# Alternatives to Bell/Rogers? Teksavvy? Others?



## Siwash

Anyone have experience with Teksavvy? I am sick of Rogers/Bell rates.. trying to fin cheaper alternatives that are still reliable..


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## Ag Driver

Deleted


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## bgc_fan

Ag Driver said:


> Start.
> 
> It works off of the Rogers network. Excellent and cheap service. I have had zero issues for almost 3 years now.


That would be the Cable version of Teksavvy, depending on your location.

I was using the DSL version that used the Bell lines. For the most part I was fine, although I had a wierd problem that the internet would drop daily for a few minutes at a specific time. Teksavvy wasn't able to help, and as a last ditch they suggested that they could arrange for Bell to check the lines, but it would cost to get a Bell technician to come out. I declined, and a few months later, the problem resolved itself as it didn't drop any more. Don't really know what was wrong, but it seemed like it was something scheduled because it wasn't affected by daylight savings time, i.e. instead of dropping at 6 pm, it would then drop at 5 pm.


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## Userkare

I was with Teksavvy cable a few years ago. They were fine; no issues. I switched to VMedia to get IPTV, and it was not a good experience at all, to say the least. When I decided to leave VMedia, the prices of Teksavvy had gone up; so rather than go back to them, I went with Start.ca cable. It was the same quality as I had with Teksavvy, and the prices were a bit less.

Although all the independent cable ISPs use Rogers lines ( in Rogers territory ), their quality is affected by the amount of bandwidth they pre-purchase from Rogers. If they don't buy enough, they have to throttle the throughput of all their users. It's a difficult balancing act for them to pre-order the right amount, not too little and throttle users, not too much and lose money. Some ISPs are good at it, some are not.

I have had no success at all with DSL - I'm more than 6 km from the nearest node.


You can look for customer reviews here.... https://www.dslreports.com/isplist?c=ca


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## chantl01

I'm extremely happy with Teksavvy, after switching from Rogers cable internet about three years ago now. Teksavvy advises ahead of time of any planned outages. It also proactively communicates any changes in its rate structure, and advises customers on their options including the fact that you can cancel at any time without penalty. We've had no technical issues using Teksavvy, including our original transition from Rogers which happened smoothly, exactly as and when advised.


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## scorpion_ca

Is DSL or Cable option better?


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## Getafix

Another vote for Smart Communication, cheap & reliable. I pay $35 for 10mpbs with a 100GB monthly limit.


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## Siwash

Just curious to know if it would work well in my location. We are in a "semi-rural" area... on the oakridges moraine north of Toronto, but still GTA. We aren't far from the 400 highway, but the cell service is TERRIBLE here, so much so that we had to get land lines. Currently we are with rodgers. I am looking at dropping my cable service and get Apple TV or similar and stream stuff to watch. 

Only concern is whether we will get good internet coverage with a small outfit...


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## Kail

Siwash said:


> Just curious to know if it would work well in my location. We are in a "semi-rural" area... on the oakridges moraine north of Toronto, but still GTA. We aren't far from the 400 highway, but the cell service is TERRIBLE here, so much so that we had to get land lines. Currently we are with rodgers. I am looking at dropping my cable service and get Apple TV or similar and stream stuff to watch.
> 
> Only concern is whether we will get good internet coverage with a small outfit...


It would be the same as if you were with Rogers. I thought about moving to one of the smaller providers, but ended up just cancelling my cable and getting a better internet connection with Rogers. I was lucky and got the 100mb unlimited package for $48.01 a month tax in for a year which is far better than anyone else could have done. Once that year is up it will obviously increase, but you just play the cancel game again and get a better deal.


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## Koogie

I recently moved and switched from Acanac to Teksavvy. Both are/have been good. Teksavvy is a little more user friendly. Acanac has more negative online feedback but I never had reason to complain. 

Do you know how much downloading you do per month ? If under 150, Teksavvy is particularly cheap.


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## Siwash

Koogie said:


> I recently moved and switched from Acanac to Teksavvy. Both are/have been good. Teksavvy is a little more user friendly. Acanac has more negative online feedback but I never had reason to complain.
> 
> Do you know how much downloading you do per month ? If under 150, Teksavvy is particularly cheap.


Not sure... we want to switch to APPLE TV or similar to stream stuff to watch... all my friends have gone this route and do not use cable anymore... we watch about 4 to 7 movies per month, 3 hockey games per week, soccer during big tourneys and Champions League and the wife watches several HBO style series per week... very few sitcoms... a few kids shows...we also watch the local and national news... 

I hate cable b/c we are paying for tons of channels we don't watch... but i am worried about getting good NHL streaming and local stations with the method..


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## My Own Advisor

I recall you get NHL Gamecenter free with some Rogers internet packages.


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## indexxx

In the Vancouver area there is Surf Internet, formerly IAAK. Their wireless home internet is about $35/month unlimited bandwidth, great service.


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## DollaWine

Using Distributel in Durham region, no complaints. Fast, good customer service. In all of 2015 the internet was down maybe like... 3 times.

25 download, 10 upload, *unlimited* bandwidth + Canadian unlimited calling for $83 taxes in.


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## MDavey

I'm using TekSavvy currently, have been for over a year. No issues whatsoever. 
Great internet - fast, always reliable and easy to reach support if needed (for technical, billings etc.).

I'm on the DSL 400GB a month plan ($55). Unlimited downloading from 3AM-6AM (I think or something like that!).

I used to have voice over internet protocol phone (VOIP Phone), which also worked like a charm and I was able to save on my month expenses!


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## MrMatt

I've got teksavvy, love the free upload (cloud backup)

Know others with start and they're happy.

Rogers & Bell might have nice intro deals, but over time the Third party providers do better. Plus the techs seem much more capable when you call.


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## Xoron

Just got a notice today that Teksavvy is upping my DSL costs. Not a huge increase, and only the second one I've gotten in the 7 years I've been with them.

10/10, would recommend.


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## smihaila

In the DSL front, I guess Teksavvy is still the best.
But for Cable / DOCSIS, out of:
- Teksavvy
- Distributel
- Start Communication

=> Start was the winner, price vs. service quality wise!


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## Siwash

Also looking for TV alternatives... anyone using antenna along with streaming using devices like Apple TV or ROKU?


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## smihaila

Siwash said:


> Also looking for TV alternatives... anyone using antenna along with streaming using devices like Apple TV or ROKU?


If you are technical and DIY-er, you can't go wrong with a custom-built HTPC (Home-Theatre PC), Netflix, Hulu, Sling TV or even a DVB-S2 satellite tuner card with Turbo 8PSK modulation (i.e Skywalker-2) and a nice free DVB-S PVR application (the best to me is/was http://sichbopvr.com made by a Canadian)


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## Siwash

smihaila said:


> If you are technical and DIY-er, you can't go wrong with a custom-built HTPC (Home-Theatre PC), Netflix, Hulu, Sling TV or even a DVB-S2 satellite tuner card with Turbo 8PSK modulation (i.e Skywalker-2) and a nice free DVB-S PVR application (the best to me is/was http://sichbopvr.com made by a Canadian)


Not technical at all so probably rules me out since I don't understand your post!! :stupid:


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## smihaila

No problem. I think this is a very informative article and it suits your situation best:
http://www.moneytalksnews.com/roku-apple-tv-and-google-tv-which-streaming-device-should-you-buy/

[and this, having also interesting peoples' comments: http://www.moneytalksnews.com/you-dont-have-to-pay-for-cable-tv/ ]


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## Siwash

thank you!


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## Newby1983

Another vote for Start.ca. Cheaper than the big players, 1 ring and a live person answers, and monthly bills are very easy to understand. Only problem is the delay in getting technicians out if you ever have a problem. With rogers I think it's less than a day, with start because they use rogers technicians it takes 3-4 days.


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## Koogie

Siwash said:


> Also looking for TV alternatives... anyone using antenna along with streaming using devices like Apple TV or ROKU?


I am. Using antenna and Chromecast. Works great, especially with android devices or the Chrome web browser. Anything you want to watch that is available on a LOT of supported apps (Youtube, Netlifx, etc..) and you can also cast anything you open in a Chrome web browser tab (we cast BBC UK to the tv from my laptop).


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## Koogie

Xoron said:


> Just got a notice today that Teksavvy is upping my DSL costs. Not a huge increase, and only the second one I've gotten in the 7 years I've been with them.
> 
> 10/10, would recommend.


Yes, I got my notice to. A $1 a month increase. Still keeps my service under $30 a month though, so no complaints. I had a modem issue about two weeks ago. Their "Tek" support (haha) talked me through a hard reboot and getting into it to change settings. This on a modem that they didn't supply. That is ancient. I call that good customer service.


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## borisdavenport

*never trust any online reviews*



Koogie said:


> I recently moved and switched from Acanac to Teksavvy. Both are/have been good. Teksavvy is a little more user friendly. Acanac has more negative online feedback but I never had reason to complain.
> 
> Do you know how much downloading you do per month ? If under 150, Teksavvy is particularly cheap.



Howdy koogie, 

we are using the 60Mps home internet cable connection of Acanac https://www.acanac.com/quebec-cable-internet-detail/?package=cable10&term=12&usage=Capped . I never faced any issues with the connection speed. Previously we had a DSL connection having a low bandwidth from another carrier . My son asked me to upgrade the connection so that he can play some live online games. Now I can also watch Netflix and youtube without any buffering issues. I heard that there are people out there to write positive reviews for online promotions and negative reviews against the competitors. We can't trust anything shown in online. :rugby::rugby::rugby:


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## borisdavenport

DSL is having comparatively lower bandwidth than cable(Coaxial ). OFC is having higher bandwidth than other conventional channels. While at my office in FL I am getting a minimum downloading speed of 10 MB per second. That was a VPS connection.


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## james4beach

I used teksavvy in Toronto and loved it ... what a great small ISP.

~ Winnipeg ~

Along these lines - though this is more oriented to business - I saw this amazing story out of Winnipeg about LES.NET
Tiny telco beats big boys with downtown Internet service 100 times faster than Bell's Gigabit Fibe

While Bell (having taken over MTS) was bragging about gigabit speed internet _coming soon_ to downtown Winnipeg (the Exchange District), this small company already provides internet connections at up to 100 Gbps which is 100x the speed Bell is saying is coming. It's largely run by one guy, Les Bester, who _personally lays fiberoptic cables_ downtown. Notably, the service offers symmetric gigabit speed which means equally high speed downstream and upstream, which is essential for businesses.

Bell/MTS and Shaw gigabit internet, symmetric for business, is priced at about $5000 to $6000 a month from what I read. LES.NET provides it for $600/month, about one-tenth the cost of the big telcos.

~ Vancouver ~

In Vancouver, for residential internet check out Novus which runs their own fiber connections to buildings
http://www.novusnow.ca/

I haven't used it myself but a friend (with whom I collaborate with on an internet project) uses this, is very pleased with them, and I can attest to the fact that the service is reliable and damned fast. I use his internet connection for part of our project and his residential internet connection is faster and more reliable than my own residential internet, as well as business-class services I use in the US.


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## darylshriver

Definitely go with Tek Savvy - their customer service is outstanding and as aforementioned, they work off the Rogers network.


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## ctc323

ive been with techsavvy for a few years, no issues!


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## mark0f0

A little birdie told me that T-Mobile's "Free Data For Life" works perfectly well in Canada on tablets if you activate your unlocked 4G supported tablet in the United States with a T-Mobile SIM on prepaid. If you use a supported device, its basically free cell service. I use mine primarily for email, online stock trading through my broker's app, and Pokémon GO over the summer, and still didn't come close to the 200mb limit.

I have even removed the card, and placed it in my 4G supported laptop, while purchasing a $10/1GB weekly prepaid data plan. Sure is nice for the kids and for travelling, to be able to basically have Internet anywhere there's a cell tower in Canada, and much of the USA in T-Mobile's coverage area.


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## darylshriver

I'm actually with Virgin Mobile and they offered me a good deal on internet - around $50 a month or so. I'm already with TekSavvy so I didn't bother, and I'm not sure if you have to be a current VM customer. . . worth a try though.


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