Review by MXB  - Location: Burlington,ON
- Cost: $46 per month
 Bell Canada
Good "Reliable."
Bad "Overpriced is an understatement!"
Overall "Too expensive. And getting more so all the time."
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(ratings match consensus)
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I started out in 1986 with a 300 baud modem and a C=128. I love modems. But by 2002 it became obvious that Bell's high speed would be faster and equally priced to using a 2nd phone line and a 56K modem with an account at my University. So I did some research and bought myself a D-Link DI-604 modem on sale with a mail-in-rebate. Then I ordered Bell's cheapest service which was called "Light" IIRC. It was 128 Kbps down. The Speedstream modem arrived via courier within a day or two. Setup was a breeze as I just ignored the CD they included. The router immediately hooked up to the modem after being configured and I was on. It provided access to 3 old computers on the home LAN.
I briefly considered Cogeco the local cable company but I do not like the idea of netting via their network. I guess I just feel comfortable using the phone network. Also Cogeco when I did phone once told me that they'd send a tech to "setup and configure" my computer. I told them that would be impossible as I am using multiple and exotic operating systems. They insisted anyways so that was the end of their chance. As if I would permit some twentysomething who has never heard of CP/M or even DOS touch my babies!
The only problems I've had with Bell were the contracts they kept putting me on when I called to ask why the bill was not as expected. I didn't even know they'd done that so when a year was up I'd get a bill for more than expected. However it seems that they've realized their error and now I'm on a plan that will not change all the time. Well maybe... I suspect they've just stopped calling them contracts and perhaps no longer expire them after a year. Also irritating was that they kept trying to push their higher speeds everytime I called to inquire about a billing discrepancy. I only accepted that once this fall because the price of the higher speed was actually less than what I had. The original Light kept getting faster automatically (from 128 to 512) but the new Essential Plus (2000) cost less due to the bundles ($10 off). That speed upgrade went seamlessly although they sent me a new modem via courier even though I told them I didn't need one because the old modem worked perfectly at the new speed! I had to return to sender via the Post Office. Worse is they then couriered me a _second_ modem which I simply refused to accept from the courier. Minor annoyance for me but expensive for them.
All in all I have been a satisfied customer for almost 7 years now. The connection has always been there, always at the speed advertised (oh I checked!) and sometimes faster. The modem they rent me has worked flawlessly for almost 7 years now. I've never called tech support but then again I know more than the techs do so why would I?
They've kept gouging me with price increases almost on a yearly basis. It is time to abandon ship after 9 years. Not to mention the obscenity of charging me $2 for a paper bill and then sending me paper advertisements for free.
Nov. 1, 13 means another $3 hike. Last hike they followed up with a speed bump from 2 to 6 Mb and a cap bump from 2 to 25 GB. So I stayed. However that's a much speed and way more cap than I need so a further bump after the hike won't do a thing for me. Time to switch.
member for 3.7 years, 17 visits, last login: 7 days ago
updated 7 days ago
Comments:
 | | I have a box of modems Bell has sent to me or family members and never asked for them back. Probably worth hundreds of $$$'s in their day. | |
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