 Review by jeisenberg 
UPDATED: 154 days ago
member for 7.1 years, 1934 visits, last login: 2 days ago
 Windsor,ON
 $44 per month
 about 3 days
 "Excellent speed, continuous speed improvement"
 "Some congestion in my area leads to slow d/l speeds at times"
 "High Availability and Excellent speed - the only way to fly!"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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I've been a satisfied Cogeco customer for years. I was one of those who attended the Cogeco rollout in Windsor (still proudly wear my T-shirt) and have been a fan since the beginning. Cogeco started out slowly here, with frequent outages and lacklustre speed.
But as the kinks got worked out, speed and availability increased to the point where I can't think of a reason why *any* other carrier in this city has any clients.
As a standard package residential user, the Cogeco website currently promises up to 5000/640 performance, with no rise in price. I have been recently getting speeds in excess of 4500/600 on the Cogeco Speedtest. And that's without any tweaking or other attempts to optimize the connection.
When I moved to this residence, I prearranged to have Cogeco come on moving day to install the cable/internet service. They came when promised (at the beginning of the installation window timeframe) and had me up and running in under an hour (the wiring in this old house was quite complex, and they managed to crawl through the attic to do the wiring).
I have the full Digital Bundle with Internet, and wouldn't ever want to switch.
When I got a wireless router, I had problems setting up a network connection. Despite their policy of not providing support for networking, they still were able to suggest procedures that helped me work out the problems.
Update: Recently (June 2004), Cogeco began experimenting with 5500KBps download speeds. My Samsung Inforanger modem did not seem capable of supporting the higher speeds. Cogeco support suggested I trade in the modem for another, and Cogeco staff at the Windsor storefront offered me an RCA DCM315 modem without my asking. I am now getting the full speed available to Standard HiSpeed customers.
Update: (September 2005)
I'm still extremely satisfied with Cogeco's internet offering. The speed and service I get are phenomenal (this extends to Cogeco Digital Cable as well - and soon I'll be getting Cogeco VOIP). I specially enjoy being able to see the free credits I've earned for recommending Cogeco to family and friends. So far, no one has been unhappy with the Cogeco service.
Update: (March 2006)
Cogeco continues to be an awesome ISP. Since my last review in September, Cogeco has increased download speeds twice... it now sits at over 7Mbps. I've been a Cogeco VOIP customer since October or November and am very satisfied with that service, and now am using the HDTV channels upgrade to my digital cable service.
Update: (December 2006)
I just got a tickler from DSLR asking me to consider updating my review. And well I should, since the official supported download speed has increased to 10mbps, and I regularly get between 7800 - 9200 during speed tests. I'm pretty satisfied for the most part, and Cogeco service continues to be helpful (both the official and unofficial channels). Monthly fees have risen about $3/month since my last review, but it's the first increase in some time.
Update: (October 2007)
I understand Cogeco has recently begun enforcing the bit-caps and I couldn't be happier. As a customer who very rarely downloads anything and who doesn't use peer-to-peer file sharing networks, I've always been annoyed that a few bad apples can ruin the entire node's performance. Now that Cogeco is cracking down, I'm witnessing several acquaintances getting the warnings and service suspensions that I believe have been long overdue. This can only result in a network with perhaps fewer clients, but significantly less bandwidth stealing -- resulting in significant improvements in network performance. It's still the only game in town for serious speed.
Update: (March 2008)
My only real complaint about Cogeco has been the software fault in the PVR series record feature. I received assurances in a confidential communication back in January 2007 that the problem would be fixed by November 2007 - and then the deadline was pushed to February 2008. The problem persists, and my confidence in Cogeco's ability to either fix the problem or exert influence with those who can fix the problem is now completely eroded. My downgrades in the area of support, services, and value for money reflect my frustration with television service, not internet.
Followup comments:  
aardvvark
@cgocable.net
|  Selfish
Wow. So you're happy that others are getting shat on. Nice. You don't care about anyone other than yourself, I see. A very poor attitude to take in life. YOU may not "download" anything, but many thousands of other people enjoy (LEGALLY, read through that giant thread on the Cogeco forum) keeping up with the times. Why do you even bother with 10Mb? Go on the lite package.
Fail to stand up for others and you fail to stand up for yourself. Enjoy your draconian ISP. Sad. | |
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jeisenberg
New Year's Eve
join:2001-07-06
Windsor, ON
 ·Cogeco Cable
| Re: Selfish Anyone who breaks posted rules shouldn't be surprised or upset when they're called to task.
I drive over the speed limit on a pretty regular basis, but I do it in moderation. That means I am aware that I could be pulled over at any time even though it's not likely; and I don't have any excuse when it actually happens.
I don't see any difference in these scenarios, and I certainly have no grounds to call others "selfish" if they are happy I get an occasional speeding ticket.
And if zero-tolerance ever became the enforcement standard, I'd just slow down. | |
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aardvvark
@cgocable.net
| Re: Selfish The speed limit analogy was thoroughly shot down in the above mentioned thread. I could post it all here if you'd like.
When Cogeco pulls shit or neglects things that directly affect you, why do you bother lodging your complaints or looking for people to understand? Just take it like a good apologist. You say you suspect Cogeco is BSing you about the PVR issues. You know what? I care about that. I care because it's yet another example of trouble with this provider. I care because it could affect me one day if I chose to go the same route as you. I may not now and see no need for a PVR, but life is flud, things change. You, too, could hit the wall with caps one day if you ever got heavily into internet video and online media distribution.
Once more, in 2007, there are plenty of LEGAL sources of downloadable content that can easily push one up and above the (low) hard caps. If you don't know what I'm referring to, see the above mentioned giant bitcap thread --> »[Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I stand by what I said. You did not need to gloat (you "couldn't be happier") over many, many people having their service disconnected (do you fail to understand how vital an internet connection (VOIP, for one?) is in people's lives these days), there are plenty of alternatives to cutting people off.
I have never had a problem with latency or "slowness" in my area and if I did, that's Cogeco's fault for not having the proper infrastructure in place, not my neighbors for using the service they pay for. I am not God, I cannot see into their modems and cannot just start accusing them of "bandwidth stealing", whatever that means. I stand by my opinion of your review. | |
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swatter
@cgocable.net
| Re: Selfish I also read that you sometimes get tv shows off friends ftp's.
Where do you think those tv shows come from thin air?
I mean its nice to enjoy Cogeco's service but don't show yourself as holier than thou.
And for me at least this is not the only Problem I've had with Cogeco(bitcaps), It's not throwing ten years of great service out the window.
Its been a steady declince in Cogeco's services over the years. The bitcap is the straw that broke the camels back. | |
| vega509
join:2005-11-12
Welland, ON
| this has done it ! got the letter today, Slogeco / Nogeco (service @ 3mb on a good day, paying for 10mb) is increasing the slow service rate to $52.95. this and rate caps have done it. Acanac at $18.95 tax included, no caps, and advertised speed of 5mb, will get my money!
I'm tired of the Nogeco merry-go-round of making a service call to find slow service, no problems at this end, and no action to remedy the situation, call back and be told there is nothing they can do without another service call. | |
| frank236
join:2008-01-02
Barnegat, NJ | YOO unless you play games online ..WHY do you care... you can't type that fast | |
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