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Review by pfak See Profile

  • Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
  • Cost: $141 per month (36 month contract)
  • Install: about 6 days
  • Telco party Telus
Professional installation, fast & reliable speeds, decent value
Poor overseas support and long phone queues
The best of the two ISPs available to me, Decent service overall
Pre Sales information:
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Value for money:

My package:

* Home phone service with Basic Long Distance
* Optik High Speed Turbo 25 (25Mbps downstream, 2Mbps upstream) with 250GB softcap
* TELUS TV with Optik TV Your Pick HD combo (7 theme packs)

With a 36 month contract: free HD PVR rental for 3 years, Xbox 360, modem/gateway rental, HD set top box.

My review:

TELUS has improved substantially since when I last used their service in 2005. Their new VDSL2 deployment is second to none in my province of British Columbia. The speeds in terms of cost exceed by a wide margin the service provided by their DOCSIS competitor, Shaw.

I switched my basic TV and Xtreme-I (15mbps/1mbps) Internet service from Shaw at a total cost of $120/mo (before taxes) to TELUS (including land line phone service.) The Internet connection on TELUS is a lot more reliable, and the latency is lower and I receive twice the upstream with my new Optik Turbo 25 package (25Mbps/2Mbps.) The internet speeds drop when more than one HD stream is turned on in the house, but I am told that this will change in the near future as my line is capable of much greater speeds (~100Mbps.)

TELUS provides a "easy to use" (aka dummy) NAT, Wireless, HPNA, and Ethernet router (the Actiontec V1000H) which is locked down and does not allow you to put the router into bridge mode, it has some flaws (broken UPnP, wireless reception isn't the best) which are being worked out but still exist at present. The unit is solid for the average user, and only the most technical would have issues with its limitations. In terms of data transfer, 250GB softcap provided by TELUS is a lot higher than Shaw's on a comparable plan, and Shaw was only offering me a 100GB cap after lowering it from 125GB.

The order and install process was relatively smooth, with the exception that I did not receive a followup telephone call for the TV service to select what channel packs I wanted with my plan, and the $30/mo for 6 month discount was not applied until I phoned in at which point it was rectified.

I would say that the only issue I would have is the customer service angle, TELUS outsourced most of their customer service and it leaves me dreading when I have an issue with my connection. The one time I tried to phone TELUS for technical assistance I had to wait on hold for an hour before hanging up.

The bottom line is, TELUS service offerings are cheaper than the competition in terms of what you receive for your dollar. The service they provide is more stable, and I am really pleased with my experience so far.

member for 21.2 years, 2579 visits, last login: 229 days ago
updated 12.9 years ago


Review by joudbren See Profile

  • Location: Edmonton, AB, Canada
  • Cost: $110 per month
  • Install: about 8 days
  • Telco party Telus
Fantastic speed and very consistent any time of day. Decent 250GB per month cap.
haven't found anything yet
No regrets switching to Telus. Great speed, decent cap, less money.
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Switched from Shaw a couple of weeks ago. I was getting 15Mbps down with Shaw Extreme, 1Mbps up, 100GB per month cap (recently dropped from 125GB per month) and wildly varying speeds depending on time of day.

Telus Optik Turbo is giving me 25Mbps down, 2Mbps up, 250GB per month cap and rock steady speeds any time of day. And all for less money than I was paying Shaw! What's not to love. I have Apple TV and Netflix as well and apparently I was averaging 80GB per month and went slightly over 100GB twice in the last six months. No torrents. Shaw's threat of UBB was the final straw that prompted me to look at what else was out there.

I was paying Shaw $160 per month for HDTV, Internet and Phone. Now I pay $110 per month (all services) for the first year with Telus and $146 per month for year two and three. That saves me almost a grand over the next 3 years for a service that is bigger, better, faster in every respect and I get more channels now as well. Took just over a week to get it installed and the techs were very courteous and professional. About 3 hours install on site as they had to spend over an hour down the street fixing some wiring in the outside box. Install is free up to two STB's and you pay for any additional installs over and above the first two HD boxes in the house.

If you can get this in your area and a port is available, just do it. You won't be disappointed. I hope. You can also get this package without the Optik TV but it's not documented on their website yet as of the date of this post. Just call them and ask for High Speed 25. It might not be available in your area but it's just a phone call to find out.

EDIT: Ok, have had this a month now and still lovin' it. Initially had some intermittent problems with TV pixelating and audio drops but 20 minutes on the phone with Telus and they fixed everything up. They said they saw the errors at their end so made some setting changes and it hasn't been an issue since in over 3 weeks.

Ended up getting a local deal at BB for the Cisco 430 and 330 combined for $250 total so I grabbed them. Sweet! Everything is working great and speeds are still very consistent. Actiontec Router/Modem trains up at 31Mbps down and 3Mbps up so running 1 HD channel is not affecting internet speed at all. 3 HD streams recording at same time brings my speed down to just under 15Mbps. That's still faster than what I normally had with Shaw Extreme. Optik is definitely a keeper in this house and it will be interesting to see what Shaw comes back with to compete down the road. Can't see switching back though as the rock steady VDSL internet speeds are amazing so far compared to my yo-yo speeds on cable.

Telus also installed an Ethernet jack in the living room for me so plugged a cheap gig-e 8 port Asus switch into it and now have the HTPC, PVR, PS3 and Apple TV all hardwired instead of wireless. No issues.

member for 17.4 years, 398 visits, last login: 7.7 years ago
updated 13 years ago


Review by oldroy See Profile

  • Location: Spruce Grove, AB, Canada
  • Cost: $105 per month
  • Telco party Telus
ADSL, Telephone, and 2 TV's, fairly good channel selection
Had to reboot the Actiontec router a few times, seems ok lately
Installled for 3 months so too early for conclusions
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We changed from Shaw Digital to Telus Optic TV in mid December of last year. Telus gave us a deal (105.00/month - telephone, TV, and internet bundle.) because I was a long time Telus ADSL customer

Equipment: Actiontec router, two set top boxes, existing Shaw digital coax cables were used.

Installation: Went OK. We have old fashioned overhead telephone lines in our neighborhood and the installer had to replace the drop cord. The Telus equipment is much bigger and bulkier then the Shaw stuff was. Existing lines to the downstairs and upstairs TV's worked fine. Existing CAT5 cables to 2 computers were used, the installer was scared of the linux box next to the Actiontec so had to use the XP box to set up the wireless for the laptop.

When I received the Telus Bill there was a charge for a $120.00 disconnect fee there, a call to Customer support cleared that on up.

The TV's froze a few times in December. Tech support told me to reset the router on the first call. Second call go a recorded message with the same instructions, i.e. unplug the router power for five minutes then re connect and wait for re-boot. The third time I found my linux computer could just go to 192.168.1.254 and do a hardware re-boot. Things have been working since then. Costs are slightly less than Shaw but we don't get as many channels.

Replaced the CRT TV in the living room with a skinny, LED Back Lit HDTV in late December then found we can only have one TV at a time on High Def., the other one get a message to either interrupt a TV or wait until later. Is this a bandwidth issue and more importantly is there a solution?



member for 13.2 years, 5 visits, last login: 12.2 years ago
lodged 13 years ago

beachside
join:2009-06-28

beachside

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HD Feeds

The number of HD feeds you can view at the same time is determined by the speed of your connection. Upgrades are being done all the time so its worth calling Telus to see if you qualify for a higher offering.

Review by mubgub See Profile

  • Location: Calgary, AB, Canada
  • Cost: $65 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
  • Telco party Telus
Fast, consistent connection
Terrible customer service
Better than Shaw
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I ordered the Optik High Speed Turbo package from TELUS on a three year contact, and with a bunch of HD television as well (prices I entered are adjusted to rates for just the internet service at this time). I am comfortably able to record 4 HD movies on the PVR and still browse very quickly, and get speed tests of up to 12Mbps while doing this.

My advertised down is 25Mbps (without the TV going, seeing as it's IPTV), and I usually get 23-24, so I'm very happy. It doesn't fluctuate, and it doesn't require a modem reboot all the time like my Shaw pipe did.

Their sales people are useless, and couldn't tell me anything about the technicalities of the connection, which I expected. But to be denied the privilege of talking to a technical person when I asked? That was uncalled for. The only good person at TELUS that I actually got to talk to was the installer. Very professional, very nice man, and very informative. Everyone else there has their head up their ass.

For the record: I am using the Actiontec all in one modem/router combo (the concept of which I hate), which is actually a fairly good product, and not too severely crippled.

member for 13.1 years, 7 visits, last login: 10.5 years ago
updated 13 years ago


Review by jitterbug See Profile

  • Location: Airdrie, AB, Canada
  • Cost: $100 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
  • Telco party Telus
Getting TELUS Optik TV and 15mbps Internet
Solid TV and Internet service
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I wanted to replace my Shaw TV and existing TELUS Internet. My upgrade DSL line is trained at 19Mbps down and 1Mbps upstream. I can easily pull 15mbps down if I don't have any of the four STBs online. The install was really professional, but I did have some issues with one HPNA connection requiring me to move the STB onto another outlet after install. I have almost all the TV channels and I'm really pleased with the PVR installed in the basement. I have been recording shows for months and I'm just starting to run out of space now. I got the dlink 3810 modem and four Cisco STBs.

member for 19.5 years, 3241 visits, last login: 10 days ago
lodged 13.1 years ago


Review by rustydusty See Profile

  • Location: Red Deer County, AB, Canada
  • Cost: $65 per month
  • Install: about 9 days
  • Telco party Telus
Awesome!
Slower upload speeds
It's a way better deal than Shaw
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We were offered by a Telus rep free high speed, so we said sure. Got it well over a year ago, but just hooked it up. I currently don't use it, as I have Shaw, but I suppose it's nice to have for a back up. Current speeds are 2.5Mb/s download and 650Kb/s upload. Like I said, it's free and it will work well for a back-up, that's about it.

Update: January 20th, 2011

I have cancelled all my Shaw services and have switched over to Optik. Hopefully everything works well, as I do NOT want to give another dime to Shaw. With their ridiculous prices, and steep overages, I am no longer supporting them. Fingers crossed on Telus working wonderfully.

Update: January 30th, 2011

Now have Optik installed and absolutely LOVE it. Unfortunately from what I've been told, I only qualify for the 15Mb plan so far. Once the 25Mb plan is offered I will be switching, but the 15Mb is good so far. The TV aspect is way better than shaw. Better guide, faster, easier, etc. The HD seems to be about the same as Shaw, but that's alright by me. We also got all channels for the first month, then it get's bumped back.

member for 14.4 years, 5776 visits, last login: 12 days ago
updated 13.1 years ago


Review by Blue05R1 See Profile

  • Location: Sherwood Park, AB, Canada
  • Cost: $130 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
  • Telco party Telus
Extremely helpful setting up Install and Cancelling previous provider
Website is confusing
Great Value for the money so far
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Ordered Phone/Internet/Optik TV on Telus website at about 3:45 at 4:15 got a phone call from Telus confirming my order. The phone rep then proceded to offer me a cheaper deal than was available on the website even though I had already agreed to the terms on the website.

Telus' website is very confusing regarding their TV package choices, but the representative cleared up all of my questions when he called.

Internet speed is close to double what I was recieving with Shaw.

Telus installer was very profesional and did everything I asked of him and more.


member for 13.2 years, 788 visits, last login: a few hours ago
lodged 13.2 years ago


Review by Roofer See Profile

  • Location: undisclosed location
  • Cost: $23 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
Reliable, no contract, no cap enforcement, no throttling, wanted my business
Nothing so far
Highly recommend
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I recently signed up with Telus after becoming disillusioned with Shaw. I am surprised by how much things have improved since I last tried them. I am on their High-Speed Turbo Internet plan (15 mbps).

Positives:
- Rock solid infrastructure. Things have improved a lot since I tried them 8 years ago! I am getting approximately 13.8 mbps, and it is a straight line on the download graph, unlike Shaw which drops during the peak hours.

- Simple setup. It was a painless transition from Shaw - I had it up and running in less than an hour. When I was placing the order, I asked them to activate the line in 7 days, and to mail me the modem/router, which arrived in 4 days. I want to emphasize that I don't have television - if you are getting that, you should arrange for a tech visit (which is free). Also, if you do not have a telephone line by your computer, you should also arrange for a tech visit.

- No contracts - the only reason you would sign a contract is to get their free toys such as XBox.

- Excellent pre-sales information. By the time I placed the order, I knew exactly how much I was paying, that I was not locked into a contract, what the price will be after the promotional period, and that there will be no rental fees.

- Flexible on their pricing. Try a bit of negotiating, especially if you are already a Telus customer. I had the sense that their loyalty department really wanted my business.

- No cap enforcement. I don't know what the future holds, only the here and now - Shaw is charging for overages, and Telus is not. This can mean a difference of hundreds of dollars for a heavy Internet family.

- For those of you that use torrents, I understand that it is not throttled.

- The last 2 points make Telus a company that is friendly to Internet users, whereas Shaw is hostile.

Conclusion: I highly recommend Telus for Internet. I have no personal experience though with their television and have never had to yet deal with their technical support, so I can't comment on those.

member for 13.3 years, 196 visits, last login: 11.5 years ago
updated 13.2 years ago


Review by nx_ See Profile

  • Location: Canada
  • Cost: $9 per month (12 month contract)
  • Install: about 4 days
  • Telco party Telus
Amazing Price & Bundle Options
None Yet
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Install was amazing.
Wireless modem provided for free.
On par with Shaw speeds, but with 2x the upload speed. Great for cloud backups.

member for 19.1 years, 19 visits, last login: 13.1 years ago
lodged 13.2 years ago







Review by paybox See Profile

  • Location: Maple Ridge, BC, Canada
  • Cost: $35 per month
  • Install: about 4 days
  • Telco party Telus
fiber optic internet vdsl2 rocking at 24000 down and 2000 up
nothing bad about the service
fiber is the best
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actiontec vdsl gateway fast unit

member for 23 years, 94 visits, last login: 13 years ago
updated 13.3 years ago