How Screwed Am I?
How Screwed Am I?
The ISP I’m working with has to operate through Bell-owned lines, which is the standard across Canada. Any provider other than Bell or Rogers must rely on their own infrastructure. In short, everything works fine from my side, but there’s a 4% packet loss and ping spikes up to 2,000 ms on the Bell network. They forwarded the issue, but since I’m on the Bell side, they seem unlikely to resolve it. I’m the only one in this remote area doing something noticeable—gaming or streaming—and I doubt I’m a priority. If I’m the only one complaining, maybe I should consider switching ISPs. It’s been two weeks, and I’m growing frustrated. I can’t handle more than an hour without a major disruption that ruins my experience. It feels like stuck in the 90s—everything glitches and crashes. Online gaming is especially frustrating. I think we covered everything possible (router upgrades, etc.), but it’s still on Bell’s shoulders. You never know who might help. They promised a response within 24 hours, but after 12 hours with no update, it’s clear they’re not taking it seriously. The weekend is approaching, so I’m worried they’ll ignore the problem until Monday. Right now, it seems this is mostly out of my control. A new ISP might be appealing, but the only real options are small companies using Bell or Rogers lines. They won’t offer a data cap on a DATA CAP FREE plan again, and Rogers still doesn’t provide one in my area—plus their speeds here are terrible. I’m tired of Canadian internet. You’re lucky if you get Comcast instead. Hope they pick up on this.
I used to have CenturyLink, which was completely terrible as an ISP. Now Comcast comes along—though it's not perfect, it's reliable enough. You sometimes blame the provider instead of changing your payment.
Comcast imposes data limits in various regions. Extra charges add up to $50 beyond your regular plan. They’re also criticized for slowing internet speeds, which led to the introduction of net neutrality rules. Once those rules are removed, they may revert to previous practices. For many American ISPs, you can anticipate price hikes twice a year.
You’re definitely at a real slow speed. Streaming isn’t possible since your upload is only 0.6. That’s it—0.6. You need to decide what matters most. Honestly, Americans don’t care much about internet quality, so come back and see how things change here. We’re facing two options: go for the bell or go for Rogers. You can try a smaller provider, but it’s unclear who owns the lines and servers. Yeah, we do have some choices, but our real focus is on who will push you down. This data-free internet is pretty rare, and the speeds are far below what you’re used to. Don’t even think about getting frustrated with throttling—people call them a few times before they finally stop. It’s illegal here, but do you really care? Not really. They’ll keep pushing capped plans and slamming you if you go over the limits. In reality, it’s just worse than it seems, especially compared to what you’re used to.
We’ve secured a backup for the train system. There’s nothing we need to worry about. For those in rural spots, the connection is pretty limited—just about 3 Mbps DSL. The only places with such speeds are cities where people like us live. Some folks here are stuck with Satellite or LTE options. I have one option: Comcast. AT&T has stopped covering our area, so they can set whatever rates they want. They recently got the Golden Poo Award for being the worst company in America twice in a row.
If the issues persist, whether with Bell or TPIA, it’s up to Bell to resolve them. A ticket stays a ticket. Plus, TPIA options are more affordable than existing ones.
She uses Comcast and they’re really bad. The coax line runs straight through the living room—which is a big deal—and they won’t fix it. Her mom slipped on it during a visit, and she only got half the speed she paid for. They finally fixed it when I was there, after I showed them it was their mistake. She pays more than me but gets worse service. I’m lucky to have a better ISP with solid speeds and good support, even if they’re not everywhere.
Usually they avoid handling door wiring since it isn’t their expertise. Their job is limited to connecting from the outside grounding point to the pole. They charge more for indoor work too. They also hire the worst contractors available. Luckily, the Comcast network in my area gets good maintenance. I get about 20% faster speed than what I pay for.