Review by Mister_E 
member for 9 years, 3671 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 1 year ago
 Etobicoke,ON
 $54 per month Bell Canada "Reliability, Speed, Direct Tech Support Forum here on DSLR" "Cost of Services provided - i.e. Speeds, Caps and outsourced phone techs that don't appear to have any tech background" "Have to consider the alternatives..."
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Install Co-ordination:
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Tech Support:
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Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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Update: 03/2012
Still with Fibe16. Still satisfied with the speed and the cap is still sufficient for my needs, but in 2012, the price is no longer worth the service provided. IMO, either the price should be lower for this type of package, or the package should be upgraded (higher speed, larger cap).
However, considering the alternatives and their pricing, the grass isn't much greener elsewhere either (but I'm definitely considering my options).
Can't be beat for reliability - it just works. IIRC, I've only had 1 outage in the last 5 years that lasted all of ~2 hours (other than a failed 2Wire 2701HG-G/Power Adapter).
Haven't had to deal with Tech Support other than for the failed power adapter, which went smoothly since the situation provided the phone tech no other option (although they did have to patch me through to a 'higher level' tech to confirm the failure).
Replacement modem was provided within a few days, but I have an older Thomson Speedtouch that held me over (ADSL1 only at 8Mb). By using the older modem, my profile had been downgraded, but that was quickly corrected through the Bell Direct forum here on DSLReports (still the preferred way to speak to a tech that actually knows what they're doing, IMO).
Update: 03/2010
Have since upgraded to the 16Mb plan (now called Fibe16) using their 2Wire 2701HG router/modem and paying $2 more I paid before. Quite happy with the speed, but would be nice if they maximized the upload speed on this ADSL2 package as well.
Reliability still excellent.
Unfortunately, I now have a 100GB monthly cap, but my typical usage is under that limit so it hasn't been a factor. Throttling hasn't impacted me significantly, but again, it would be nice if they stopped this practice.
Original Review:
Been with Bell for a long time (since Aug. 2000 and started with the Nortel 1Mb modem) and happy for the most part - extremely rare to see any service disruptions.
Currently on a 6Mbps / 800Kbps profile using a Speedstream 5200 (E240) and getting those speeds - would likely qualify for a higher profile but would likely end up losing my old grandfathered (read: unlimited) plan. My usage isn't that high though and I may consider moving up to a higher speed anyhow.
They were better in the past before the throttling and caps - hopefully they'll change their ways once they see enough people drop their service(s).
I rarely need tech support but have dealt with their phone support on occasion or when helping out friends/family - phone support is horrible, but I've been able to bypass the first level techs most of time (just give them enough technical details and they'll usually move you on once you request to speak to a higher level). Of course, the direct support forum here on DSLR is invaluable.
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