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Review by mwilson See Profile

  • Location: canada
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
  • Install: about 9 days
  • No Cap
Fast speeds, local company, friendly representatives
None as of yet
If you're looking for a change from one of the big players in the market, pick Start
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

A few months ago, I decided to start looking at moving to something other than 6/1 DSL with Teksavvy as there were no other DSL options available in my area. I briefly looked at Rogers, but was burned badly by them years ago and vowed to never go back. My choices realistically came down to TekSavvy and Start. Start won my business for a few reasons: a) lower cost overall, b) Teksavvy has brutal hold times from my experience, c) Teksavvy seems to have expanded too quickly and their service has been affected. d) Start is a locally owned company.

So, I signed up with Start after giving it a lot of thought. The reason for the 9 days between signing up and installation is because I wanted to book an evening spot (between 5 and 8pm) when I knew I'd be free. The evening of the installation I got home from work and plugged the modem in to get everything ready for the tech. I noticed that after a few minutes the modem was showing that it was online. I tested the connection and verified that it was working as expected. After waiting for two hours, I decided to go on with my evening. At around 7:30, the tech showed up. I let him in, showed him the modem and explained that everything seemed to be working and that I had already tested the connection and was getting the expected speeds.

I've had a solid connection since then and have received a follow up call from Start to verify that everything went smoothly. I'm very glad to have made the switch and have no regrets. While I'm paying almost double that I was for my 6/1 DSL service, the speeds have been great and it has been worth it.

member for 20.9 years, 593 visits, last login: 2.9 years ago
lodged 8.9 years ago


Review by F1Fan See Profile

  • Location: Mississauga, ON, Canada
  • Cost: $40 per month
  • Install: about 10 days
On time installation, worked first time
Can't think of anything so far!
Can only comment on installation for now, no problems at all.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Value for money:

I live in Mississauga, Ontario. Read reviews here and other websites before deciding upon Start Communications. 10 days from order to installation. Bell tech came within agreed window. We were switched from Bell Fibe to Start in just over one hour (including my modem setup time). Speedtest shows 12.6M so far (for a plan that offers up to 15M).
Here's what worked for me:
- Did all my research upfront about my GB needs and speed.
- Contacted Start (and others) weeks ago for initial info/confirmation. I actually understand why they charge $50 install fee now - someone has to pay the Bell tech for his time.
- Called Bell to cancel fibe and was told by Bell (two agents) that they have never heard of Start Communications. Was not put off - I'm sure they are asked to convey that doubt.
- Got a TP Link modem from Best Buy last week and was ready with it today, before the Bell tech arrived.
- Called Start this morning to get the VCI/VPI (?) info beforehand, as per the modem instructions.
- Bell tech was nice, no issues, but not allowed to help with modem setup - and I expected that anyway.
- Connected first time.

Will post again in a few weeks to provide an update about reliability/speed etc.

member for 8.9 years, driveby review (so far)
updated 8.9 years ago


Review by chakalon See Profile

  • Location: Montreal, QC, Canada
  • Cost: $56 per month
  • Install: about 20 days
  • Caps of 300 gigabytes/month
Customer Service: tech support, sales, etc.
None so far
Strongly, strongly recommended if available in your Montreal area
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I just moved to our new place and my wife and I were looking to save some money in our services. We were previously with Bell, I was paying $65 for 15/5, capped at 400GBs. Overall, I was not dissatisfied with Bell, but I gotta admit I had several connectivity and latency issues specially when streaming Netflix while using other devices. So, after looking for other ISPs we gave Start a chance because their prices looked attractive and had awesome reviews on this website. I called and schedule installation for April 2nd, I later called to change it to March 30 with absolutely no problems. Since I read most of the reviews on this page, I was pretty excited and with very high expectations and I have to say I am not disappointed so far. At first I was not getting the speeds I subscribed to, but after a 5-minutes call, they fixed it. I have performed at least 20 speed tests since then and I always get very high and constant speeds. Streaming Netflix while using other devices is not a problem anymore: (We have 3 laptops, a desktop, 4 phones & a PS4). It baffles me how these guys use Bell's lines and yet offer way better service and prices. I will be saving around 10 bucks and yet having better speeds and service, the 300GBs does not worry me because (1)with Start uploads do not count towards your monthly quota (2) they offer unlimited transfer window from 2am-8am and (3) we usually use around 200GBs per month, streaming Netflix almost everyday...So, overall I do strongly recommend Start to anyone.

member for 8.9 years, driveby review (so far)
lodged 8.9 years ago


Review by wyn0 See Profile

  • Location: N8P0A9
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
  • Install: about 6 days
Start.ca
Easy, quick setup works great
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
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Value for money:

I just set up my Start.ca cable internet today. I followed their quick setup guide. Once the modem was ready I connected the $35 N Router purchased from Best Buy and easily found and checked off the internet on my computer. I then connected my VOIP phone and everything works. I opted to rent their modem for $5 a month (on to the $35 cost plus tax) as I wanted to make sure everything was fine and there is no contract term. They also informed me if I refer someone who gets their service they give you a $25 credit on your account. You can get that every time someone you refer takes their service. I have not needed tech support yet or had a problem with connection reliability. It runs off Cogeco cable. Thank you to Start.ca!

member for 8.9 years, 1 visits, last login: 8.9 years ago
updated 8.9 years ago


Review by SlotTech See Profile

  • Location: Kingston, ON, Canada
  • Cost: $44 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
  • Caps of 150 gigabytes/month
Inexpenisve, reliable, friendly sales and support staff
Nothing
Great product, price and service
Pre Sales information:
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It took me almost a year after I found out about Start to make the switch but I'm glad I did. I signed up online and actually received a phone call the same or next day to confirm my order and the date that my cable internet would be transferred. They also called me the day of activation to confirm I had everything working properly. They provided friendly service when I had problems due to node congestion, they even called me back in a few days to let me know when Cogeco planned to have the problem rectified. When I upgraded my plan from 6Mbps to 20Mbps it was completed within a day. I have been a customer for about a year and a half now, overall I am very impressed with Start communications and would recommend them to anyone.

member for 10 years, 3576 visits, last login: a few hours ago
lodged 9 years ago


Review by shos1111 See Profile

  • Location: n1s0b5
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
  • No Cap
Service, Support, Connection reliability
Nothing
Great internet provider
Pre Sales information:
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I've been with Start.ca for almost a year and the service has been great.

member for 16.9 years, 590 visits, last login: 3.8 years ago
lodged 9 years ago







Review by LondonDave See Profile

  • Location: London, ON
  • Cost: $65 per month
  • Install: about 7 days
  • Caps of 300 gigabytes/month
Easy setup process from start to finish
None that I can think of
Great support and its always nice to support local
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
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My Other Reviews

·Acanac
INTERNET REVIEW:

I decided to join start after seeing reviews and just being tired of constantly having to call into Bhell to get a competitive price.

I ordered Start 60/10 cable service on Sunday night and the next day I received confirmation that my install date for a week later was setup. On install day rogers showed up and looked at my already hooked up modem and told me it should start working in 30 minutes. Sure enough 30 minutes later I was online and getting the speeds that were advertised.

Start takes great pride in the peering arrangements they have and majority of my traffic ends up crossing torix which means my traffic stays in Canada.

Give them a try.

VOIP REVIEW:
I've had many different types of phone service over the years. POTS, cable phone, VoIP, cell.

When start brought out its VoIP offering I was excited about a reasonably priced phone service with a long distance package. I choose the Digital Voice Canada package which is $15 a month.

From sign up to the day my number was ported from VoIP.ms was 7 days as scheduled. I used my own Linksys SPA-3102 and just plugged in the address and credentials start supplied me with.

I had a few small quirks with porting process and the username I was given but here's where start really stood out. The support they provided was excellent and I always was always able to talk with someone knowledgeable . If you frequent dslreports you know that "rocca" will answer in the start forum at almost any hour of the day.

The quality is great and caller ID and voice mail is included.

I will continue to promote start.ca to my friends and support my local ISP.

member for 12.5 years, 3293 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 9 years ago


Review by mmfphotodude See Profile

  • Location: Canada
  • Cost: $90 per month
  • Install: about 11 days
  • No Cap
Reliable connection, great support/sales team. Easy to read invoice.
None
Go for it! You won't be disappointed.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
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Value for money:

I decided to switch to Start after years of service from Rogers. I bought my own modem from CanadaComputers (DCM476)
I placed the order on the 19th of December, next available install date was the 30th. (Understandable->Holiday Season)
I ordered 60/10 with unlimited usage.

Order process was straight-through. Liked the fact I received a call a couple hours after tech left to confirm my service was functional.

Invoices are in plain english and easy to read.

UPDATE MARCH 8 2015.

Over 2 months in now. Connection has been super solid. No outages. Switching from CC to Bank payments was Simple and straightforward. 100% Recommendation sticks.

member for 9.2 years, 61 visits, last login: 8.9 years ago
updated 9 years ago


Review by justinbkerr See Profile

  • Location: undisclosed location
  • Cost: $80 per month
  • Install: about 12 days
Speeds as advertised, first rate service!
Issues with the transfer, but hard to 100% say if it was Start, or Rogers to blame.
Great Move.
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I had been a loyal Teksavvy customer for years, but their unwillingness to compete on price made the switch to start an easy decision.
For the savings i've seen nothing but upside.
Speeds are as advertised, customer service is great, and no issues since the day I went live.

member for 12.6 years, 44 visits, last login: 8 years ago
updated 9 years ago







Review by RLBL See Profile

  • Location: Gloucester, ON, Canada
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
Low Ping, getting advertised speeds... transfer from Rogers was flawless.
Still no complaints
Great value for the coin, have had the service for one week so I will update as time passes
Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:

I have been on Rogers for as long as I can remember. Since ditching our TV service, our internet demands have gone through the ceiling (considering the Rogers ceiling is low... it is not hard to do). As such we started paying through the nose for our internet service and I had had enough. I have been looking to leave to a TPIA for years, but I have always been a bit scared because of the forums on DSLreports...

Then I found Start Communications...

The reports are good
The forums are not cluttered with outage reports
Anyone who I have talked to is loving the experience...

So I joined on the 5th of August 2013. I called Rogers a month previous and said I was leaving. I contacted CS at Start and set an install date for 5 bus. days earlier in case I had issues. The modem was shipped the following day and it was delivered the following day!

I received email confirmations so I knew the order was ready to go when the date was to come.

On the day of the transfer, I unplugged the Rogers modem and Plugged in the one delivered from Start. By the time I came back from lunch I was up and running and I have not looked back. The next business day, I received a call from CS asking if everything went ok! Try and get a courtesy call like that from Rogers...

I just hope Rogers does not come around and cut my line in a month... I put stickers on my line just in case.

Update: August 22nd

Well Rogers did tag my line to be cut and coincidentally my internet went down for a couple of hours (area issue), but when I called the Start CS they got right on it. As my internet came back up they decided to keep the ticket alive anyways, just to have a tech come out and remove the tag.

The best part: Start CS called me the next day to ensure everything went smoothly. I was impressed by the follow-up call.

Update: October 7th

Everything has been great: No outages, no interruptions, always getting advertised speeds. VERY HAPPY!!!

Update March 7, 2014

Still been rock solid! I have never had an outage (other than anything that also effect rCable customers)

Update October 29, 2014

No complaints, at all! The service has been rock solid. Being able to communicate with directly with staff is a great bonus. I wish I have had an incident to comment on how the company reacts to issues, but I have not personally had any. Only once while there was an outage rocca updated customers to what was going on in real time (just an aside, the problem was with rCable).

I am a very happy customer, and anyone else who is with Start (whether I had referred them or not) is also very happy. rCable has thrown some deals my way, but I have not been swayed.

Update February 18, 2015

Near Flawless. Never any speed interruptions. Once I lost sync to the network; rebooted the modem and was back up instantly. I have recommended people to start, and will continue to do so

member for 11.3 years, 1009 visits, last login: 2.2 years ago
updated 9.1 years ago


PhilipA
@teksavvy.com

PhilipA

Anon

Transferred from Rogers, zero issues and excellent service

After the recent price increases from Rogers (10% increase as of Sept 1/13) I decided to switch. The helpful Start staff guided me through the whole process and it was flawless. I received my new modem in the mail within a week. On the day of the changeover, I simply swapped modems and was up and running in literally minutes. Speeds are the same and I have no complaints with the service. Switching over to direct debit (from credit card) was simple and easy to do via the website.

The best part? I'm saving $15/mo vs. Rogers for the same speed with arguably better service.

Thank you Start Communications!