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Review by unbrkabl See Profile

  • Location: Spruce Grove, AB, Canada
  • Cost: $99 per month
great speeds
pricey
the best
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

by far the best I have used in Canada-

member for 16.4 years, 3 visits, last login: 12.9 years ago
lodged 12.9 years ago


MerinX
Crunching for Cures
Premium Member
join:2011-02-03

MerinX

Premium Member

har har

Lol in Canada, i guess that is sorta true at this point since they backed off UBB and bumped extreme to match up with telus's fastest tier.






Review by Rob420 See Profile

  • Location: Victoria, BC, Canada
  • Cost: $41 per month
  • Install: about 1 days
Best customer service of any company I've known. Good techincal support.
Could be cheaper.
One of the best.
Pre Sales information:
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Value for money:

I've been with Shaw for over 8 years. They support their equipment 100% even beyond warranty. Completely rewired my house with multiple outlets ( 4 hrs work) for FREE.

Technical phone support very helpful and competent. Fast, reliable service with some slowdown during high usage. No inclination to change this ISP.

member for 13.1 years, 3 visits, last login: 13 years ago
lodged 13.1 years ago

wilburyan
join:2002-08-01

wilburyan

Member

Best... no... top 2... maybe

Top 2... assuming you have 2 different ISPs to choose from. :S

"could be cheaper" could be a lot cheaper... as prices go up year after year.

rastaman
@shawcable.net

rastaman

Anon

Re: Best... no... top 2... maybe

To be fair, he lives in BC. There may be better alternatives to Shaw if you live east of Alberta, but in BC/Alberta the only major alternative is Telus. If you ranked those ISPs, Shaw is #1 and Telus is #3. A tin can attched to string is #2.
GAMEFUEL
join:2011-01-05

GAMEFUEL

Member

Re: Best... no... top 2... maybe

It depends on how you rank each ISP. I don't think simply whoever has the highest download speed should be ranked #1.

I would propose:

Internet Speeds: Up & Down
Ping
Value
Stability / Consistency / Reliability
Customer support / Customer care / Customer satisfaction
Availability

If you exclude availability from that list Novus as far as I know would be a clear 1st so don't be so quick to judge.

rastaman
@shawcable.net

rastaman

Anon

Re: Best... no... top 2... maybe

Yes, Novus is definitely better than Telus and Shaw, which is why I indicated 'major ISP'. For the purposes of comparing ISPs, Novus isn't nearly as widely available as the other two. Of course, that is also likely a factor as to why Novus is better.






Review by davisBC See Profile

  • Location: undisclosed location
  • Cost: $37 per month
Fast, reliable speeds
Price is high if not bundled
Fast and reliable
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

Internet Options: I only have two choices in my area, Shaw and Telus, so no Teksavvy option for me. Of these 2, it is an easy choice though. I've had Shaw since they came to my city in 1998 without any major problems to speak of and I've always happily recommended Shaw to friends or family.

Package/Price: I'm on High-Speed Internet (7.5 Mbps download, 0.5 Mbps upload) for $37/month. That price is fine, but it does include a $10 bundle discount for having TV. If you only have Internet on your account, it is $47/month which is getting kind of steep for 7.5 Mbps.

Equipment: I just bought the SMC wireless gateway ($68) from Shaw last week, and it has been great so far. It was easy to setup and no problems to speak of.

I'm sure trolls will post replies to this review, claiming I'm a fanboy or something, but I guess that makes them feel better. I'll admit I like Shaw, but this is because they've never done anything to upset me, and I'll stick with devil I know rather than the devil I don't.

member for 13.2 years, 35 visits, last login: 13.1 years ago
updated 13.1 years ago

Speed bot
join:2010-10-30
canada

Speed bot

Member

Well I guess...

So I guess I'm a troll then, A troll that doesn't like to be lied to by my ISP, a troll that takes offence to a sneaky data reduction in my plan without any form of statement other than "your previous data plan was just a trial". A troll that doesn't run out of forums defending a new UBB plan.

Since your not this "type" of troll and more naive and trusting, how about you lend me $1000.00 I promise to pay it back real soon.
davisBC
join:2011-01-16

davisBC

Member

Re: Well I guess...

Yes, when people go onto every positive review and post how it is 'wrong', it is just immature.

If you've used Shaw and you don't like them, then by all means go post a bad review for them. I've used Shaw for 13 years and they have been fast, reliable, and affordable for me over that time. That's my experience; feel free to post your own review. Everyone on this site has that option.
GAMEFUEL
join:2011-01-05

1 edit

GAMEFUEL

Member

Stick to what you know... don't distort the truth

If you don't know about Telus don't talk about them. I like Shaw even though as of late the customer service has been absolutely atrocious, and their upload limits are laughable.

But there is nothing particularly better around and that is more a reflection on the poor quality of internet in Alberta than a direct reflection on Shaw. There is no real competition here and that is always going to lead to a poor service.

I don't go over my bandwidth limits so I'm not worried about extra charges although reading what the CRTC said about "the average Canadian for the past 3 years has increased bandwidth usage by 50% each year" did get me thinking. With such low caps it will just be a matter of time before that 10% of people going over turns into 20% it seems a shame that they would do something like this to make extra money when Shaw already has massive profits. If it really was an effort to help the low bandwidth users not pay for the usage of the high ones why is the price not being lowered or people that go under get money back for ever GB they did not use. It seems like it would be a fair UBB and not one that only acted to give more money to the big companies.

This review is poor, I agree with a lot of the stuff you said. Not sure why a review about Shaw is 50% opinionated comments about other ISP's that is deprived of facts. But I do agree Shaw was a good company and great service but this is all in the past and its not been like this for a few years.

A review should help new customers, if someone was to see your review and try and order Shaw today they would be in for a hell of a surprise.
davisBC
join:2011-01-16

1 edit

davisBC

Member

Re: Stick to what you know... don't distort the truth

If you're looking for poor reviews, check the ones that give an overall of 0% - sorry, but if you hate a company that doesn't make their connection reliability 0% and their install co-ordination 0% among other things.
GAMEFUEL
join:2011-01-05

GAMEFUEL

Member

Re: Stick to what you know... don't distort the truth

I guess those people might just be trying to even out the scores... Giving the slow kid high marks because you feel bad is never going to improve the situation.

Everything will be better once the CRTC finishes passing this bill "a new criminal offence for "falsely claiming or creating the impression that the trader is not acting for the purposes relating to his trade, business, craft or profession, or falsely representing oneself as a consumer."

In other words, advertisers will no longer be permitted to pretend that they are members of the public. Spamming forums, for instance, will be illegal.

More broadly, practices that will be outlawed include: seeding positive messages about a brand in a blog without making it clear that the message has been created by, or on behalf of, the brand; using "buzz marketing" specialists to communicate with potential consumers in social situations without disclosing that they are acting as brand ambassadors; and seeding viral ads on the internet in a manner that implies you are a simple member of the public."
davisBC
join:2011-01-16

davisBC

Member

Re: Stick to what you know... don't distort the truth

I don't 'feel bad' for Shaw, their reputation as a company is taking a beating and rightfully so. I've just never had a problem with their services.

Review by chemkidd See Profile

  • Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
  • Cost: $107 per month
  • Install: about 482 days
Always extremely fast and reliable with the best service
Talk of bandwidth caps but are holding off
The provider to go with
Pre Sales information:
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Value for money:

Bandwidth caps seem to be the biggest buzz around Shaw right now and at least they are holding off and speaking to the consumers before implimenting any caps. Some caps have to be done so everyone gets optimal speeds. I have Warp Speed for $107/mo and it can seem expensive but the amount I use the internet it is well worth it.

Order and install was seemless and the Docsis 3.0 Modem is awsome and keeps up with my wireless g linksys router.

After having Novus for two years and having caps where they would turn my internet to a snails pace if I reached my bandwidth was horrible, I'd rather pay to keep if fast. Telus was OK for me downtown but outside the city I never got the speeds of 15 mpbs/sec I was paying for assuming due to distance.

If you use the internet as much as I do and consider yourself a power-user I would recommend Warp speed to anyone as a worthy investment. I couldnt stant sharing my connection with my TV thats just dumb,

Chem

member for 13.3 years, 8 visits, last login: 12.8 years ago
lodged 13.1 years ago


nuckelss
@telus.net

nuckelss

Anon

what?

Novus 40Mbps .Fiber to the unit/home.
$82.95
# Download Speed: 40 Mbps
# Upload Speed: 10 Mbps
# Data Transfer: 250 GB

---

Shaw 50Mbps .Wire to the unit. Possible fiber to the node down the street.
$97
# "Up to" 50 Mbps download speed
# "up to" 3Mbps upload speed
# 175 GB monthly transfer limit

On Shaw, you share your Internet with your subscribed TV. It's the same cable for all services.
atnozm
Premium Member
join:2006-02-03
Schenectady, NY

atnozm

Premium Member

Re: what?

For the record... using the same line for all services really doesn't matter, as long as the lines are good and wired properly.
kyoshiro
join:2011-02-03
Richmond, BC

kyoshiro to nuckelss

Member

to nuckelss
this guy must be a shaw employee

anon444
@shawcable.net

anon444

Anon

Re: what?

why, because you cant believe everyone on Shaw isn't as dissatisfied as you are?
Bandito
join:2003-01-23

Bandito

Member

Re: what?

It's a sad reality...there are ignorant people walking the planet oblivious to what's going in front of them. And when something unexpected happens, they usually say, "gee, i didn't see that coming".

But of course, there are Shaw employees posting here too
cableguy99
join:2010-11-07

cableguy99 to anon444

Member

to anon444
I hate Shaw with a passion over UBB, but this is true. Running services on different frequencies is just like running separate wires for each service; they are completely independent of each other. Cable and phone companies' bandwidth is also the same basic model. Sharing the same cable signal as everyone doesn't mean you're connected to the same bandwidth stream as your neighbours. It connects via your your MAC address on its own frequency, independent of everyone else, and capacity is based entirely on what the router feeding your neighbourhood can handle. Same as with xDSL, your speed is dependent on what the router in your area can handle for each line hooked into it.
GAMEFUEL
join:2011-01-05

GAMEFUEL

Member

Re: what?

-REMOVED

Deja vu
GAMEFUEL

GAMEFUEL to anon444

Member

to anon444
We need this law in Canada:

The UK's main advertising industry body has warned that new restrictions on internet advertisements come into effect next month. In some cases ad messages placed in certain contexts will become illegal.

The IPA highlights one clause in the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations that will create a new criminal offence for "falsely claiming or creating the impression that the trader is not acting for the purposes relating to his trade, business, craft or profession, or falsely representing oneself as a consumer."

In other words, advertisers will no longer be permitted to pretend that they are members of the public. Spamming forums, for instance, will be illegal.

More broadly, practices that will be outlawed include: seeding positive messages about a brand in a blog without making it clear that the message has been created by, or on behalf of, the brand; using "buzz marketing" specialists to communicate with potential consumers in social situations without disclosing that they are acting as brand ambassadors; and seeding viral ads on the internet in a manner that implies you are a simple member of the public.
Roofer
join:2010-11-24

Roofer

Member

His experience applies to 1% of all users

In some areas, Shaw and Telus are the only ISPs, and if you are amongst the 1% of all users that absolutely must have 50mbps and nothing else is important, then Shaw is in fact the logical choice.

As long as you realize that you are giving business to a company that many consider untrustworthy, that makes changes without informing its customers, tries to hide information by backdating Usage Agreements, throttles torrents, takes away functionality and tries to charge you to get it back, etc.

BTW, there may be another option depending on your requirements. You get just get the 15mbps plans from 3 companies (Shaw, Telus, TekSavvy), pay less, and have an effective cap of 425G, instead of the pathetic 175G from Shaw. Remember, getting "more for less" is a term that is alien to Shaw.

lolroofer
@shawcable.net

lolroofer

Anon

Re: His experience applies to 1% of all users

Looking through the forums, this Roofer guy is hilarious. He's obviously either a Telus employee, or somehow involved with Telus. It's very funny to read as he continuously bashes Shaw and talks about how 'great' Telus is. I guess this is his life's work. Good luck with all your endeavors, Roofer!!
GAMEFUEL
join:2011-01-05

GAMEFUEL

Member

Waste of money.

I called Shaw to ask why they were holding those meetings and what they hoped to achieve. I was told that their aim was not to stop UBB but to explain to people why UBB would only positively affect them and that it was only 1% of the Shaw users that would be charge penalties.

This review makes no sense at all in any regards, apparently when giving Shaw a review its common policy to try and make its competitors look bad.

Bandwidth caps seem to be the biggest buzz around Shaw yes I would agree. But your complaint for changing from Novus to Shaw is absurd.

After labelling your self a power-user and someone who exceeds a 250GB cap on Novus why would you change to Shaw? You should have upgraded to the Net 100 at Novus as it would be cheaper for you thank using Shaw Warp speed. You said you exceeded a 250GB cap on Novus but warp has a cap of 175GB and its $2GB over that... So you are going to pay $150 on top of an already more expensive Warp speed... Please tell me how you thought this was a good decision?

Novus
Net 40 $89.95 Standalone 250GB transfer limit 40Mbps/10Mbps
Net 100 $154.95 Standalone 500GB transfer limit 100Mpbs/10Mbps

Shaw
Warp $107.00 Standalone 175GB transfer limit 50Mbps/3Mbps
Nitro $160.00 Standalone 350GB transfer limit 100Mbps/5Mbps

Review by annoyingrob See Profile

  • Location: Calgary, AB, Canada
  • Cost: $54 per month
Service is reliable, gets advertised speeds
Went through several bad older modems before getting a newer good one
It's better than the alternatives around here
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I've had Shaw high speed for 8 years now, and have had very few problems with it. They adversize around 7-8mbit for my service, which is exactly what I get all the time. I've had issues in the past with some of their older modems, but they always replaced them free of charge, which is surprising because I bought the modem 8 years ago rather than rent it.

I have nothing bad to say about their service. Installation went smoothly and I've had only a handful of dropouts in the last few years.

member for 17 years, 231 visits, last login: 10.5 years ago
lodged 13.3 years ago


Review by chem1 See Profile

  • Location: Surrey, BC, Canada
  • Cost: $118 per month
  • Install: about 1 days
Great company, really stepping up their Customer Service and Options
Phone waiting time on the phone has been long until recently
The Warp speed internet service is high but is worth it for the speed and support
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I have been with Shaw for many years, and Novus for Over 4 years. I have chosen to stay with Shaw since many years of fearing to go over my bandwidth. Apparently they have doubled the amount of people on the Phone and it's always an advantage to me talking to people from Vancouver and not the Phillipines.

I know the service works, and I don't have to pay if it doesn't, it meets my download and sharing needs so although I'm paying 106 for just the Warp Speed Internet, Thats a night out with a date so I'd rather do that then sign terms to control my life for three years.

All in all a great company to deal with and enough added value in their products to work with anyone

member for 13.5 years, 2 visits, last login: 13.3 years ago
updated 13.3 years ago


Review by Ulalume See Profile

  • Location: Langley, BC, Canada
  • Cost: $50 per month
Nothing but good to say about Shaw
Great experience
Pre Sales information:
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Shaw seems to have learned Warren Buffets ideas on value. I get all the bang for my buck with Shaw. We were experiencing connection problems intermittently, and I finally called them. The tech on the phone could confirm the problem, and within a few days they arrived. One guy rewired the inside of our house, and then called his supervisor. The supervisor came out, and within a few hours there was a cable truck outside, a flag person, and two dudes who rewired the connection to our house from the telephone pole. By my count there were six people directly involved, on site. As a business owner I can say that it will take them some time to make their money back from me, if ever. I'd hate to be paying the labour bill for those 6 people.

The Shaw employees seem to enjoy what they are doing, and actually have a sense of humour - including the call centre people. This shows in their work.

By contrast, with Telus, who I used to be with, I found a "Crown Corporation" mentality. They do what they like, charge what they please, and I am to accommodate myself or get lost. Any time I talked to their service techs I got an earful about how their employer, Telus, was screwing them out of this or that. It showed in their work. Their work in MY house.

With Rogers Wireless, who I am soon to drop, I find that every time I deal with their sales people I feel like I have been bamboozled, flimflammed. I end up with some whacko convoluted plan, and when I actually get my bill it is higher - gee what a surprise.

The Rogers sales people are nice enough, it is the packaging of the product that sucks - how about this for a hypothetical example : " UNLIMITED TEXTING for FREE !" with a note on the bottom of the page in 6 point type that "unlimited texting" refers to black text on a black background. If I would like hot pink or yellow text on a black background, or even old fashioned white - well that will cost me 50 cents a message !

Why should I spend my time distrusting and examining plans and fine print trying to weed out their "gotcha's" . I should be able to trust them. I can just hear everyone snickering at the above sentence - naive ? That is what I have with Shaw.

Maybe it is the others providers who make Shaw stand out. I want high speed reliable Internet, I got high speed reliable Internet. No BS, no flimflam, no attitude. A fair exchange for my hard earned cash. End of story.

A good deal is when everyone at the table feels that they are walking away with good value. Anything else won't last long.

member for 13.4 years, 70 visits, last login: 7.3 years ago
updated 13.3 years ago


Review by rog2 See Profile

  • Location: BC
  • Cost: $39 per month
steady high speed 4800/490 most of the time
slow upload speed
speed great! newsgroups now much better
Pre Sales information:
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Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
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Value for money:

Had Shaw since they took over from Rogers.

member for 21.7 years, 2836 visits, last login: 7.9 years ago
updated 13.4 years ago

Drex_CS
join:2005-05-11
canada

Drex_CS

Member

well.....

You could maybe say where your located, when you were installed, if you've had to call tech services. any opinions/suggestions that you have about the service.






Review by Link Logger See Profile

  • Location: Calgary, AB, Canada
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
Fast, reliable lots of plans
Wish they would have told me able the plan I just switched to sooner
Wouldn't switch
Pre Sales information:
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Even when my wife worked for Telus and we were entitled to a employee discount with Telus, I kept Shaw. I was one of the original test users at Shaw and have never felt a need to switch to any other ISP. Shaw's support and service have been outstanding and we have even switch to Shaw's phone service. Buh-bye telus.

Update to my reveiw for Sept 17, 2008:
Shaw is still clearly the best choice for internet connectivity in Calgary.

Wow even faster then ever. Shaw continues to earn my business everyday.

Still a very, very happy camper with Shaw.

member for 23 years, 8026 visits, last login: 1.4 years ago
updated 13.4 years ago


A Pickle
@shawcable.net

A Pickle

Anon

Up and Down Internet Connection

We have had ongoing issues with Shaw highspeed internet.... so we upgraded our internet connection, bought new computers and new Linksys wireless system. Shaw says it isn't their fault that our connection is up and down and when they came out to check our line, still say that. We are up and down......our new Linksys, computers and faster internet connection have not solved the problem.....any answers? I work through a VPN so it is manditory that a strong signal is maintained.

Link Logger
MVM
join:2001-03-29
Calgary, AB

Link Logger

MVM

Re: Up and Down Internet Connection

Is it just your VPN connection that drops or general surfing?

Blake

Review by LegacyGuy See Profile

  • Location: Calgary, AB, Canada
  • Cost: $39 per month
  • Install: about 1 days
Reliable, Excellent Customer Service, Variety of Services
Some slowdowns but nothing serious
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
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Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I had used Shaw initially about 15 years ago. It was terrible back then! Very unreliable, slow, with awfull customer service. I switched to Telus ADSL within a year of starting with Shaw. Telus was much better ... initially. Over time, about three and a half to four years, two things changed: 1) Telus got too popular and performance began to degrade, and 2) Shaw teamed up with @Home.

Eventually my Telus ADSL became unusable. I was "too far away for the copper to perform better" is what I was eventually told by Telus Service. A limitation of ADSL at the time. I began my search for a new ISP but options are somewhat limited up here in Western Canada with our tightly government controlled Telecom industry.

An extensive poll of my friends and coworkers had me take another look at Shaw. By then (around 2001) Shaw had bought out @Home and assimilated their servers. Shaw also caught on that Customer Service actually has a beneficial impact of sales and totally revamped that area of their company. I give Shaw a lot of credit for that strategic move, they continue to have top-notch customer service to this day.

Shaw has been my ISP ever since. Their customer service continues to be outstanding. The best example of this is that my 80 year old in-laws can call them (when I can't be reached) and have their questions and concerns answered to their satisfaction. No small feat!

Today we currently run two wired desktops, one wired Win2003 Server, a wired network laser printer, a wireless desktop, and two wireless laptops off this connection with no issues. I just added a second wireless router as a repeater that we use specifically for the wireless desktop and mobile phone connectivity.

Is Shaw perfect? No. Of course I'd like faster connection speeds for less money. Who doesn't? But I do consider Shaw, all things considered, to be an excellent value.

member for 13.6 years, 2 visits, last login: 12.1 years ago
lodged 13.6 years ago