Shaw Internet - Magical New Speeds and Lots-o-bandwidth, fickle geeks appeased

[FlamesPuck12]

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBruce

Well think about it. How long do you normally stay with your provider? 2 years? 3? That's the length of their contract. I don't have a problem with that since I usually stick around for a few years.

Plus first full year paying $30 a month for the package sealed the deal.

I'll give you the dolphines...####ing dolphines.

Also, isn't the contract optional? I thought it was only required if you want a free Xbox or something.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBruce

Well think about it. How long do you normally stay with your provider? 2 years? 3? That's the length of their contract. I don't have a problem with that since I usually stick around for a few years.

Plus first full year paying $30 a month for the package sealed the deal.

I'll give you the dolphines...####ing dolphines.

Does the Telus contract specify that they COULD start enforcing bandwidth caps at any point? Which could happen 1 month into your 3 year contract?

Plus, I'm generally more skeptical of companies that have to give away Xboxes to get to people to use their service.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBruce

It is a valid choice. Higher cap (125gigs) and package deal that cost just as much as Shaw's high speed alone. Why wouldn't people switch?

Their charges for overages are just as bad and have been there for much longer than Shaw's charges have been, so moving because Shaw has suddenly added charges is not all that bright.

(although Telus claims they can't track it, anyone who knows about networking can tell you they are most likely just choosing not to, and waiting for Shaw to take the brunt of the PR fallout before they start actually charging)

Like I said, there are other reasons that it might be valid, including a slightly higher cap (125 vs 100), Optik TV, but UBB would not be a good one, in my eyes.

Originally Posted by SebC

Does the Telus contract specify that they COULD start enforcing bandwidth caps at any point? Which could happen 1 month into your 3 year contract?

Plus, I'm generally more skeptical of companies that have to give away Xboxes to get to people to use their service.

As I read it, the contract says if you go over your usage cap, you will be charged. The thing is, your usage is always showing as 0, so until they flip that switch you won't be. As far as I can tell, they don't need to give any notice for being charged to happen, but I expect we will get at least the same notice as has happened with Shaw, ala rumors on the internet. I would try and find a link to that contract, but I am sure it is in this thread somewhere, along with how the charges are higher (with some plans).

[kirant]

I'm not sure this has been covered yet (search is failing), but CTV news is reporting that the Federal Government will act to reverse the decision unless the CRTC denies it.

[TheyCallMeBruce]

Originally Posted by Rathji

Their charges for overages are just as bad and have been there for much longer than Shaw's charges have been, so moving because Shaw has suddenly added charges is not all that bright.

(although Telus claims they can't track it, anyone who knows about networking can tell you they are most likely just choosing not to, and waiting for Shaw to take the brunt of the PR fallout before they start actually charging)

Like I said, there are other reasons that it might be valid, including a slightly higher cap (125 vs 100), Optik TV, but UBB would not be a good one, in my eyes.

That is a moot point. At the moment there is no overage charge, and to speculate on what the charges will be is premature to me. At this moment Telus is offering a far superior package. In the long run, maybe that may change, but speculation of changes from what I am hearing in the industry will be equivalent to shaw's $1-2 per gig charge and cap remaining the same. So overall, that is still a better deal than Shaw.

If Shaw can wise up and recognize that their archaic packages need tuning then maybe they'll be able to keep customers.

[I_H8_Crawford]

MOOT point.

Pet peeve of mine.

[TheyCallMeBruce]

Originally Posted by SebC

Does the Telus contract specify that they COULD start enforcing bandwidth caps at any point? Which could happen 1 month into your 3 year contract?

Plus, I'm generally more skeptical of companies that have to give away Xboxes to get to people to use their service.

They could, but the cap was the main issue for me. I was with Shaw's 60 gig plan. This plan cost $50 a month. Telus Optik will cost $37 and their cap is 125 gig. It's not that hard to decide which I'm leaning towards, since my usages has been consistently been around 70-80gigs.

I didn't take the xbox package. Just straight up 1st year $30/month contract.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBruce

That is a mute point. At the moment there is no overage charge, and to speculate on what the charges will be is premature to me. At this moment Telus is offering a far superior package. In the long run, maybe that may change, but speculation of changes from what I am hearing in the industry will be equivalent to shaw's $1-2 per gig charge and cap remaining the same. So overall, that is still a better deal than Shaw.

It's not a moot point because you're locked in for 2-3 years. The long run is therefore very much relevant.

What happens if the primary ISPs are allowed to charge their own customers UBB but not force that price structure on secondary ISPs, Shaw decides they have enough customers to don't care that they keep UBB in place, and Telus follows Shaw? I'll want to be able to make the switch to a secondary ISP, not be stuck with Telus. That's why I feel it's prudent to stick with Shaw until we see this all settles, and to not jump in bed with Telus on a long-term contract.

[TheyCallMeBruce]

Originally Posted by I_H8_Crawford

MOOT point.

Pet peeve of mine.

Oops, I muted the tv to type this, so probably looking at the mute button and typing is a bad idea.

[I_H8_Crawford]

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBruce

Oops, I muted the tv to type this, so probably looking at the mute button and typing is a bad idea.

I once had a boss who would always say "Mute point"

I wanted to smack him every single time.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBruce

That is a moot point. At the moment there is no overage charge, and to speculate on what the charges will be is premature to me. At this moment Telus is offering a far superior package. In the long run, maybe that may change, but speculation of changes from what I am hearing in the industry will be equivalent to shaw's $1-2 per gig charge and cap remaining the same. So overall, that is still a better deal than Shaw.

If Shaw can wise up and recognize that their archaic packages need tuning then maybe they'll be able to keep customers.

I don't have time to dig up the service agreement, but this FAQ on DSL reports, which was updated in October 2010 shows the state of Telus billing at that time.

Telus has instituted a pay for bandwidth policy for usage over the monthly cap. Pricing is as follows:

High speed light $5 per an extra gig

High speed $2.00 per an extra gig

High speed enhanced $2.00 per an extra gig

High speed extreme $2.00 per an extra gig.

High speed Turbo $2.00 per an extra gig.

Whether or not Telus is going to actually charge for the overage is yet to be seen. Although it is known (actual letter posted) they are actively sending out letters if you hit over 200 gigs a month.

Earlier in this thread, it was corrected with different bandwidth caps, but I am assuming the rest of the information is correct. I also assume that one of many Telus employees who frequent this thread can tell us how up to date the info is. Going by these numbers, Telus will charge twice as much per GB, on a comparable plan, than Shaw does for overages.

If this info is wrong, then I withdraw my statement that switching to Telus would be a bad idea based on UBB alone, but given the responses so far in this thread, by people who seem to be "in the know with Telus" I have no reason to doubt them.

[TheyCallMeBruce]

Originally Posted by SebC

It's not a moot point because you're locked in for 2-3 years. The long run is therefore very much relevant.

Like I said, I tend to stick with providers for 2-3 years as I had done with shaw in spite of their continual increase in charge and lowering of the cap. I understand a contract may scare a lot of people, but to me contracts don't scare me, and I am willing to ride it out and see how it goes. More than likely it will be good. If it does go bad, I can cut my losses.

More than likely, I won't have to.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBruce

Like I said, I tend to stick with providers for 2-3 years as I had done with shaw in spite of their continual increase in charge and lowering of the cap. I understand a contract may scare a lot of people, but to me contracts don't scare me, and I am willing to ride it out and see how it goes. More than likely it will be good. If it does go bad, I can cut my losses.

More than likely, I won't have to.

Contracts are bad because they force you to stay with a provider even if their service is poor. You don't need to sign a contract with Telus though, as has been pointed out many times in the thread.

[I_H8_Crawford]

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBruce

Like I said, I tend to stick with providers for 2-3 years as I had done with shaw in spite of their continual increase in charge and lowering of the cap. I understand a contract may scare a lot of people, but to me contracts don't scare me, and I am willing to ride it out and see how it goes. More than likely it will be good. If it does go bad, I can cut my losses.

More than likely, I won't have to.

For me, with the savings I already have made and will make going forward, I can cancel and come out at least even compared to not signing a contract.

Oh, and I got a free Xbox out of it.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by I_H8_Crawford

For me, with the savings I already have made and will make going forward, I can cancel and come out at least even compared to not signing a contract.

Oh, and I got a free Xbox out of it.

But you would have the savings without a contract, so you can't count them in determining if the contact is a good idea.

[HOOT]

I wish I could get Teksavvy here, just watching that guy in that interview makes me want to support his business.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by HOOT

I wish I could get Teksavvy here, just watching that guy in that interview makes me want to support his business.

I totally agree.

Now that they won't be forced to tack on these overages, I am going to seriously investigate their services.

[Tinordi]

I was with Teksavvy for over a year, have nothing but very positive experiences with them. Fantastic customer service.

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by theonlywhiteout

Kevin O'Leary is a pig. Pure and simple. I was trying to force choke him thru my monitor by the end.

At the very least he should show a little journalistic integrity and not comment on this subject when he's a Bell shareholder.

I was very impressed by George Burger's comments, and I'm going to consider Teksavvy as well. I looked into them awhile ago after hearing about their great service, but they only had DSL at the time and couldn't compete with Shaw's speed.

[TheyCallMeBruce]

Originally Posted by Rathji

I don't have time to dig up the service agreement, but this FAQ on DSL reports, which was updated in October 2010 shows the state of Telus billing at that time.


Earlier in this thread, it was corrected with different bandwidth caps, but I am assuming the rest of the information is correct. I also assume that one of many Telus employees who frequent this thread can tell us how up to date the info is. Going by these numbers, Telus will charge twice as much per GB, on a comparable plan, than Shaw does for overages.

If this info is wrong, then I withdraw my statement that switching to Telus would be a bad idea based on UBB alone, but given the responses so far in this thread, by people who seem to be "in the know with Telus" I have no reason to doubt them.

The information above is posted 4 months ago, so I'm not sure how much as changed. Also, it doesn't mention Telus Optik. Telus High Speed and so on are different from my understanding because it doesn't come packaged with Telus Optik TV. Also utilizing different technology

http://www.telus.com/content/internet/

Plus if the exceeded limit is true, then $2 per gig would be the same as Shaw. I don't know how that can be worst. If anything, it's the same overage charge.