High Speed Internet NW of Calgary - Telus best option? - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Draug · 05-09-2009, 01:42 AM

At the end of June, we are moving out to an acreage. It is located on Woodland Close, just north of Crowchild and just west of the city, among a million other 2 and 4 acre acreages.

I didnt even think about the lack of Shaw High Speed when we decided to move out of the city. I assumed with housing density as high as it is there, that Shaw would be available. Of course, it is not. I dont know how I am going to go back down in speed from Shaw Extreme ...

Telus' website claims that its High Speed ADSL is available, but not the Turbo High Speed. The High Speed has a download rate of 1.5Mbps to 6.0Mbps.

I have a few questions; Why does that rate vary so much? 6 would be marginally acceptable, but 1.5 doesnt cut it. Is there a way to get a monthly plan that offers more than 60GB per month? Can I expect 6Mbps?

Do I have any other high speed options out there?

Rathji · 05-09-2009, 07:35 AM

I don't know alot about ADSL specifically, but the download rate available in outlying areas is alot lower due to many factors. Most of it is probably due to increased costs in bringing fiber optic to your area, which means every house is further and further from a fiber node.

There is the option of wireless, through a service provider like Xplornet. It is about 60 bucks a month for 5 Mbit down. No idea how that compares to what Telus is charging, but if you are interested I have a contract with them I am trying to get rid of, PM me if you want info about it.

Although, if Telus won't force you to sign a contract, go with them for sure

photon · 05-09-2009, 09:50 AM

You might be lucky and be in these guys' service area:

http://efirehose.net

photon · 05-09-2009, 10:05 AM

Oh and shame on you for not checking about Internet! That's like moving without checking to see if they have water!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Draug

I have a few questions; Why does that rate vary so much? 6 would be marginally acceptable, but 1.5 doesnt cut it. Is there a way to get a monthly plan that offers more than 60GB per month? Can I expect 6Mbps?

Do I have any other high speed options out there?

It varies due to the distance from where the connection connects up to, the further away the slower it is.

There's another Calgary wireless internet provider that I've been racking my brain to try and remember the name of.

Oh yeah Terago. They're business so not sure what their prices are like.

Azure · 05-09-2009, 10:25 AM

Platinum Communications more than likely has service in that area.

photon · 05-09-2009, 10:53 AM

2Mbit though, he's better off with Telus in that case.

Draug · 05-09-2009, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by photon

You might be lucky and be in these guys' service area:

http://efirehose.net

Yeah, Platinum is out. Too slow and too expensive, plus the contract Blows. Telus has no contract and is $35 per month without phone.

EFirehose coverage list shows the area as covered... but only 5 Mbps download. At least they have a 100 GB dl limit.

Yes, shame on me for not checking into the internet. I was thinking of Open Space -> Kids Outside -> Privacy -> Longterm Investment ...

I will have to see where the node is for Telus. How far apart are they? It would make sense to me if they had one at Woodland Road / Woodland Close intersection to serve all the houses to the west in that development, that is if they are every few miles. That would service me very nicely.

photon · 05-09-2009, 01:49 PM

No idea about where they have their COs, probably the best you could do is talk to your neighbours and find out what kind of speeds they get and/or what they do.

Or you could get a super high speed link into your house and become the ISP for the area.

Draug · 05-12-2009, 01:42 PM

Can any Telus insider offer some insight as to where the CO's may be placed in that service area?

On the website, and confirmed when I called the Telus customer service, "High Speed" (1.5-6.0 Mbps) is available for my area and it is also indicated that "Turbo High Speed" (10-15 Mbps) is available soon. Can any Telus insider tell me when "soon" might be?

ken0042 · 05-12-2009, 02:58 PM

Well, one thing to offer is my experience with Telus and their posted speeds. I'm supposed to be getting 5 mbps but I'm closer to 2.

You also might want to consider what you are using that kind of bandwidth for; and if you need it. For example if you are doing a lot of downloading- are you watching what you download? Would the amount you are willing to pay extra for bandwidth be better spent on getting a membership from one of those DVD rental places? (Netflix or whatever.)

Not trying to be a jerk, just throwing out options. And first hand realization that I found I was only watching about 1% of what I downloaded.

Draug · 05-12-2009, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken0042

Well, one thing to offer is my experience with Telus and their posted speeds. I'm supposed to be getting 5 mbps but I'm closer to 2.

Yeah, I understand it is all relative to the distance you are from the CO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken0042

You also might want to consider what you are using that kind of bandwidth for; and if you need it. For example if you are doing a lot of downloading- are you watching what you download? Would the amount you are willing to pay extra for bandwidth be better spent on getting a membership from one of those DVD rental places? (Netflix or whatever.)

No doubt, I download a lot of media. Most of that media is American or British TV which I do watch, but not right away so a slower download rate wouldnt be the end of the world. I do mostly work from home, and 'telecommute' to our development environment, so the higher the speed the nicer it is there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken0042

Not trying to be a jerk, just throwing out options. And first hand realization that I found I was only watching about 1% of what I downloaded.

No offence taken at all; different viewpoints are always good. 1%? Wow. Even still, the speed is still so nice. To be able to get a 1 hour show HD ripped (better quality than my Bell HD, btw), that perhaps the PVR missed, in less than 15 minutes is awesome.

Draug · 05-15-2009, 05:37 PM

I've decided the best bet will be Telus High Speed, advertised at 1.5Mbps to 6.0Mbps, depending on how far from the CO you are.

The CSR I spoke with said that Turbo High Speed will be "coming soon" to that area, but when pressed could not offer any credible details.

Are there any Telus employees around here that can tell me if it is actually coming soon?

TheU · 09-19-2009, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Draug

I've decided the best bet will be Telus High Speed, advertised at 1.5Mbps to 6.0Mbps, depending on how far from the CO you are.

The CSR I spoke with said that Turbo High Speed will be "coming soon" to that area, but when pressed could not offer any credible details.

Are there any Telus employees around here that can tell me if it is actually coming soon?

The best I can you tell is TELUS as a company is spending 1.5 billion dollars in alberta and bc upgrading their network. if you do regular surfing and streaming, save the money and get TELUS. 1st year is 20 dollars a month, the 30 ongoing with no contracts. telus doesnt do contracts anymore for adsl

sclitheroe · 09-19-2009, 08:50 PM

For Telus related questions that will get answered by a tech on the inside, try the Telus forum at dslreports.net