Getting Internet in Vancouver
Last week I had the opportunity to get try and get internet service from multiple providers. This really wasn't by choice, but now I can write a review of each of these options.
Vancouver for the most part is a duopoly between Telus and Shaw. With couple of smaller ones serving specific areas. This is largely because the two companies own the two big communication networks in Vancouver. One owns all the coaxial cables the other owns all the telephone cables. If hydro decided to provide internet, it will be through the powerlines, which would be pretty cool too.
This is not to say there aren't other affordable choices for internet, but I'll get to those in a bit.
My ordeal with Telus:
Telus requires about two weeks to setup your internet, from your initial request. The cable modem arrived in a couple of days, but the jiggering of the phone cables, and the like had to wait a little longer. The appointment with the techs are all day appointment. That is that you have to wait between 8am-5pm for them, and they can show up at any time. They missed two of my appointments, without ever calling me to tell me that I was bumped. I had to call them as to the reason why a tech didn't show up. I only found out that I was bumped, after calling them, they didn't call me. The customer support was just as bad.
On trying to make a third appointment to get connected they could not guarantee that someone would actually come, it would once again be an all day appointment. I eventually canceled the request of service from Telus. They didn't deserve my business after missing an appointment with me twice, not calling, and can't guarantee a third appointment. The quote from the Retention specialist "The chances are pretty slim that you'll be bumped a third time."
To add insult to Injury, I got a call to answer a survey on customer satisfaction for Telus. It was automated, and it assumed the technician had come. The second question started "When the tech came, did they show you a business card." I just laughed and hung up after that. Also today, they cut my dad's internet, and won't give it back for a week, cause he wanted to change the name on the account. Overall, the quality of service for Telus is bad, and full of delays.
Summary:
Initial Connect time: 2 weeks
Tech appointment : all day 8am-5pm
Guarantee that a tech will show up: None
Number of missed appointments: 2
Wave Mobile:
After Telus I want to get a Wave USB key. The customer service was excellent, and there was no waiting for a tech. All of which are huge bonuses after dealing with Telus. However, for my apartment wave doesn't work very well. I'm not sure if this is a hardware design issue, or something to do with their network. You expect these issues, and I'm not too surprised that it happen. But the connection problems I had with them made the service not suitable for my needs. When it did work, it was as fast as High speed internet from the other providers. Unfortunately for wave, I also had and iPhone, which proved to be much more reliable. So, I'm returning wave. It's really nice that they have a full money back guarantee if you return stuff withing 14 days. It was worth trying, and I'm kind of sad that it didn't work out for me. Maybe I'm just in a bad area for their reception.
Summary:
Initial Connect time: Same day
Tech appointments: None
Problems: Connections issues, clunky implementation when compared to iPhone tethering.
Service: Excellent customer service. Though, I'm returning it, if their network gets better I may come back.
Shaw:
Well, I've moved onto to Shaw. The experience with Shaw was much better. I signed up through the internet, and they called the next day, and that was the earliest time I specified that they could call. The tech guy can come within 2 days, and you get a 2 hour window when they'll come. Also you can choose this window. I can't really compare the customer service of Shaw with Telus, because I haven't had to deal with Shaw for a problem. But the wait time, and the response time of Shaw seems much faster than Telus. Their price is a couple dollars more. I'll update after the Tech guy comes.
FIDO/IPHONE:
As a stop gap measure, I've been using my iPhone, and it worked very well. The speeds were equivalent to that of Shaw and Telus, there was no tech, and no setup time. All I needed was an USB cable to my computer. The down side to the iPhone, is the high bandwidth cost when you go over your limit, and there's no limit on how much they can charge you. This is where Wave was better than Fido. While Wave charges you a flat fee and reserve the right to throttle your bandwidth, which in my mind a sensible compromise the other carriers just charge you a big whack of money if you go over. The limits aren't very big so as a main internet connection, this can be an every expensive option. The big advantage the iPhone has over the wave is that I never loose connection. The two systems are implemented differently, and the iPhone/phone tethering methods is superior to that of the USB Key solution.
Cons: unlimited price ceiling
Initial Service: Same day
Techs: None
Pros: Very reliable, mobile, high speed.
Vancouver for the most part is a duopoly between Telus and Shaw. With couple of smaller ones serving specific areas. This is largely because the two companies own the two big communication networks in Vancouver. One owns all the coaxial cables the other owns all the telephone cables. If hydro decided to provide internet, it will be through the powerlines, which would be pretty cool too.
This is not to say there aren't other affordable choices for internet, but I'll get to those in a bit.
My ordeal with Telus:
Telus requires about two weeks to setup your internet, from your initial request. The cable modem arrived in a couple of days, but the jiggering of the phone cables, and the like had to wait a little longer. The appointment with the techs are all day appointment. That is that you have to wait between 8am-5pm for them, and they can show up at any time. They missed two of my appointments, without ever calling me to tell me that I was bumped. I had to call them as to the reason why a tech didn't show up. I only found out that I was bumped, after calling them, they didn't call me. The customer support was just as bad.
On trying to make a third appointment to get connected they could not guarantee that someone would actually come, it would once again be an all day appointment. I eventually canceled the request of service from Telus. They didn't deserve my business after missing an appointment with me twice, not calling, and can't guarantee a third appointment. The quote from the Retention specialist "The chances are pretty slim that you'll be bumped a third time."
To add insult to Injury, I got a call to answer a survey on customer satisfaction for Telus. It was automated, and it assumed the technician had come. The second question started "When the tech came, did they show you a business card." I just laughed and hung up after that. Also today, they cut my dad's internet, and won't give it back for a week, cause he wanted to change the name on the account. Overall, the quality of service for Telus is bad, and full of delays.
Summary:
Initial Connect time: 2 weeks
Tech appointment : all day 8am-5pm
Guarantee that a tech will show up: None
Number of missed appointments: 2
Wave Mobile:
After Telus I want to get a Wave USB key. The customer service was excellent, and there was no waiting for a tech. All of which are huge bonuses after dealing with Telus. However, for my apartment wave doesn't work very well. I'm not sure if this is a hardware design issue, or something to do with their network. You expect these issues, and I'm not too surprised that it happen. But the connection problems I had with them made the service not suitable for my needs. When it did work, it was as fast as High speed internet from the other providers. Unfortunately for wave, I also had and iPhone, which proved to be much more reliable. So, I'm returning wave. It's really nice that they have a full money back guarantee if you return stuff withing 14 days. It was worth trying, and I'm kind of sad that it didn't work out for me. Maybe I'm just in a bad area for their reception.
Summary:
Initial Connect time: Same day
Tech appointments: None
Problems: Connections issues, clunky implementation when compared to iPhone tethering.
Service: Excellent customer service. Though, I'm returning it, if their network gets better I may come back.
Shaw:
Well, I've moved onto to Shaw. The experience with Shaw was much better. I signed up through the internet, and they called the next day, and that was the earliest time I specified that they could call. The tech guy can come within 2 days, and you get a 2 hour window when they'll come. Also you can choose this window. I can't really compare the customer service of Shaw with Telus, because I haven't had to deal with Shaw for a problem. But the wait time, and the response time of Shaw seems much faster than Telus. Their price is a couple dollars more. I'll update after the Tech guy comes.
FIDO/IPHONE:
As a stop gap measure, I've been using my iPhone, and it worked very well. The speeds were equivalent to that of Shaw and Telus, there was no tech, and no setup time. All I needed was an USB cable to my computer. The down side to the iPhone, is the high bandwidth cost when you go over your limit, and there's no limit on how much they can charge you. This is where Wave was better than Fido. While Wave charges you a flat fee and reserve the right to throttle your bandwidth, which in my mind a sensible compromise the other carriers just charge you a big whack of money if you go over. The limits aren't very big so as a main internet connection, this can be an every expensive option. The big advantage the iPhone has over the wave is that I never loose connection. The two systems are implemented differently, and the iPhone/phone tethering methods is superior to that of the USB Key solution.
Cons: unlimited price ceiling
Initial Service: Same day
Techs: None
Pros: Very reliable, mobile, high speed.