technicians for something that's not their responsibility, you get to pay.
 
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