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Review by ward331 
member for 12.1 years, 17 visits, last login: 11.3 years ago
lodged 11.3 years ago
 Thunder Bay,ON
 $39 per month about 14 days "speed was ok......sometimes" "almost no customer supprt via email" "They suck big time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
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(ratings match consensus)
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I tried several times to get answers from them by email, usually had to
wait at least a week for a response. Responses never once answered my questions directly.
When I finally cancelled my account with them (today), they then decided to answer
my emails but their answers were a joke.
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 Review by Hrozz
member for 12.3 years, 279 visits, last login: 2 years ago
lodged 11.6 years ago
- St Albert,AB
- $40 per month
- (12 month contract)
- about 21 days
- "raw power, fast downloads"
- "security issues, upload caps, connection like a wave up and down"
- "security issues and upload caps eliminate any value from having fast downloads"
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(ratings match consensus)
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On Aug. 3rd was contacted by Shaw and offered free cable, as I was a DSL customer they offered an extra free month. I said ok as it was an opportunity to test both (DSL & Cable) side by side. Installation was at my request for the 24th & was done with very little adjustments as I had DSL already. I used DLS Tweak tool and immediately boosted the Download rate from 962/90 kbps to 2348/86 kbps much to the amazement of the Technician.
tests on the 26th showed this
2001-08-26 02:35:16 Speed test 1253/336 kbps DSL
2001-08-26 02:34:20 Speed test 1336/449 kbps DSL
2001-08-26 02:27:14 Speed test 442/77 kbps Cable
2001-08-26 02:26:07 Speed test 624/80 kbps Cable
cable was slower but what was incredible was the upload rate which showed barely faster than a modem.
Later that day comparative tests showed this
1415MDT
tested both DSL and Cable as shown below
2001-08-26 16:06:14 Speed test 1336/416 kbps =DSL
2001-08-26 16:03:48 Speed test 1336/413 kbps =DSL
2001-08-26 15:56:49 Speed test 607/71 kbps =Cable
2001-08-26 15:55:09 Speed test 773/133 kbps =Cable
definite difference in the speeds both down/up DSL shows again consistency.
Called Shaw Cable help desk and asked about whether they had caps on uploads and what exactly was the max speed for cable. in which they replied that they didn't guarantee speeds and that yes the speed fluctuated up and down like valleys. I said that the download speed was good but why wasn't the upload at least as equal as DSL. They replied they were more concerned with being able to download fast! I replied that while its fine to be able to leech fast off others that we should be able to return the favor in uploads. I gave today's comparison and told they that there was quite a difference between DSL and Cable today. They replied that something must need adjustment in modem and that they would be sending a technician to verify it but would get back to me as they couldn't say when one would be available.
subsequent tests showed cable was fast and that they had done something to raise the upload rate from 71 kbps to 331kbps max shown below.
2001-09-14 12:58:54 Speed test (la) 3400/273 kbps
2001-09-14 12:58:19 Speed test (wc) 2876/331 kbps
2001-09-13 00:44:32 Speed test (wc) 1698/264 kbps
2001-09-11 16:55:46 Speed test (la) 2659/191 kbps
2001-09-11 16:55:11 Speed test (wc) 1910/297 kbps
2001-09-11 15:34:21 Speed test (la) 3762/277 kbps
One thing I had noticed while being connected to cable was that almost immediately I was getting hits on my firewall for intrusions. Without fail every single time I connected and used Cable someone was trying to get in & that all of the IP address's were cable. I fired off some emails to the ISP's but more often than not were the instances where some hackers piggybacked on and I had multiple addresses. I told SHAW about the security issue and they admitted that it was a problem but had I sent emails to the attackers ISP's? Of course I had but really it becomes a pain to have to do it every day and every time I went on the computer. On DSL I do get some attacks but they are few and far between what I was getting on Cable.
I cancelled the cable connection on the 14th because of security issues and the upload caps. The bottom line was that until these were addressed it wasn't worth the trouble as compared to the consistency that I got from DSL. Sure Cable can be fast but then it also can be slow. If I had to recommend cable to someone yes I would if it was the only alternative to a modem but they would need a good firewall.
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Review by night_hawk
member for 11.7 years, 32 visits, last login: 11 years ago
updated 11.7 years ago
- Burnaby,BC
- $30 per month
- "4 Mbits/s downloads when it was first installed a few months ago."
- "The last 2 months of hell and poor response from their tech's about poor connectivity and high latency"
- "Poor infrastructure from the get go! Sharing bandwidth with your neighbours = bad!"
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(ratings match consensus)
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---Final Update I promise  ---
To be fair, as of last Tuesday Aug 28, 2001 I noticed I had a new IP on a totally new class b.
All this week speeds have been back to normal 1.8 Mb - 2.4 Mb but the damage is done.
My ADSL is already been arranged and my cable connection cancelled before the fix.
Maybe Shaw will do better next time when problems arise.
I'll never come back to cable because it is prone to have problems. 2 months out of 5 months of bad service whereas with Telus I've had 3 days of bad service in 2 years.
Look for me in the Telus review setion in 2 weeks.
---FINAL UPDATE---------------
Well last week shaw sends this letter around saying that they will FIX (LOL) the problem in my area!!!
JOKE... it's no different than before... Actually it got worse... At Midnight PDT I'm getting 286 kbits down and 45 kbits up LOL
That's the bad news Shaw LACKS a good network!!!!
Good news Telus will be installing my ADSL in 12 days... I've had ADSL at this location for 2 years with 3 afternoons of downtime...
Shaw HAHAHAHAHA In 6 months I've had over 2 months of useless connectivity... I have even had to withdraw from a gaming league due to this network problem!!
Parting thoughts "NAH NAH NAH NAH, NAH NAH NAH NAH, HEY HEY GOOD BYE!"
-----------------------------
For the last 2 months, the North Burnaby BC area, has had poor quality connections!
Not only for myself but for my friends in a 4 km radius.
I called tech support and all they had to say was that they would forward the complaint to the network admin.
I guess all I can do is wait for Telus to install my ADSL
----Update----
I've called their tech support (yes I did wait the 30 - 40 mins) to have them look into it. All they did was test to make sure the frequency into the modem was optimal. I have worked and supervised at local ISP's in Technical Support for 4 years. As a professional in the field, their technical support response was poor.
Typical speed tests from here and mybc's speedtest range from 280kbits - 128 kbits download and upload has been around 30 kbits - 60 kbits...
Way below par. When Shaw first took over, the speeds down were 2.5 Mbits - 4.0 Mbits.
Wow today the download test hit 649 kbits... LOL
Here's 2 line quality tests that were done.
»/quality/nil/488407
»/quality/nil/487784
2001-08-09 21:51:06
Speed test
649/87 kbps
2001-08-07 23:40:30
Speed test
146/31 kbps
2001-08-06 15:40:52
Speed test
283/105 kbps
2001-08-06 03:47:17
Speed test
247/59 kbps
2001-08-06 03:05:11
Speed test
183/33 kbps
2001-08-06 02:59:35
Speed test
128/37 kbps
2001-08-05 17:55:12
Speed test
164/36 kbps
2001-08-04 19:20:29
Speed test
168/50 kbps
2001-08-04 18:37:17
Speed test
258/53 kbps
--- Update again ---
The saga continues... After complaining again I was assured that yes there is a problem with Burnaby, BC and yes we will fix it soon. LOL
Then I receive the e-mail stating that yesterday morning (Tues Aug 21) that they will be finished with upgrading this area. Of course they botch this up and the connection was even worse! 3kbits down 28 kbits up... yes I said 3kbits.. I even saved it as a result but I see that the result is not in my test history anymore. Looks like DSLR removes the really bad scores even if they reflect the present state of the network. At the same time i also use speedtest.mybc.com and received similiar results (3 - 16 kbits/s).
I knew years ago to never trust Roger's with my connection and I didnt... Not only can they as a corporation not be trusted but the entire cable distribution system is flawed! I should know better to not put money into a system where I can share the network with my 20 (or whatever their # is) neighbours!
So when Shaw comes, I figure \"OK what the heck, I'll try it out\" .
Moral of the story, NEVER second guess yourself!!
I see this morning the connection is up (LOL) to 280 kbits up and down. SAD SAD SAD!!!
I guess all i can do is complain until my ADSL is installed. Far better technology!!
--- Final Update Aug 22, 2001 ---
2001-08-22 20:19:16
Speed test
274/40 kbps
2001-08-22 18:54:02
Speed test
732/55 kbps
2001-08-22 17:16:18
Speed test
189/63 kbps
2001-08-22 12:33:07
Speed test
343/202 kbps
2001-08-22 12:30:10
Speed test
297/286 kbps
2001-08-22 00:18:50
Speed test
202/38 kbps
2001-08-21 19:39:56
Speed test
309/100 kbps
2001-08-21 19:37:51
Speed test
337/68 kbps
Here's the last of my tests from the past 2 days.
I would love to know why dslreports removed my saved tests which had REALLY bad results?
3 kbits/s down 28 kbits/s up
And those were accurate cuz at the same time I went mybc.com's speedtest and it came back with very close download rate 12 kbits/s
I'll definately be reviewing Telus when it arrives
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