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Review by eeeaddict  - Location: Etobicoke,ON
- Cost: $40 per month (12 month contract)
Good "almost ZERO problems, 35 down 3 up and never have any slow downs or disconnects cheapest cable as hell too!"
Bad "internet was slow for a few days during a profile change"
Overall "cheap fast good, choose any 3 :)"
| Pre Sales information:
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(ratings well above consensus)
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had for almost a year now with zero problems (except during a profile change but that was a rogers thing and everything still worked) using a dcm475 though want to switch to a surfboard, a bit saddened that my bill will go up by about $3 a month at the end of the term but still way less than anyone else
member for 3.6 years, 482 visits, last login: a few hours ago
lodged 1 days ago
Comments:
| Review by (hidden by request) - Location: N8Y3p
- Cost Contract price not specified.
Good "good prices for unlimited bandwidth"
Bad "no 24hr tech support"
Overall "good prices if you know what you are doing with a computer, if you dont and expect to use tech support then go with someone else"
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connection in each area is based on the service plan Distributel is offered
as they are a reseller.
Pros: No Bandwidth caps, decent prices.
Cons: customer service limited hours, service plans based on whats
available in the area
overall if you use more bandwidth that any of the big companies offer in
their plans Distributel is the way to go, but just remember you may wait on
hold(callback is avail) for an hr or 2 to hear from them.
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(review was emailed from domain gmail.com)
lodged 49 days ago
Comments:
 | | internet usage DO NOT GET YOUR INTERNET HOOK-UP WITH DISTRIBUTEL. THEIR SERVICE IS LOUSY, POOR, ROTTEN AND YOU ON HOLD FOR 2-3 HOURS.
I GOT INTERNET AND THOUGHT I WAS GETTING A GOOD DEAL...WELL PROBLEM STARTS...THEY HOOK YOU UP THEN CALCELLED YOU WITHOUT ADVISING YOU...
3 - LOUSY SERVICES, CANNOT GET THROUGH A CALL, HOLD FOR OVER 2 HRS
CANNOT CHAT WITH SOMEONE ON LINE IT NEVER COMES UP. AND IF YOU SEND AN EMAIL YOU CANNOT GET A REPLY...IS THIS THE WAY THEY OPERATE A BUSINESS THEN THEY WILL LOOSE A LOT.
***DON'T MAKE THE WORD " UNLIMITED FOOL YOU" BE AWARE. | |
| | | moved on I Cancelled Distributel and moved on. I had internet and long distance with them. The service worked fine . My issue was trying to get someone to answer the phone at there call center. Huge wait times, I did do there call back feature and after several hours a rep called. No issue in cancelling and they also gave me a less then 30 days cancellation date to my surprise .
I had emailed them several times on pricing and packages before I cancelled . Three emails never got answered... not good if you want to keep your customers.
I moved on to another ISP and saved $20/month with faster internet and a long distance phone/package over Distributel. I do have a 300gig cap now but come nowhere close to that limit. For me Unlimited bandwidth and a slower speed plus the higher cost was not worth it to stay.
Distributel was good for me when I had it. I do think they need to review there prices and packages to reflect what there competition has. $20/month savings is a lot of coin for better service elsewhere. If they had cheaper prices for phone and bandwidth cap packages I may have stayed with them.
They really really need to fix there call center and reduce the wait time . Also answer your emails and twitter account !! I couldn't couldn't get them to respond to my questions as to where to send there modem back to them ! Funny thing is the CSR answers the phone right away if you call as a new customer to sign with them, I guess after that you are SOL. Even that CSR didn't know where to send the modem too I was placed on hold until he went and asked !!
I really like to see ISP and phone resellers do well in Canada against the likes of robbers and bhell. But with terrible customer service they will fail to grow there business IMHOP. | |
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| Review by cutuzov - Location: Mississauga,ON
- Cost: $70 per month
- Install: about 30 days
Good "28Mb cable with no caps + home phone for 70 $"
Bad "set-up was delayed because of tech no-show. Up speed is just 1 Mb"
Overall "Worked for me........not anymore"
| Pre Sales information:
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Speed Test #101611051 by dslreports.com
Run: 2012-05-14 17:32:30 EST
Download: 36688 (Kbps)
Upload: 989 (Kbps)
In kilobytes per second: 4478.6 down 120.8 up
Tested by server: 7 java
User: 1505369 @ dslreports.com
User's DNS: distributel.net
I finally decided to go with cable. Despite the service set-up delay, had a fairly pleasant experience.
First installation date booked the Rodgers tech simply did not show. I'd assume there is a drawback of having to work trough your direct competitors connection service. Second time everything was up and running.
I was able to set my home network+ phone myself, that is why I did not have any experience with technical support yet.
Speeds are exceeding the advertised ones . Just look at this  »www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A···hIJg4msA
After a month or so I will most likely recommend Distributel to my family
Update 14/Aug 2012
I decreased my rating for tech support to 1. Was not able to get anyone to talk to at tech support after 1 hour on hold. Did not make it 0 only because I was actually able to reach them once before
in other respects service is still solid and well worth the money for me.
Upd 17/June/2013
Still with the same ISP
UP speeds are consistently OVER advertised in 30-40 Mb range. Last few days it is even like this
»www.speedtest.net/result/2780202833.png
Noticed improvement in tech support. Was able to solve one of my own router problems with there help.
Upd 15/Aug/2013
Moving to another house and cancelling Distributel services. Reason is nonexistent customer service. Literally hours on hold trying to transfer service to new location. I have better use for my time i guess.
member for 5.8 years, 404 visits, last login: 10 days ago
updated 50 days ago
Comments:
Reviews:
 ·Distributel Cable
| how could you subject your family to this? That's just mean.
Pay close attention to how high the speedtest spikes at the beginning. My guess is boosting to make speedtests look good.
Have you actually tried to download anything and watched the speeds? Something that takes longer than a minute? Also, try a couple other servers in your area.
If you've got a stable connection, good for you, but man oh man, wait till you have an issue and have to work with them | |
| | Reviews:
 ·Distributel VOIP
| Re: how could you subject your family to this? said by tegrof:That's just mean.
Pay close attention to how high the speedtest spikes at the beginning. My guess is boosting to make speedtests look good.
Have you actually tried to download anything and watched the speeds? Something that takes longer than a minute? Also, try a couple other servers in your area.
If you've got a stable connection, good for you, but man oh man, wait till you have an issue and have to work with them
I think like everything cable related, experiences probably vary a lot from region to region. I've been using Distributel for 2.5 years or so now, and it's been fairly smooth and consistent. I regularly get the advertised speeds, or above - sometimes it'll drop to 16 Mbps or so during peak hours, but it's not generally noticeable for the huge amounts of streaming media my family watches.
Their VOIP service on the other hand - I had nothing but problems with it. It would regularly cut out, drop calls, and the audio quality when it did work was just plain horrible. My internet service was even severely degraded until I got rid of the VOIP box they provided - but since I cancelled that, like I said - it's been quite consistent and smooth. | |
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Reviews:
·Distributel Cable
| Re:how could you subject your family to this? My average torrent download speed is 2.7-3.5 MegaByte or 22-28 Megabits
Keeping in mind I do not pay for cable or satellite for 4 years already, my download/upload is about 1 T Byte a month. This includes HD Netflix streaming and TV shows + movies in HD as well
Here is some more speed tests
»www.diigo.com/item/image/2xqki/s57j
Graphs are more or less consistent during the test. I did not notice any excessive spikes at the beginning. Only exception is US sever, graph there is quite jagged.
About tech support I would not rely on any ISP to tweak my home network hardware. As I mentioned in my review I am able to handle/troubleshoot it well myself. To be fair, the poor tech support might be a problem for some Distributel customers. That simply means company has room for improvement.
I am still happy with what I get for the money I pay.
Regarding my family they are being charged same as me for 5 Mbps DSL from TechSavvy which was relevant 2 years ago, not today
P.S. I am sorry you get such a negative experience with this particular ISP. Thanks God we have some competition this days. Good luck with your next provider. | |
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| Review by TheNut - Location: Thornhill,ON
- Cost: $37 per month
- Install: about 20 days
Good "Low price, speeds as advertised"
Bad "Small call centre support"
Overall "I would comfortably recommend others to at least try Distributel."
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*** The following update was written in August 2012
I've been with Distributel for about 6 months now, so I figure I'll give an update on my review.
1. My service has been upgraded (for the same price) to Cable Internet 6 mpbs (750 KB/s download, 32 KB/s upload), although my downloads in general still seem to stick at 3 mpbs. 3 mbps cable service is no longer provided by Distributel.
2. I experienced one outage that lasted a weekend within about a month after installation. The problem was apparently due to a faulty wire outside (coincidence?). The Rogers technician arrived as scheduled by Distributel and he was helpful troubleshooting and resolving the issue. Aside from that one hiccup, service has been smooth since.
3. I mentioned my gaming latency averaged 50 - 60 ms, but I've noticed an improvement where it can go as low as 20 (depending on the server of course). Overall packet transmission reliability is excellent.
* My Updated Recommendation
At this point, I would comfortably recommend others to at least try Distributel and see if it works for them. I would give warning about their rather small call centre support, but note that my issues have been resolved in what I consider a reasonable time limit.
*** The following review was written in February 2012
* Service
Cable Internet 3 mbps (375 KB/s download, 32 KB/s upload)
Cable Modem: RCA Thomson DCM 425 (Docsis 2.0). Rental included in price.
* Prelude
I've been with Rogers Cable for about 7 years before I decided to finally switch over to a 3rd party provider such as Distributel. I never had problems with Rogers Cable, but the pricing and bandwidth caps are just unacceptable in today's technology rich society. At first I was thinking about signing up with Teksavvy, but they had a stop sell in my area. When the stop sell was lifted, they stopped offering their specials at Canada Computers. I am not comfortable with their startup costs, so I decided to give Distributel a try. I also downgraded from Rogers 12 mpbs to Distributel 3 mpbs because I don't really need the bandwidth. 3 mbps is fast enough for what I need and more often than not, most overloaded servers hardly give me the max speeds anyway.
The rental price of the cable modem is included in their price packages. Distributel recently updated their website to allow customers to purchase their modems; however they do not provide more details than that. I still have my purchased Surfboard from Rogers, so if using that can lower my monthly costs then I will do that. I will need to investigate this further.
* Installation
I called in to cancel Rogers Cable near the beginning of February. Shortly after I signed up with Distributel and scheduled the switchover for near the end of February. The installation went without a hitch. They delivered the cable modem a week before the Rogers technician came. The Rogers tech performed his duty as scheduled. Once he finished outside, I plugged in the modem and within about an hour the modem was provisioned and I was surfing the Internet.
* Performance
»www.speedtest.net
Download: 22.00 mbps
Upload: 0.26 mbps
Ping: 11 ms
The high download rate is due to bursting, which is common on cable connections for the first couple of seconds. Following that, the download was reduced to its nominal ~3 mbps.
Downloads from Oracle, Microsoft, and CNet average about 1.6 mbps. My average online gaming latency is between 50 - 60 ms. For comparison, I got around 40 ms in the same game servers with Rogers Cable.
Netflix standard definition streams work without a problem. The connection has more than enough bandwidth to keep up. I haven't tried high def, but it shouldn't work given that it needs closer to a 6 mpbs connection.
* Reliability
I just got the service so I can't say much here yet. So far everything has been hunky dory.
* Value
$37 with Distributel and "unlimited" Internet, $55 with Rogers and 60 GB cap. That's $18 saved per month or $216 saved per year. That's a lot of spare change to use elsewhere.
* Support
I rarely need or use support, but since I'm just starting up with Distributel there needs to be a few important phone calls. From what I've seen, they're very busy people. You call in, leave your number, and they call you back in about an hour or two, sometimes the next day. I had to respond numerous times to questions I already answered for them, so their record keeping skills are pretty bad. They also lost my service order and I had to send them another one.
I'm a patient guy and I didn't really care about any of this, but I think it's important to note. Some people rely on human interaction to get them through things and I can see something like this driving someone up the wall. If you don't mind the slow support, then I think you'll be satisfied in the end.
* My Recommendation
So far things have started out well. If this continues, then I would recommend Distributel to anyone looking for an alternative to Rogers Cable pricing and bandwidth caps.
member for 8.7 years, 962 visits, last login: 129 days ago
updated 1.1 years ago
Comments:
| Review by ZenTraveler - Location: Cambridge,ON
- Cost: $57 per month
- Install: about 30 days
Good "Excellent speed, fair price for unlimited usage"
Bad "Single thread connections can be slow"
Overall "Excellent service and price for 24/1 cable Internet"
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I had been a Rogers customer since 2006 and was very much satisfied with their services. Recently due to caps being lowered and increased pricing for the same level of service I've had for years I decided to look for alternatives. TekSavvy had come to my mind but wasn't available due to a stop sell that lasted nearly a year and is still counting. I recently found out about Distributel online and decided to give them a shot. The ordering was quite easy and was seamless. On my install date for cable I only had to remove my Rogers modem and hook up the Distributel provided modem. This process went smoothly... A week later Rogers came by to disconnect the Internet line which prompted a call to get this fix. It took 3 days to get a tech out and fix the line.
All and all the service has been amazing. I signed up back in December of 2011 and speed has been consistent even with a DOSIS 2.0 modem.
member for 1.5 years, 142 visits, last login: 1.1 years ago
updated 1.5 years ago
Comments:
| Review by rickybo - Location: Scarborough,ON
- Cost: $37 per month
- Install: about 7 days
Good "Cheap, Very Reliable, Stable, Everything"
Bad "None"
Overall "Excellent ISP"
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I must say this is the first time I have ever been satisfied with an internet provider. I used to have teksavvy but the prices were to high, i had to cut it off also cause i no longer have a house phone, and dont want to pay for dryloop DSL, so i searched up distributel and gave them a shot. Its been a week and everything is excellent and stable, speeds are stable and great, price is great, and the setup took a week for them to come, best of all is the customer support, they are excellent and patient with you.
I have cable with them 3Mbs and unlimited bandwidth! Paying about 37$
They gave me a brand new motorola surfboard modem, which is small and reliable for me, and then i just hooked up my wireless router to it for a wifi connection.
Overall, yes i would recommend distributel cable to anyone, and so far its been the best isp for me!
member for 3.3 years, 70 visits, last login: 1 year ago
lodged 1.6 years ago
Comments:
| Review by papaskitch - Location: Woodbridge,ON
- Cost: $50 per month (month by month)
- Install: about 25 days
Good "Identical speeds to Rogers, minus the unneccessary traffic shaping"
Bad "None yet."
Overall "Great service. Good value."
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I'll keep it simple.
I ordered on December 7th for a January 3rd install. Jan. 3rd came and I plugged in the modem that Distributel sent me (SB5101), and within minutes I was no longer a Rogers customer. Speeds have been identical (overall speeds with Rogers in my neighbourhood are good), but there's no throttling (I don't do much torrenting, but from the testing I did before/after the switch, there's definitely a difference). I stream regularly from Netflix without issues. So far, I'm a very happy customer. If I had to improve anything, all I would say is expand the tech support hours (haven't had to use them yet though), and perhaps knock $5 off the price and let me bring my own modem.
member for 6.6 years, 903 visits, last login: 6 days ago
updated 1.7 years ago
Comments:
| Review by (hidden by request) - Location: k2b8g
- Cost: $50 per month
Good "unl downloads, free modem rental, no term"
Bad "zero tech support. unhelpful csr's"
Overall "just the worst experience since bell"
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Well I'm on week 2.5 of not having internet service with Distributel. Tech
support agents don't call back, they won't allow me to speak to a supervisor and they have deleted my comments from their Facebook page. They also still want 30 days to cancel my service. Not bad for $50/mo.
(review was emailed from domain algonquinlive.com)
lodged 1.9 years ago
Comments:
| Review by crazynewfe - Location: Bowmanville,ON
- Cost: $55 per month
- Install: about 17 days
Good "Support has been fantastic so far"
Bad "Had to wait a few weeks for install"
Overall "Great value, no caps, great speeds"
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Distrubutel is the first TPIA to offer cable in my area. Due to a backlog it took about 2.5 weeks from order to install, but they told me that on the phone when I ordered, so I was prepared for the delay.
Order date came a tech showed up (a little early even). Connection was setup but modem was grabbing IP for Rogers and not Distributel. Called Distributel and sat on hold for support for approx 10 minutes (not too bad). Was walked though several troubleshooting steps that didn't work so rep suggested unplugging modem for 15 minutes and said he would call back to see if things were working. Rep actually called back in 15 minutes as promised. Still not working so he said he'd have to escalate to Rogers (who provide the last mile of cable) and that their turn around time is 24 to 48 hours. Not ideal, but I knew that was a possibility when I signed up. Without me even complaining the rep told me to call when everything was fixed and they'd credit me for the time I was down. Imagine, they actually offered to credit me for the time that I couldn't get service without me having to ask for it, I'm now impressed. I unplugged the modem again and tried it after a half hour. All working now. About 5 minutes later tech rep called again and said that issue had been resolved for another client he was working with so he wanted to follow up and see if my issue was resolved too. Was not expecting that call at all, even more impressed with support now.
So far speeds have been great. Have seen clients of other TPIAs complaining about major slow downs at night. Didn't see any last night. Only one day so far, but so far so good.
member for 2.3 years, 124 visits, last login: 1.6 years ago
lodged 1.9 years ago
Comments:
| Review by Satya - Location: Mississauga,ON
- Cost: $49 per month (month by month)
- Install: about 8 days
Good "No installation costs. No modem fees. Great speeds for the price."
Bad "Packet loss during peak periods albeit not major. Longer wait times for customer service. NO tech support 24/7"
Overall "If your goal is unlimited bandwidth and can sacrifice 24/7 tech support and don't want to pay installation or modem fees."
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I was reading a distributel vs teksavvy thread and wanted to post my review of distributel service.
I have always browsed these forums for updates and news and never intended to register. The ironic reason for me registering is doing a detail line test on my distributel service.
To begin with my main reason to try out distributel was to cut down losses incase of a bad experience. Because they do not charge for modem or installation fees and you pay the monthly fee only as a new customer, if the service was crap then it would be a loss of only 40 dollars.
With teksavvy the first payment with the modem and the installation fees and the service fees is around 200 dollars. A bigger risk to take incase of crap service. I had read bad reviews about distributel but to be honest that was the service to go for to cut down initial losses.
Having said that I called them and they recommended me to start off with 10Mbit and if I found the service reliable could upgrade to 15Mbit. I said yes to 10Mbit and I forget whether it was 8 or 10 business days they take to set up the service.
I had and still have a BELL DSL line and hence i went to order the cable service from Distributel in order to always have a backup internet line. I told them to come after 5 pm for installation and after the allotted business days the rogers technicians showed up with no delays and did all the installations. I had a chat with them and they told me most of my street is rogers (which explained my consistent Bell speeds and quality ) but the 75GB bandwidth limit sucked.
I also live in an area where it is mostly seniors or retired parents and stuff so that helps. Having said that I did encounter packet loss during peak times on distributel every now and then. It wasn't severe but for some reason it affected my yahoo streaming. No problems with youtube or its 720p streaming. Always maxed out my download speeds if you picked the right host. This is my 3rd month going and I have never had a single downtime yet (knock on wood). Yes there has been sporadic times of minor packet loss but it has never really affected my browsing or download speeds. During off peak times and weekends there is 0% packet loss. Infact, the packet losses have significantly reduced in the past week but like I said it was never major to begin with.
It's only been 2 months and who knows how it will be after a year. But hey I would rather lose 40 dollars experimenting than 200 dollars. I could also be very lucky that my service worked out fine in the first shot. I have stuck to the 10Mbit plan since then and find the 1.2-1.3MB/sec sufficient for my needs and the fact that it is unlimited is the best thing.
Regarding customer call support. I have called them where I had to wait only 5 minutes and I have called them another time where I had to wait for 30 minutes. So the wait times are all over the place. However, they have answered my questions precisely every time I have called them but i have no experience with their tech support since I haven't needed that aspect of the service yet.
member for 2 years, 324 visits, last login: 3 days ago
updated 2 years ago
Comments:
delius
join:2006-07-30
Dorchester, ON | unlimited cable per their web site useage caps apply do not see anything about unlimited on cable | |
| | Satya
join:2011-09-11
Mississauga, ON | Re: unlimited cable High Speed Cable Internet
Truly unlimited downloads**
Download speed up to 12 Mbps, upload speed of up to 512 kbps
Modem included at no extra cost
Up to 5 email accounts
25 MB of hosting space for a personal web page
10 hours of Dial-Up Internet (great for access from remote areas) | |
| | | | | Re: unlimited cable It's the ** after "Truly unlimited downloads" that gets me curious. There's no ledger describing the ** so one is left to guess at that statement's true meaning. Couldn't find that on their site anywhere. | |
| | | | | | Re: unlimited cable Offer & promotion details
This promotion applies to new customers subscribing to a high-speed Internet service or a bundle including a high-speed Internet service for the first time. If you’re a new customer, an Account Setup Fee of $10 will still apply. The promotion is available until December 31st, 2011. Taxes extra. Offer available where technology permits.**Unlimited downloads subject to change with notice. | |
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