Review by Soiduts Location: Ontario Cost: $35 per month (12 month contract) Install: about 6 days Bell Canada Service used to be Good Billing Errors, Level 1 Techs, Port 25 Block, No Usable Usenet service, Forced Modem Rental, No Outage List, Bandwidth Throttle Worst Company in Canada

Pre Sales information: Install Co-ordination: Connection reliability: Tech Support: Services: Value for money:

UPDATE October/11
After being with Bell for home phone service for *many* years, they decided to add a bunch of new fees to a basic line for no reason. No longer have any services will Bell directly and will not return nor recommend anyone to them.

UPDATE January/11
I didn't think I could lower my review any lower than it already was but I want to be able to justify my reasoning for giving Bell a 0 rating on my review. With Bell implementing UBB, it is creating excessive profit and gouging customers. We all know the markup on bandwidth is unfair. The CRTC's mandate to implement UBB on wholesale ISP's regardless of their companies ability to provide an unlimited service shows that they are abusing the position as a regulator.
(»CRTC Finalizes ISP Usage-Based Billing [85] comments)

UPDATE November/10
Internet usage is not going down and 60GB caps is horribly low especially for families that have multiple computers and multiple users using the same connection.

The reason Bell wants this usage-based billing is to protect their Expressvu Satellite service. With Netflix and YouTube being quite popular here in Canada as well as CBC offering shows online, their satellite service is in jeopardy. By capping users, this reduces the amount of video people can watch online and forces them to use more 'traditional' media outlets.

As the article states, the CRTC's decision is definitely not ensuring "that both the broadcasting and telecommunications systems serve the Canadian public. " (»www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/backg ··· 9903.htm)
(»CRTC Approves Wholesale Usage Billing [58] comments)

UPDATE August/09
(»Canadian Regulators Send Another Love Letter To Bell Canada [61] comments)

"Canadian regulatory authority the CRTC, staffed with former incumbent carrier executives, so far hasn't lifted a finger to come to the aid of independent carriers. The CRTC continued this trend by today approving Bell's UBB plans. CRTC employees like vice-chairman Leonard Katz, who spent 17 years working for Rogers and 11 for Bell, aren't concerned...for some strange reason."

Guess this shows there is absolutely no point in having the CRTC as a regulatory body as they do not do anything for the Canadian public like they are supposed to. The public is supposed to be first, not big business. Will definitely be writing MP (not like that's going to do anything other then receiving a standard reply.)

Internet usage is not on the way down its going up. Revision3 started posting HD videos of their shows and I watch 4 of those a week. Almost 20gb a month JUST there!

The CRTC is really getting annoying and what's even more annoying is Bell's insistence that we have to pay an arm and a leg for bandwidth that costs pennies.

UPDATE July/09
"The Internet has always been managed, first of all. Second, the traffic management practices we utilize have been reviewed extensively and the CRTC has said they are appropriate ... We expect the CRTC will continue to find that reasonable management practices designed to improve the Internet experience for the majority of users is appropriate."
(»www.financialpost.com/st ··· =1757953)

Attitudes like this is the main reason why the Internet in Canada and around the world is struggling. The Internet was designed to be a tool to freely share information but imposing any kind of traffic management on the network that hinders the ability for innovation while disrupting the competition, should be illegal.

UPDATE March/09
You know its sad that my Internet connection at University 10 years ago, 10mbit, is still vastly superior to anything that Bell is providing now. When will they learn that Net Neutrality and uncapped/unthrottled connections are the only way to move forward. Bandwidth usage isn't going down anytime soon and trying to limit it is unfair to consumers who have to deal with monopolistic companies like Bell.

Here are just a few links as to why I lowered my rating of this company:
(»Bell Canada To Take Ball, Go Home [58] comments)
(»Bell appeals CRTC decision)

UPDATE March/08
Canceled Bell Sympatico after being a customer for 7+ years. Canceling was a terrible experience as I was told I phoned in 3 days too early to cancel. I was told I had to phone exactly 30 days to the end of my contract. I thought I was being a courteous customer by phoning ahead to inform them that I would no longer be using the service after the contract ended. Phoned back and got a different person and after 20 minutes, I finally got a cancellation number. Switched to Teksavvy. Literally took no more than a few minutes to sign up for a full unlimited account (as I already had a DSL Premium login), get my login and completely switch over.

(»Bell Canada Throttles Wholesalers, Doesn't Bother To Tell Them [81] comments)
I don't think we need any more proof to show Bell's shady business practices, but here's some more.

UPDATE January/08
Having been a Bell Internet Customer for many years, I finally decided to spend the extra $10 a month and test out Teksavvy's Premium 100GB login. All the problems I had with FTP SSL being capped at 32kbps and other throttling issues were solved instantly. I will be using the login for the next two months till my current Sympatico contract expires and will probably sign up for an Unlimited Account. I've been comparing ping times, trace routes, and overall connection quality and have been impressed with Teksavvy.

I recently read an article on Ars Technica about Time Warner's attempt to institute caps on their broadband connections. They sum up the Bell Sympatico situation quite eloquently.

Shooting yourself in the foot: Time Warner's usage caps
(»arstechnica.com/news.ars ··· aps.html)
"Customers who exceed their cap would be hit with an undetermined per-gigabyte charge, but Bell Canada's overage fees, which range from CAN$1.00 to CAN$7.50 per gigabyte, may give some inkling of where Time Warner's overage fees will end up. Usage caps are a short-sighted response to capacity constraints, one that's likely to hurt the company more than it will help in the long run especially with new broadband options on the horizon."

Unfortunately I cannot recommend Sympatico to friends, coworkers, or customers anymore as capping, throttling and customers support issues has made Bell a second rate ISP.

2004 to 2007
As a Bell Sympatico subscriber since DSL was first offered in Ontario, I have been through all the high and low points with the service. Unfortunately in the last few months the low points have overtaken the high ones. Our family shares the connection on our home network with 4 computers.

Billing Errors
For the past 2 years I have had an unlimited contract with Sympatico at $35/m. While on this contract, one would expect consistent monthly billing but that isn't the case. Two times in the last 8 months I have had billing issues and I haven't called in or changed my account or contract with Sympatico. Both times they have chalked it up to errors on their billing system.

Level 1 Techs
I don't even bother phoning tech support anymore because they are completely useless. I have found it easier to contact techs directly on DSLreports. I pity those that do not know about the support forum here and have to call in for help. Unfortunately most of Sympatico's customers are unaware of this forum and would have to deal with the normal tech support.

Bandwidth Caps & Throttling
A few years ago Bell Sympatico decided to enable bandwidth caps which proved to be a bad move for the company. For the past few years, unlimited contracts have been available through Sympatico and for the most part, it was a very good service. Capping and throttling in general is a bad idea for any ISP as bandwidth consumption is not going to go down. If you advertise and offer unlimited, then do so. Customers should not be penalized because they use bandwidth when they have signed a contract stating unlimited bandwidth.

Most people don't use that much bandwidth but 60gb is definitely a very low cap. HD broadcasts, video streams, Xbox Live & Xbox Live downloads, Windows/Mac/Linux Updates and VoIP are now becoming quite prevalent online now. CBC broadcasts Hockey Night in Canada and the National online and many other websites offer bandwidth intensive content including Sympatico's own website. Content doesn't have to be 'gray' area to use a lot of bandwidth especially if you have a lot of users in your house.

DSL Line Sync
I haven't had any line quality problems with my line as I have lived in new houses with new wiring. I have had problems with the line profiles though. On numerous occasions, I phoned tech support to get them to increase the line profile but to no avail. It wasn't until I asked on DSLreports forum and talked to some techs directly that I was able to get that sorted out. My connection is now stable at the 5mbit profile instead of the 3mbit profile.

Bottom Line
Unfortunately Bell and Rogers are the main bulk suppliers for Internet Service in Ontario/Quebec and there is no way to avoid them.

travisc join:2001-11-09 Uxbridge, ON travisc Member 2007-Nov-1 2:19 pm Switch? Why not switch to another DSL provider? 2007-Nov-1 2:19 pm: · hey mods ·
	adisor19 join:2004-10-11 adisor19 Member 2007-Nov-1 3:17 pm Re: Switch? Seriously, why not switch to TekSavvy ?? Dump this pathetic excuse of ISP and go for something that gives you more Adi 2007-Nov-1 3:17 pm: · hey mods ·
		Soiduts join:2002-04-02 Ontario Soiduts Member 2007-Nov-1 4:43 pm Re: Switch? I have been thinking about it for quite some time. I think I will wait a bit to see exactly what happens with DSL providers here now that Bell has changed everything. From what I have seen, it seems to be the only good alternative. 2007-Nov-1 4:43 pm: · hey mods ·
Bellundo @teksavvy.com Bellundo Anon 2008-Jan-28 8:35 am Time Warner is just experimenting Time Warner just wants to see if anyone will sign up. I expect the payload to be less than a dozen or so and they will abolish this crazy idea in a month or two. They're not serious given the competition in America and given the fact that the cost of bandwidth is virtually free. Time Warner i hope they sue you to the nine's before you relent. 2008-Jan-28 8:35 am: · hey mods ·
realitybytes5 Premium Member join:2002-07-15 Ottawa, ON realitybytes5 Premium Member 2011-Jan-25 7:47 pm Bell Hell Tell them! People need to know how EVIL this company is 2011-Jan-25 7:47 pm: · hey mods ·
	Bies @bell.ca Bies Anon 2011-Jan-26 6:52 am Re: Bell Hell They're not only sneaky with the internet service, they practice the same mentality with ExpressVu and phone, particularly when it comes to billing. For the phone I noticed another 2 bucks increase this month for God knows what. Still have to check it out. A couple of years back I started with 39 dollars for the internet, it's now 59 including tax. ExpressVu started out somewhere in the mid-60 bucks, it's now close to $90. All of the above services remained the same. Rogers is not any better. The same smoke-and-mirror crook mentality. Chancing companies is useless. Banks, oil companies, insurance companies and telecommunications, it's the corporate maffia that reigns everywhere. They're all in bed with one another. And the government just thinks it's all nice and dandy as it keeps raking it in through the taxes. Oligopolies as far as the eye can see. 2011-Jan-26 6:52 am: · hey mods ·
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