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Review by CS_Buddy See Profile

  • Location: Canada
  • Cost: $39 per month
  • Install: about 5 days
Excellent Speed, Reliability, and Services
Data Caps (10GB/5GB). Technical Support Needs Improvement
Excellent for advanced users who don't have to call in for help
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Original Review May 1, 2002

Ordered Cogeco@HOME back in November 2001. Took a week for them to get a contractor out to install the cable modem. I'm pretty handy with computers so I installed the NIC while he ran the RG6 around my room. The contractor did a really good job of stapling the cable to the bottom of the floor, and running it around corners and underneath my bed. I can't see the cable, so I'm really happy about that. No @HOME software for me, so he just made sure the modem was online, and that I could connect. No problems with installation. Was given by the installer:

-Ericcson Piperider Cable Modem

-D-Link 10mpbs NIC (would have preferred 10/100, but I had my own anyway)

-10ft cat5 Ethernet Cable

Everything worked fine for the first month, got speed around 1900/350 for downloading and uploading without having to adjust my computer settings. Then problems started happening. My modem would drop connection once every 10 minutes and then come back online. Sometimes it would go offline for a day or so. Whenever I had to call technical support, I would be waiting around 40 minutes on hold to speak with a technician. I had to do this multiple times, logging problems with the modem until they finally sent out a service technician. The technician was scheduled for later next week, but I got a call from him 2 days later asking if it would be OK to come out earlier. I had no problem with this

The field technician checked the signal and found something wrong, and replaced all the splitters and connectors inside and outside the house in quick order. He also replaced the Piperider modem with a Samsung Inforanger. He commented that the Piperider modems haven't stood up as well as the Samsung modems.

Once I was back up and running, I called technical support again, and spoke with a billing representative regarding my downtime, and she immediately applied a credit for a free month to my account for the inconvenience. I was quite satisfied with the way the situation was handled.

Since that one service call, I have barely had a hiccup on my service. It is constantly online, with excellent speeds- around 1900/350mpbs for an advertised line speed of (2048/384). I have had no problems with the mail servers or connection speed, aside from a few brief outages that were quickly resolved.

Cogeco@HOME handles the conversion to Cogeco High Speed Internet very well- the connection was switched over to their own platform with no outage as far as I can tell, and email/newsgroup access was switched over well before February when @HOME shut off the servers, so there was no loss of email or service.

The newsgroup servers are still having problems however. Binary files are very often incomplete, but this was communicated to me to be a hardware issue, and is being addressed. Text newsgroups come in fine though, so unless you are downloading a lot of binary files you should not see a problem.

As for technical support, I rarely call unless there is a problem I wish to report- most of the time I can get assistance in the Cogeco forum here on DSL Reports- some of the engineers for Cogeco post in the forum and offer assistance, which I greatly appreciate.

Data Caps per month are a bit annoying, but they will be changing soon I am told. Most of the time the cap is loosely enforced unless you are affecting someone else's service.

One of the other good points to Cogeco's service is that they offer up to 3 IP addresses at no additional charge. Compared to some ISPs who will charge your around $7 per additional computer, this is a good feature if you will be setting up a home network using a hub.

Bottom Line, aside from a few problems at the start, this internet service has been reliable and consistent, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who, in the Niagara region, wants to get a quality broadband service.

Review Update: November 14, 2002

I've had the service for about a year now. For the majority of that time, I've had no major problems. Email has never been an issue, and connection was always very stable. I moved my cable modem downstairs into my basement. I ripped up the RG-6 that was bordering my room, took it downstairs, and hooked it into one of the splitters where all the cable lines feed into the house. I had to remove a high-pass filter in order to gain modem sync. The modem worked downstairs reliably for about a month or so after I had moved it, until I started getting intermittent connection issues. My modem would lose connection every couple of nights for hours at a time. The calls from technical support really didn't help much- I got a lot of misinformation over what was simply a signal issue. One of the representatives tried to convince me that my modem was losing sync because someone was "Stealing my IP address" and wanted me to call back once the modem was offline so he could track his MAC address. Then he alluded to the problem being due to Proxy Arp. Riiighht.... Thankfully the next person I talked to was a bit more truthful. After a service call, a couple of replaced splitters and moving the modem up to the main feed off a 2-way splitter, everything is peachy. Modem is nice and stable, no intermittent disconnects.

I've changed my network setup a bit, and am now running 4 machines behind a self-built router. The connection works perfectly with it, and I can actually switch back to a public IP to isolate one machine (with a hub outside the network) with absolutely no problem. I don't need the 3 IP addresses anymore, but they are helpful when isolating a machine if troubleshooting needs to be done (so I don't have to reboot the modem).

As far as speed, when its good, its very good. Just recently within the last 2 months or so, there have been regular speed problems during peak hours. Between 7AM-1AM speed would go down to a fraction of the normal, and packet loss and latency would ramp up. Fortunately, the issue was fixed, as it was affecting most of St. Catharines. Unfortunately, technical support did not seem to have any information on the problem, even after testing, and a month of calling, and emails I sent with data to support the problem were never returned. I can only conclude that the phone technical support representatives are not getting access to all the data and tools they need to troubleshoot the problem. I do have to thank the Cogeco employees that post here on DSLR as their assistance and the information they have provided have been invaluable. There are very few ISPs that allow their employees to post in public forums, and I really value their help.

There has also been an upload problem where P2P, IRC, ICQ, and other programs that use non-standard ports to transfer data have been slow due to a software glitch. Certain changes on the network made in response to the growing problem of P2P have seemingly crippled non-standard port upload data transfers. There has been a fix for this, however some people are still complaining of slow upload speeds. I was never affected by this, as it only affected certain areas of Cogeco's subscriber area, so I really can't comment on that.

Other than these two issues, there have been almost no interruptions in service or speed problems.

The newsgroup service still has issues. Binary completion is still very poor, although from the information we have been given it is a result of the peering arrangements, not the server itself. The hardware problems with the actual server were fixed, but completion still hasn't improved significantly. Its still fine for all text groups, but for binary downloads its almost impossible to get complete files. I believe it would be beneficial for the server to be able to serve large binary files, as it costs Cogeco less money for their subscribers to get the files from their servers, instead of hauling the data over one of the transit links. I hope to see the newsgroup service improve in the future, but so far it has been disappointing.

The Acceptable Use Policy has also changed. Data caps per month have been changed to 10GB/5GB download/upload per month. There is no bandwidth meter as of yet to track this via Cogeco, so for the time being, they are soft caps. Sometime in the new year the bandwidth meter will be implemented, and users going over their monthly allotment will be charged $8/GB. I may not agree with this policy of data caps, as rationing my internet service doesn't seem right, but with the growing problems of P2P and bandwidth abuse, I can see the need for it.

There have also been different packages made available for the internet service:

Standard Residential: 2048/384kbps, 10GB/5GB Monthly Caps

Pro Package: 4096/640kbps, 20GB/10GB Monthly Caps

Lite Package: 128/128kbps, 1GB/1GB Monthly Caps

All in all, I do stand by this ISP. This service has been very stable, in spite of the issues I mentioned above. Any large issue is usually resolved within a few days, or information regarding the issue can be made available, one way or another. The NOC and support representatives are competent, friendly, and helpful. For the majority of the time, full advertised speed and services can be utilized.

member for 22.2 years, 2284 visits, last login: 4.4 years ago
updated 21.3 years ago


skokie
Here I Go Again
Premium Member
join:2001-08-19
San Jose, CA

skokie

Premium Member

Thats great!!!!

Thats great!! Wish the cable company in Calif were that good.

Skokie

PinkySuavo
join:2001-08-23

PinkySuavo

Member

Re: Thats great!!!!

at&t is building at san jose if u didn't know.

JJJJJJJJ
@216.129.x.x

JJJJJJJJ

Anon

I'd recommend Cogeco

In the beginning I had problems for about 6 weeks, and I agree 100% that the tech support is really bad.
After that initial problem was solved ( they were upgrading in my area ) I have had a great connection. I average 2.8mbs.

Review by InCaRnAtE7 See Profile

  • Location: St Catharines, ON, Canada
  • Cost: $44 per month
  • CLEC party: @link
When It works it rocks
Mostly up and down ...if you want speed you need to be awake at 3 am
If it gets fixed I'll be a happy camper
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Well I really don't want to bash, so I won't like I have stated above when it's working it rocks....but it has been so up and down the past month the frustration level is starting to peak.



member for 21.4 years, 196 visits, last login: 16.5 years ago
lodged 21.4 years ago







Review by MoreFaxes See Profile

  • Location: United
  • Cost: $45 per month
  • Install: about 14 days
Fast connection, easy installation.
Limited support/installation, can be difficult for novice users.
Good value, twice the bandwidth & quota at same price of Sympatico.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

The best part about Cogeco cable internet is value. The installation is free and can save you $60 if you want cable TV installed at the same time. Average dowload is 1.5-2 Mbps, which is twice of what Sympatico offers. The download quota is 10 GB, also twice of what Sympatico offers. They both have the same price $45 /mo with 3 month promotion at a reduced price.

My experience about installation is mixed. My first appointment did not go well as I was moving that day. I left a note on the intercom to the tech to call me as I was in another unit of the same building. I was in and out of those two apartment moving stuff. I was never called. No note was left to let me they were here either. I waited and waited... I found out that they came and left without leaving any notice. I had to reschedule.

I got the "first appointment" as that is the only way to guarantee a time. It will otherwise be a "morning" or "afternoon" or "whole day" appointment depending on how booked that day is. The tech showed up on time this time. He ran the cables to my rooms, installed a splitter, and left a modem to me. No instruction booklet, no welcome package, no email or other account set up information.

I had to read the user guide and plugged the modem in to try. It was fortunately very easy to install as I already had a NIC for DSL before this. However, if you run in to troubles, you will not even know where to call (no tech support number was given) or what your account id is (he never left any paper to me). I remember they used to have TWO techs.... one for cable and one for computer installation. They try to save money on the computer tech visit but their cable tech is not trained well on getting internet customer started.

However, it did work quite smoothly for me as modem DHCP assigns an IP and my Windows just picks up automatically.

My average speed is 1900/380. I'm in Eastern Ontario. My fastest download (eg, from Tucows Cogeco server in Quebec) is 250 KB/S in Internet Explorer. I hope the speed can keep up this high constantly.

I would highly recommend this ISP for experienced users.

member for 21.5 years, 230 visits, last login: 343 days ago
lodged 21.5 years ago


Bagnon
Snoogans
join:2000-11-19
Hamilton, ON

Bagnon

Member

good....

good to see you've choosen wisely. head over to the Cogeco forum if you haven't already. theres a few ppl who work at CGO that can help if u need any help and will gladly do it so w/o any problems. Cogeco is the bomb. so welcome.

»Cogeco

Review by showoff6 See Profile

  • Location: Fonthill, ON, Canada
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
Tech support is OK 15 - 20 min waits
Tech support is no help
Great connection when it works
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

At first my connection was fast and reliable ( 250K dl and 50K ul) but for a week now its been extremly slow ( 30 - 50K dl and 10K ul). Tech support is no help they keep saying its my NIC card, wich I know is bullshit cause I conected with the USB and its the same. Anyway if anyone can help please email me or post on the forum.

member for 21.5 years, 21 visits, last login: 19.2 years ago
lodged 21.5 years ago







Review by tyler412521 See Profile

  • Location: h0h 0h0
  • Cost: $45 per month (month by month)
  • Install: about 4 days
Solid connection, good speeds, 3 IP addresses!
Some lengthy tech support calls.. 5 HOUR WAIT for 2nd tier tech
Not bad, they serve me well, no real complaints
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

They upped the price once already, but the install was smooth.. the techs knew what they were doing. Speeds have been good, ~300k max

I've had some pretty nasty runins with the tech support.. They have a 5 hour waiting policy before the 2nd tier tech support will call you back.

I get 3 IP addresses, so I can run my 3 computers w/o having to have a router.

member for 21.8 years, 2 visits, last login: 21.8 years ago
lodged 21.8 years ago


Clipper
join:2002-05-23
Stoney Creek, ON

Clipper

Member

re: 5 hour call back...

Effective monday, that will be changing slightly. tier 1 will have more flexibility with support than before.






Review by Incognetoo See Profile

  • Location: Tilbury, ON, Canada
  • Cost: $45 per month
  • Install: about 6 days
very fast reliable connection
1st tier tech support is very poor
i would (and have ) recommend the isp
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I was a little concerned when my pre-sales question, What's the average speed? Stumped the tech support person.
However I have had a flawless connection since installation.

member for 21.8 years, 2517 visits, last login: 3 years ago
lodged 21.8 years ago







Review by Chelle See Profile

  • Location: Burlington, ON, Canada
  • Cost: $44 per month
  • Install: about 5 days
Reliable connection, never goes down. 3 IP addresses.
None yet.
Definitely worth the money.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Value for money:

I had cogeco installed back in September of 2001 when it was still managed by our local cable company and known as Quintenet. The installer was generally worthless and I asked him to just leave the stuff and I would install it myself. He seemed irritated that I had Windows 2000 and told me it wasn't supported. Anyway, he wasn't even in his truck yet when I had it up and running. I didn't receive or use any software and my NIC was already installed so all I had to do was plug in the Com21 modem and reboot. Ten minutes after that the connection was shared between two of our computers.

I had speed issues in March that were fixed by a hardware upgrade by the ISP, the problem was affecting most of Eastern Ontario but in my opinion it was taken care of quickly and hasn't tainted my opinion of the company. I haven't really used the tech support so I have no comment about that and I don't use the email or news servers so I can't rate those either.

Overall, I would recommend the service, it's fast and stable and affordable.

Update January 2004 - Have cogeco at my third location and still have no complaints whatsoever about the service at any of the past or current addresses. Recent speed increases have brought the standard package up to speeds of 5mbit down/640 up without a price increase.

member for 22.1 years, 4228 visits, last login: 6.1 years ago
lodged 21.9 years ago

soothsayer15
join:2002-03-01
Irving, TX

soothsayer15

Member

Post

[text was edited by author 2002-05-03 15:08:48]

[text was edited by author 2002-05-03 15:11:04]
TACSPEED
Premium Member
join:2001-04-14
Tacoma, WA

TACSPEED

Premium Member

Re: Shut Up

quote:
I can't stand when people complain about good bandwidth, 5Mbps/1Mbps.
I don't think that was the download speed this poster was writing about. I believe the caps being discussed were 5 gigabytes down and 1 gigabyte up. Quantity not speed appears to be the issue.

PS: I hope the reviewer does not shut up. We need all the reviews, good and bad. The more reviews, the more help for others to base their decisions on. Keep those reviews coming!

Chelle

join:2002-02-19
Atlanta, GA

Chelle

Data Caps

Speed caps ate 2000/384, BANDWIDTH caps are 5gb down/1 gb up.
[text was edited by author 2002-05-03 15:54:24]

nerdyguy$
Premium Member
join:2003-03-15
Canada

nerdyguy$

Premium Member

I'm glad they raised the 5/1 caps

Those were too low, 10/5 caps are fair because it costs the ISP about $3 per GB so if people download too much then the ISP ends up losing money

Review by Valz76 See Profile

  • Location: Windsor, ON, Canada
  • Cost: $55 per month
Fast at Off peak times
Inconsistent and very poor tech help
Choose another Isp if you can.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Their tech service is horrible. Wait three hours to get help. Speeds range from 6kps to 400kps . The 6kps being at peak times and the 400kps bein at off peak times.

I had both residential and commercial lines from cogeco and there is no difference between the two besides the price. If you can get a good dsl provider, then by all means stick with them.

They need to get their act together !

member for 22.3 years, 99 visits, last login: 17.2 years ago
lodged 21.9 years ago


Bagnon
Snoogans
join:2000-11-19
Hamilton, ON

Bagnon

Member

Sigh.....

hmm maybe its ur line? ever thought of that?

Review by sikk$ See Profile

  • Location: Canada
  • Cost: $44 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
Nice and fast
Wait for service. Next to no documentation with install package
Definitely the best choice for my current situation. Thumbs up.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Good points:

My connection is consistently around 2 Mbps, regardless of the time of day. Other than a problem with a setting in the box outside, the connection has been totally reliable.

Bad points:

The initial 1 week wait seemed to be a bit much. I also had to wait nearly another week to get a technician to come look at the line problem (above) I was having.

The fact that there's no documentation on the modem I received is a bit distressing. There is also no documentation for other services offered (mail, nntp, dns). The tech who did the initial install had to write the pop and smtp servers on my copy of the "subscriber agreement". I would suspect this has to do with the demise of @home.

All in all, the experience has been pretty smooth. I'd recommend Cogeco to anyone looking for a fast ISP who isn't Bell.

member for 22 years, 398 visits, last login: 21 years ago
lodged 22 years ago

C4Xplosive
join:2002-02-21
Vancouver, WA

C4Xplosive

Member

Nice

Glade to see your happy (you get nicer speeds then I will this saturday since I am capped at 1.5Mbps ).

One problem...7 days too long? Ok I admit that seems alittle long to wait for internet service but common...it used to be a month and ATTBI and Comcast (pretty much one company) are "thee" worst with a minimum of 14 days period. They start scheduling you at 14 days from the day you called and further.

So dont worry...be happy you are better off waiting a week then 2 weeks down here with all us ATT and Comcast folk.

Comcast T2
@149.99.x.x

Comcast T2

Anon

Re: Nice

Many Comcast support reps actually work in an area supplied by Cogeco Cable. We all find it amusing that for 39.95 canadian we get up to 3mbps and we really get it! Unlike comcast that gives you about 900kbps on a good day. Sorry Comcast clients
sikk$
join:2002-03-08
Canada

sikk$ to C4Xplosive

Member

to C4Xplosive

Re: 14 days?!?

Any company that leaves their paying customers hanging for 14 days doesn't deserve customers. Do they have a monopoly on the market or something?
C4Xplosive
join:2002-02-21
Vancouver, WA

C4Xplosive

Member

Re: Nice

I know man word. Yes ATT does hav ea major monopoly they own 70% of the entire Broadband market and 80% of the cable market not to mention DSL is non-existent here along with competition.

Review by shred000 See Profile

  • Location: Amherstview, ON, Canada
  • Cost: $40 per month
  • Install: about 5 days
Speed
No [personal] servers limitation, tech support sucks rocks
I will be changing ISPs soon, hopefully cogeco can turn around
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

When I first got Cogeco@Home I was happy with it. It was fast, installation time was good.

Tech support has always sucked rocks. I have yet to get anyone on the phone that actually knew what TCP/IP was. They all know how to reboot modems, reboot PCs just fine but not much more than that. It is impossible getting escalated to somebody who can understand an even remotely technical problem description. You never get call-backs when techs say they need to "go find out and will call you back", they just forget about you.

Service has been off and on but mostly on I would say.

My major gripe now is the "no servers" BS. It used to be OK because you ran you own little (personal) server, low bandwidth, all incoming (downstream) and nobody bothered you. You were not being a "problem" on the network. Now I am not talking hosting warez, or porn or any business type services, just a little personal mail server for example (and not for spamming).

Now they are enforcing the "no servers" policy by installing port filters. Do they filter the ports for the "high bandwidth" P2P applications out there, or the warez servers, etc. Nope. They block the port for e-mail. A low volume, non-bandwidth-hogging service.

Now if they would run a decent mail service, that had a reasonable uptime & low-latencies, and allowed me to use my own domain name and had decent, customizable spam control, then I wouldn't need to run my own mail server. But they don't. They limit my bandwidth usage amounts but don't allow me to take the appropriate measures to not waste my limited bandwidth on spam.

I also don't want to have an e-mail address at a domain I am not in control of. I don't want @cogeco.ca, or @yahoo.com, or @hotmail.com because with all of those domains, you are at the mercy of the domain owner. Don't like their service anymore? Start contacting all of your friends and family and anywhere you have given your e-mail address to to have them change it. It's a major hassle!

So, if COGECO continues with the nazi-network lockdown tactics I will be changing ISPs. I know folks who have dumped COGECO because of this already and I know folks who will be dumping it. We want Internet. If we wanted content-controlled web-browsing, we would all sign up with AOL, now wouldn't we?



member for 22.1 years, 12 visits, last login: 22 years ago
lodged 22.1 years ago

QuickSurfer
join:2001-12-15
Georgetown, ON

QuickSurfer

Member

Port blocking

actually they have limited the speed on all P2P ports to lessen traffic