 Review by Kardinal 
UPDATED: 1 year ago
member for 7.5 years, 2992 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 N of 49th
 $39 per month
 about 4 days
 Bell Canada
 "Rock solid for over eight years (since the 1MM was cutting edge!)"
 "tech support can be a bit clueless, NG support is non-existant"
 "most solid, stable connection around"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings well above consensus)
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I was on the list of people who ordered SHSE before it was available on the market, and it was connected Dec 29th, 1998. I got a Nortel modem which I'm still using, and in over four years I've had a total of 6 interruptions of service for a total of about 9 hours.
When the service was first connected it was DHCP, but converted over to PPPoE in the summer of 1999. The conversion was painless, and for a period of two weeks you could connect using either protocol.
The mail service has had a few hiccups for others, but my access has always worked. I'm still using the Nortel modem I got in 1998 because I can't be bothered going through the hassle of changing the modem (nor do I feel the need to scream at some poor CR just to get another 10kbps in dl speed, unlike some people).
The tech support people are scripted, and sometimes aren't too keen to deviate from the script, but if you are polite to them they will help if they can, or pass you to someone else if the cannot. I've called up several times over the years, and have yet to have anyone be rude to me. I read many reviews where it is stated that the people at support are clueless, but I think that might be more a reflection on the tone the user had with the CR than anything else.
In short: If you want a stable connection with a simple hookup process (no waiting for a tech to show up), then IMHO you can't go wrong with SHSE. The dl caps can be a pain (or a nasty surprise, come bill date), but those are evolving again it seems, so we'll have to wait and see how it ends up. They have only affected me once so far, and that was more of a surprise than an angry shock.
**Update Oct 2003***
I called in August to change platforms once the upgrade was complete. It took four days for my new Speedstream to arrive (complete with four filters). My Nortel (of almost five years) went dark the next day and the Speedstream is was up and running. It gets rather warm and doesn't have feet to stand on it's side, but otherwise all is fine. My connection is maxing out (since I'm only about 700m from my CO) for speed up and down and everything was smooth in the transition.
With the speed upgrade, the painless platform transition and the removal of the throughput caps, I remain a satisfied customer.
****Update Nov 2004*****
I got the speed upgrade during last winter/spring and now have 3008/800 sync that has yet to disconnect on me. Everything is still smooth sailin and the fact that the bill is now bundled with my wireless service and wireline gives me an extra discount overall and great LD pricing too.
In short: I'm coming up on six years with SHSE, I'm still a happy camper.
*****Update Aug 2007*********
I've been at 5056/800 since the upgrade last year (or was it the year before that). I've had a couple of minor problems that I traced to a loose wire in a jack (ie/ not Sympatico's fault) and other than that my service has been rock solid.
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