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I have been a Teksavvy customer since February 2010, after Rogers raised the cap on over-usage charges from $25 to $50. At the time I was paying $99 (with the $25 cap on charges) for 12/1. Back then I could only get Teksavvy's 5/800 DSL package in London, Ontario. I valued being able to use my connection more than having higher speeds. What's the point in speed if you can't use it after reaching a limit (90GB at the time on Rogers Extreme). Order & Installation (June 2012) --------------------------------- I moved into a new home at the end of June 2012 and faced the $65 (per service) to move my DSL and phone service with Teksavvy. Since I was going pay at least $65 either way, I thought I may as well cancel the expensive POTS line (I had a Vonage line used for long distance already). Went to a local computer store in London, picked up a Motorola SB6121 and made the call to TekSavvy. Canceled DSL and POTs, ordered the 28/1 cable package on the 300GB limit. I was given 3 potential dates for installation at my new home (Friday/Saturday/Monday). The Rogers cable guy showed up the Monday (a week after I ordered the service) and got me up running after a few hiccups (he had to change a few things at the junction box, at my power panel in the basement and disabled the outlet in my living room). Once I got on the internet, he left and I was up and running and it has been reliable and solid 99.999% of the time I have had it. This tech actually stayed to see connected, hit the internet and conduct a full speed test. Service Quality ----------------- In general, I saw speeds of 28Mb/s download and 1Mb/s upload almost all the time (generally 27ish and 0.9). The only times it got slow were due to a routing issue that affect many others (even other ISPs) or local cable network capacity issue to TekSavvy's network . That has since been made better by the by an aggregated connection system. Never experienced latency that weren't caused by my own network. My own router would sometimes require a DHCP release/renew to restore full speeds but this was no fault of TekSavvy's or Rogers'. I upgraded to 45Mbps download and 4Mbps upload in July 2013 when London got upgrade to the aggregated model of connection between TekSavvy and Rogers and again, full speeds almost all the time. The only service quality issue was that 4 times I suffered what is called a DHCP outage caused by local node splits done by Rogers to increase local capacity. Although no fault of TekSavvy's, on average I was down 72 hours before getting connectivity. I have a 6GB LTE Rogers plan that I rely on as backup, so it wasn't as disruptive for me as it would be for others. The Good: ------------ Not ever having to worry about my usage metering with either high usage packages or unlimited. Very friendly and supportive support staff on the phones and here on the DSLReports forums (TekSavvy Direct Support Forum). Kudos to some of the DSLr team such as Martin, Andre, Elizabeth, Johnathan and Keith, you've all been great on tickets. The service simply just works and works as it should. The bad: ---------- Although not TekSavvy's fault, their reliance on existing infrastructure with incumbent network providers (Rogers, Bell, Telus, Cogeco, etc.) means certain service tickets will need to to those providers. This often increases the ETA on resolution to days (not in all cases). Some of the ticket requirements for forms from Rogers are seriously onerous and I can see to some who are not tech-savvy (pun totally intended ;]), it can be a nightmare collecting all the information needed. Since 2010, I've noticed the quality and knowledge of the technical support departed is very mixed. And I can understand that as a company now with 200+ employees, hiring new people with the same skill set and experience in a small place like Chatham can be challenging. For any very technology inclined like myself, the TekSavvy Direct Support forums here on DSLReports has a phenomenal team. And you can even reach the CEO as well. Modems. Although they don't force you rent a modem, I can't say I agree with not offering it as an option; especially when they've recently been getting sign up in great numbers from the non-technical population. Modem requirements change often and there is no guarantee when a modem will remain current or outdated (technology often becomes out date after just 1 year). You could buy a modem for near $100 and 6 months later it won't be compatible with newer speeds. I think for targeting people looking to save money, spending $100/year on a modem will negate savings. Offering modem rentals could resolve some potentially hairy situations when new speeds come out and modem requirements change. (key word is offer, not forced ;]), Summary: ---------- Overall my experience with TekSavvy has been the best I've ever had with any ISP. At time of this writing I am no longer a TekSavvy internet customer (I do have a business hosting service with them) due to some very circumstantial reasons, but I still love TekSavvy as a company. You can't go wrong with them. member for 11.2 years, 4240 visits, last login: 2 days ago updated 9.8 years ago
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