Review by shabdizi 
UPDATED: 194 days ago
member for 248 days, 24 visits, last login: 60 days ago
 Beaconsfield,QC
 $60 per month (month by month)
 "Fast & reliable."
 "Expensive.Very low download limits."
 "Competition(eg acanac.com) is far better value for money"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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I have high speed internet package on a monthly basis with videotron ISP.I have been on this package since August of 1999.The download limits have not changed as far as I can remember(20GB download,10GB upload and now 30GB combined+$8/GB if over the limit to $50 max/month) even though the internet has changed since 1999!The price has not come down either.I am paying about the same as 1999 + a few dollars.
I think I am going to switch to acanac ISP(acanac.com).For about $240 per year(all taxes included) for a one year contract + $50 for a DSL modem(download speed 5mbps,upload speed 800kbps)and UNLIMITED download and upload limit.Available in my area(Montreal).Acanac automatically renews your contract after the first year and at a higher rate of about $35/month unless you give them one month notice to not renew and not charge your credit card.It is all in the user agreement.
Followup comments:  jeanc1
join:2001-07-02
Quebec, QC
 ·Videotron
| My experience with Acanac 
Let me tell you my experience with ACANAC -
This Feb23th i gave my notice of non-renewal to Videotron so I could shop around for a better deal -- this after 14 years with Videotron on the Extreme Tier !
I did go to all the trouble of getting a Dry Line and a DSL Modem in order to hook up ACANAC DSL. Paid my $227.40 + $96 for the dry line = $323.40 + 54.72 for a modem.
I was connected on Mar 15th and started to use it just like I was using it Videotron. Didn't change my habits , just my routinely surfing , streaming,a bit of gaming and the odd P2P download.
First shock was the unstable speed both in Download and Upload -- Tests were varying by as much as a few 1000's slower -- then the "**good" DSL speed of 6000/615 . It would create havoc with downloads ! **I am one of the lucky one, located less then 1.2Km from Bell Remote; if you stretch this to a few kilometers , you will rarely achieve more then 3500/500 speeds.
Streaming videos or music became a pain... stuttering , breakups...! Useless 50% of the time. Gaming was of the same caliber...!
Then at 4pm sharp till 2am, each day --- the P2P downloads were jammed at 30Kb/s --- That is the throttling on all DSL connections imposed by Bell Canada . Nothing you can do less you use a Tunnelier , and even then you will get frequent disconnects : you'll have to sit in front of that PC to re-login each time it disconnects !
After 10 days of this nighmarish situation , I figured that i would rather pay an extra $25 a month and have something I could live with ! I renewed my Videotron Account .... and got a Refund from ACANAC. Never again on "cheap" DSL , I'll wait for the 2012 version !
Acanac is a good company , they try their best and I must say they do live up to their Refund Policy within the first 30 days. There was no hardship in getting it.
You may be satisfied with DSL , so do as you wish , but :-
Dont forget ... ""The grass may look greener on the other side of the fence but maybe it ai'nt GRASS ""
Cheers !
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|  | shabdizi
join:2009-03-22
Beaconsfield, QC
·Videotron
| Re: My experience with Acanac Thank you for sharing your experience with acanac.com.
Difficult to find that sort of info anywhere and very useful to know.The acanac.com one month refund policy is reassuring,in case because of geographical or technical reasons the connection is no good. | |
| | | shabdizi
join:2009-03-22
Beaconsfield, QC
·Videotron
| Re: My experience with Acanac On Thursday before the Easter weekend of 2009 I applied on line and paid for a one yearcontract of acanac dsl service for $18.50 per month INCLUDING TAX and UNLIMITED Download and upload plus $50 for their modem.I received the modem by Fedex on Monday and by Tuesday could connect to the internet and within a week had reached my current speeds of average 3.5 Mbps download and 0.6Mbps upload.Customer service response was very fast,friendly and helpful and has been up to now.
For ten years I had Videotron high speed internet with 30 Gb download+upload per month with gigabytes over the monthly limit charged at $8/G with a max of $50 extra per month.I paid after the $10 discount for Tv subscribers about $60/month including tax.
Today it is about one and half months that I have acanac dsl and so far have been very satisfied and very happy not to have to pay Videotron for their overpriced and over complicated packages for internet.My speeds are roughly half of what they were with Videotron but I pay about A THIRD of what I used to pay.
That is why I strongly recommend switching from videotron to Acanac! | |
| | | | jeanc1
join:2001-07-02
Quebec, QC
·Videotron
| Re: My experience with Acanac You forgot to mention a few things !!
Service with Acanac is during business hours ONLY -- none on weekends -- and it's done via email. Let's hope your connection does not go sour on a friday -- you'll have to wait till Monday, my friend.
Acanac is a reseller of bandwidth -- you must deal with BELL yourself if the connection is at fault. Acanac cannot do anything for you but pass the buck to BELL.
Your download speed becomes less then 30kb/s from 4pm. till 2am every day due to Bell throttling. If you use BitVise Tunnelier , or any other program to get around the throttling , you may get a hefty penalty from Bell Canada.
Presently Bell Canada is in front of the CRTC to cap all resellers to 60GB - you may get a shock on your unlimited downloads comes this June.
Second year servive with ACANAC is $404.70 in advance debited to your credit card. - And make sure you send them a notification 30 days in advance if you want to cancel -- cause they wont remind you your contract is near the end.
One big flaw --- seeing you are on VIDEOTRON's Forum --- Videotron is a Québec company , where FRENCH is the official language , ACANAC does not offer ANY FRENCH speaking personnel -- they operate from Toronto. So unless you are perfectly bilingual, you are gonna hit a wall with ACANAC.
Good luck with your gaming , your video streaming (Youtube), your P2P downloading ect....ect... comes 4PM -- unless you are a night person and you feel like waiting till 2AM. --
Perhaps ACANAC is not so hot after all for people in Quebec , maybe you should make your recommendation on a Toronto ISP Forum -- it would be much more relevant.
Have a great day ! | |
| | | | | 
Acanac Inc
Premium
join:2007-03-05
Mississauga, ON
4 edits | Re: My experience with Acanac " Service with acanac is during business hours ONLY"
Not true. We offer email support 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Phone support is offered from 9AM to 12AM Monday through Friday.
"-- none on weekends -- and it's done via email. Let's hope your connection does not go sour on a friday -- you'll have to wait till Monday, my friend."
Email support is offered on the weekends.
"acanac is a reseller of bandwidth -- you must deal with BELL yourself if the connection is at fault. acanac cannot do anything for you but pass the buck to BELL."
Although we do depend on Bell for the last mile of service we have our own bandwidth carries. We do not reseller Bell's bandwidth.
"Your download speed becomes less then 30kb/s from 4pm. till 2am every day due to Bell throttling. If you use BitVise Tunnelier , or any other program to get around the throttling , you may get a hefty penalty from Bell Canada."
What penalty are you referring too? Never heard of such a thing and this service has been offered for nearly 1 year. Remember your not a Bell client your an Acanac client.
"Presently Bell Canada is in front of the CRTC to cap all resellers to 60GB - you may get a shock on your unlimited downloads comes this June."
No decision will be made at least until July. In either case we will do our best to protect current and future clients.
"Second year servive with acanac is $404.70 in advance debited to your credit card. - And make sure you send them a notification 30 days in advance if you want to cancel -- cause they wont remind you your contract is near the end."
Clients can also pay on 1, 3, 6 and 12 month terms. The higher the term the lower the rate.
"One big flaw --- seeing you are on VIDEOTRON's Forum --- Videotron is a Québec company , where FRENCH is the official language , acanac does not offer ANY FRENCH speaking personnel -- they operate from Toronto. So unless you are perfectly bilingual, you are gonna hit a wall with acanac."
Not true. We do have a few French speaking representatives. More will be added over time.
"Good luck with your gaming , your video streaming (Youtube), your P2P downloading ect....ect... comes 4PM -- unless you are a night person and you feel like waiting till 2AM. --"
Come 4PM you should not notice and difference as long as you use our workarounds. You also have a 30 day money back period to try out the service for yourself. I am not asking for any blind faith. Try it for your self and if we can not meet your needs please just request a full refund within the first 30 days. | |
| | | | | | shabdizi
join:2009-03-22
Beaconsfield, QC
·Videotron
| Re: My experience with Acanac Thanks for the two reply posts.Since my subscription to Acanac from the 9th of April 2009,and having had one month of getting a full refund,I can report that I am essentially satisfied with their service so far.If I encounter problems in the future I will try to mention them here.
I have not so far experienced the most serious potential problem mentioned,that of 30kbps in prime time evenings and throttling etc.As I wrote in my first post my download and upload speeds have been stable.
As for the caps being reduced in the future,I believe that the one year contract of unlimited caps has to be honoured till the end of the term by Acanac and that they can not in the middle of the term suddenly change to limited caps.
Thinking about Videotron and Acanac I am reminded of staying at hotels with different star ratings.If Videotron is a five star then Acanac is a three or two star but you get a descent,clean room and can sleep the night for a third of the price and should not expect the little luxuries(such as telephone support in the middle of the night or 7mbp/s downloads or mints on your bed before retiring.) | |
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