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Review by SpyV See Profile

  • Location: Petawawa, ON, Canada
  • Cost: $60 per month
  • Telco party Bell Canada
Competitive pricing, easy setup, plug-n-play, bundling options
Bell's infrastructure, Does not even get close to advertised speeds, media streaming next to impossible
Paying for a service I'm not getting. Will be finding a new ISP.

I'm a long time Bell user, I'd say my first experiences with Bell was years ago in Kingston Ontario when I made the switch from Cogeco. Nearly 10 years ago now I was posted to Petawawa Ontario, and I once again purchased Bell internet. It was easy to bundle with satellite services, and it was "high speed" after all. Also, back then where I lived in Petawawa there were no other options. Suffice to say, for the past ten years I've had nothing but substandard service at each new residence I lived in here at Petawawa. Current advertised rate for my package is 5 down and 1 up. I'm getting .5 down, and .1 up consistently, without ever seeing any variations. I receive 10% of the advertised speeds, and while Bell is quick to point out the caveat that we are unlikely to actually get the advertised rates, I don't believe for one minute that receiving 10% of a service constitutes the full bill.

Along the way, and over the years I've called numerous times. Sometimes I ended up with credited months, sometimes I got several months credited. Sometimes it was the furthest thing from my mind. Suffice to say, I've had enough. The excuse I always receive is that I'm too far from the node, so if that's the case, why do you offer a service you cannot provide?

All in all I cannot blame Bell exclusively. Petawawa is a small town, where the infrastructure just doesn't support the top of the line high speed internet that you would see in other parts of the province. I could also have cancelled at nearly any time over the past few years, but at some point you decide that some internet is better then no internet.

*Edit 12/09/2014*
Note on Price: Throughout the years it has changed here and there. Typically as I changed One bill packages and services. On the site it is advertised at $49.95, however I paid for a larger cap which is an additional fee.

I'm currently using CIKTel's cable internet, and while I had a rocky customer service experience (ultimately positive), I feel as though I've been ripped off extensively by Bell for the past few years. Especially when above I suggest that part of the problem was Petawawa's Infrastructure! Baloney! The problem is Bell.

An example of my last speedtest with Bell:

Download: 69.3 KB/s, Upload: 17.5 KB/s, Ping 71ms.

An example of my last speedtest with CikTel:

Download: 7161.8 KB/s, Upload: 1330.9kB/s, Ping 34 ms

This is in the exact same residence, and for this premium service I pay $10 more a month and no cap.

member for 17 years, 25 visits, last login: 3.8 years ago
updated 9.2 years ago


ScottFr
@76.180.191.x

ScottFr

Anon

Bell Canada

I subscribed to Bell Canada internet service about 1 1/2 months ago for a cottage that I use a handful of weekend each year. I arrived there earlier this week to find the internet connection was not working. I WAS ON THE PHONE WITH BELL CANADA FOR 3+ HOURS. IT TURNS OUT THAT BELL CANADA ON THEIR OWN TRANSFERRED BY SERVICE TO A LOCATION NOT AFFILIATED WITH ME 5 MILES AWAY AND THEN TOLD ME IT WOULD BE OVER A WEEK TO RECONNECT ME. THEY ATTEMPTED TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER BY TELLING ME THEY WOULDN'T CHARGE ME A RECONNECTION FEE!!!