WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers in Bell Canada http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19725622 en Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:13:13 EDT Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:13:13 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19933074 anon : I have Rogers portable internet. Both Rogers and Bell at first wouldn't sell to me because they said it would not work in my area even though I'm in their coverage map. Bell gave me different answers and different prices every time I phoned. Rogers was much more helpful. I went with Rogers because they have no term commitment (even though the first Rogers store wouldn't sell to me without a 3-year term - I bought it at La Source). The speed is very consistent around 1.7 mbps. I have usually 3-5 lights on the modem. Rogers told me there was no charge if you go over the bandwidth limit - that they would just lower your speed for the remainder of the month.

The best offer I got from Bell was: free modem, free delivery, no activation charge, unlimited bandwidth, and I think $49 a month with a 3-year contract. But, every subsequent offer was not as good. Now they offer no term contract, but the price is way higher than Rogers.

With both companies, it seems to all depend on who you talk to at any given moment, but in my experience, Rogers was more consistent with their information, and had less reps with unintelligible accents.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19933074 Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:28:32 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19917244 anon : If you open the outdoor antenna, all you will get access to is a circuit board with 4 small sections that represent the antenna. The actual modem itself is sealed inside a steel case. I asked tech support about hooking up my own wimax antanna and they said it was not possible. I'm sure it could be done by someone with more expertise than me.

I would try to put it on a separate mast as high as you can. If you can get it well above the TV antenna it might work, but I found that I had a poor signal right beside the TV antenna. Watch out for trees in the way.

I found with Unplugged that height of the modem is the absolute most important thing if you are in a fringe area.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19917244 Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:57:05 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19909920 anon : Well I have been using the Bell Unplugged services for a while. I myself am not to overly impressed with it, the sales reps all told me that the Unplugged was not available in my area. But my neighbor had it so I knew it would work. The biggest problem that I get with it, is that whenever a train goes by behind my house it knocks out the signal completely, and I have to wait for it to go past for the net to work. Which is a BIG pain in the butt since the tracks behind my house are one of the CP rails main tracks, get a train at least once and hour.

When I bought it both Rogers and Bell told me that none of there Wireless services were avaible to me, I do there postal code lookup thing and Bells site now tells me Wimax is available. The speeds I get on Unplugged are very depressing I was hoping for much better. I' m lucky to get 50kb/sec download during peak internet times, 100kb/sec late at night. If I use torrents late at night I can sometimes get 150kb/sec.

I get an average of 2-3 lights on the modem, so my question is that if I were to switch to the Wimax service and get a better signal would I be able to get better speeds do you think? I' m paying for the 3mb service, at the speeds I' m getting I bet if I went to the 1mb service at a cheaper rate I would get the same speeds. Also is it possible to open up the Unplugged modem and hookup a external antenna? Maybe make a Yagi antenna to use? or even just run a long piece of RG6 or RG11 to the top of my TV antenna to get better height?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19909920 Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:27:28 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19884446 mlerner :
said by dax :

RE: Bell vs Rogers speed. From my research, Bell is overstating their speed and Rogers is more realistic. Since it's the same service, i expect it's the same. However, both told me their commercial service was faster by about 10%. It was more than 10% more money though.
I heard from a tech that both have the same theoretical speeds but Bell gives a higher estimate and Rogers gives a lower estimate. The service is more like cable in that it's shared right up to the tower.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19884446 Sun, 27 Jan 2008 16:29:22 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19884431 mlerner : I can tell you for sure the modems are made by NextNext Wireless (now owned by Motorola) and the outdoor model is almost the same as the indoor except with an external antenna.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19884431 Sun, 27 Jan 2008 16:25:13 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19884023 anon : The outdoor modem has a Motorola label on it. Sorry, don't know model # and it's too cold to go up & look.

RE: Bell vs Rogers speed. From my research, Bell is overstating their speed and Rogers is more realistic. Since it's the same service, i expect it's the same. However, both told me their commercial service was faster by about 10%. It was more than 10% more money though.

Rogers sales told me that they were going to be capping download "much sooner than later". Their tech support said that he didn't think that would happen as fast because it was actually a big pain to enforce it. My personal opinion is that if too many people abuse it, it will be capped for all of us.

I think it's obvious that both are still having growing pains. Neither has properly educated their sales staff or kept their web sites up to date with availability maps. Many of the answers I rec'd were simply very wrong.

BTW when I called Bell to cancel the one dedicated phone line we have for dial-up, the guy gave me the 3rd degree for 5 minutes on trying to get me to keep it or switch to Bell TV. I finally told him to cut the sales BS and pull the plug. Interesting. Nice to see that Bell cares - too late.

Doug ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19884023 Sun, 27 Jan 2008 15:08:49 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19883080 joshb :
said by BryceS See Profile :

You can also look at it as Rogers is only a marketing / Reseller partner of Bell's unplugged internet service. Some how Rogers managed to get slower speeds... Or at least they advertise slower speeds.
Incorrect... If Rogers had never bought microcell (fido) We would not have ever seen this joint venture between Bell and Rogers. Look at the links posted in my last post.

There is documentation from the SEC filing claiming that microcell (Fido) and allstream were going to partner up to provide the inukshuk service.... That is if Rogers had never bought microcell (fido). Those filling are mute now of course. And as per that fact I have choosen not to post them. If you would like I will be more than willing to post or PM the information to you.

As far as who is running the marketing end of it, at the end of the day it really does not matter as I think we can all say the venture is and will continue to be a very successfull venture and one that is and will be making history for a long time to come....

--
common sense isn't so common....is it?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19883080 Sun, 27 Jan 2008 11:51:44 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19883053 joshb :
said by RandalGraves :

said by joshb See Profile :

Hmmm just in case you didn't know this Bell unplugged is using Rogers Network... Bell is only a marketing / Reseller partner of Rogers portable internet service. Some how Bell managed to get better speeds... Or at least they advertise better speeds.

--
common sense isn't so common....is it?

in fact both providers are equal partners in Inukshuk Wireless, the developer of the WiMax service both use. Inukshuk actually designed the service for use in remote northern and rural communities to be hosted through a microwave backhaul, since wired services such as ADSL or cable were unavailable. Of course, Rogers and Bell decided instead that they would only make money providing it in dense urban centres, and the CRTC was about to revoke their 2.5ghz spectrum license sitting idle for many years unless they started to offer a commercial service, so here we are with a service noone in existing service areas really needed and the people who did won't get, and neither carrier really wanted to sell since it can (and will) cut into cellular data revenues.

Does that sum it up a bit better?
And try google again... You only have half the story and about a third of facts posted there.

What your forgetting about is the fido connection to this all...

Try google again I was able to find the entire story and all the facts....

Check out these links;



fido purchases inukshuk

SEC filing part 1

"About Inukshuk Internet

Inukshuk Internet Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Microcell Telecommunications Inc. (TSX: MT), a Canadian provider of Personal Communications Services (PCS) under the Fido® brand name.

Inukshuk Internet was granted licences from Industry Canada for Multipoint Communications Systems (MCS) spectrum in the 2500 to 2596 MHz frequency band, to build a unique, "last mile" broadband wireless access network. The licences cover a population of some 30 million people, comprising all the provinces and territories of Canada, with the exception of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

In February 2004, Inukshuk announced the deployment of the MCS network in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and Iqaluit, Nunavut, with partners SSI Micro and Nunanet Worldwide Communications. On March 4, Inukshuk Internet announced the commercial deployment, in Richmond, B.C., of a new venture with Allstream Inc. and NR Communications, LLC to further expedite and extend MCS network deployment.

For more information, visit www.inukshuk.ca and www.microcell.ca"

SEC filing from Rogers wireless for the buying of microcell (Fido) and at this point microcell (Fido) had complete owner ship over Inukshuk wireless... So as far as who owns portable internet / Bell unplugged the technology belong to Rogers. But the roll out venture was a joint venture between Bell and Rogers. The fact is if Rogers had never bought fido. Fido would have paired up with All stream
--
common sense isn't so common....is it?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19883053 Sun, 27 Jan 2008 11:44:03 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19882152 anon :
said by joshb See Profile :

Hmmm just in case you didn't know this Bell unplugged is using Rogers Network... Bell is only a marketing / Reseller partner of Rogers portable internet service. Some how Bell managed to get better speeds... Or at least they advertise better speeds.

--
common sense isn't so common....is it?

in fact both providers are equal partners in Inukshuk Wireless, the developer of the WiMax service both use. Inukshuk actually designed the service for use in remote northern and rural communities to be hosted through a microwave backhaul, since wired services such as ADSL or cable were unavailable. Of course, Rogers and Bell decided instead that they would only make money providing it in dense urban centres, and the CRTC was about to revoke their 2.5ghz spectrum license sitting idle for many years unless they started to offer a commercial service, so here we are with a service noone in existing service areas really needed and the people who did won't get, and neither carrier really wanted to sell since it can (and will) cut into cellular data revenues.

Does that sum it up a bit better?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19882152 Sun, 27 Jan 2008 03:14:53 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19882105 anon :
said by BryceS See Profile :

You can also look at it as Rogers is only a marketing / Reseller partner of Bell's unplugged internet service. Some how Rogers managed to get slower speeds... Or at least they advertise slower speeds.

Bell and Rogers teamed up in the Inukshuk project. They equally share the network and do not resell it off each other.
Yes, I am perfectly aware of the design and ownership of the network. However my point was they are not sold as exactly comparable services, and a large functional detriment of Bell's service was an enforced usage cap with overage charges.

If actual subscribers are saying these are not enforced and charges are not implemented than this is no longer the case.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19882105 Sun, 27 Jan 2008 02:59:34 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19881934 BryceS : You can also look at it as Rogers is only a marketing / Reseller partner of Bell's unplugged internet service. Some how Rogers managed to get slower speeds... Or at least they advertise slower speeds.

Bell and Rogers teamed up in the Inukshuk project. They equally share the network and do not resell it off each other.
--
BCE and it's subsidiaries, Bell Canada, Bell Mobility, Bell ExpressVu, and Bell Sympatico are in no way responsible for my posts made in this forum.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19881934 Sun, 27 Jan 2008 01:36:33 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19881889 joshb :
said by RalphieWiggam :

Am I correct in reading from some posters in this thread that the Bell Wimax/Unplugged service caps are not enforced? This is very different from what I had heard from other forums.

The reason I have used the Rogers Portable service is because I know for a fact they are unenforced, and not throttled like Rogers Cable services are.

If this is true, the pricing and speed of the Bell services are slightly superior, so..
Hmmm just in case you didn't know this Bell unplugged is using Rogers Network... Bell is only a marketing / Reseller partner of Rogers portable internet service. Some how Bell managed to get better speeds... Or at least they advertise better speeds.
--
common sense isn't so common....is it?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19881889 Sun, 27 Jan 2008 01:18:14 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19881605 anon : Am I correct in reading from some posters in this thread that the Bell Wimax/Unplugged service caps are not enforced? This is very different from what I had heard from other forums.

The reason I have used the Rogers Portable service is because I know for a fact they are unenforced, and not throttled like Rogers Cable services are.

If this is true, the pricing and speed of the Bell services are slightly superior, so..]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19881605 Sun, 27 Jan 2008 00:01:11 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19866282 sbrook : dax, who makes your modem, and what is the model?

Thanks.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19866282 Thu, 24 Jan 2008 13:47:23 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19865883 anon : I finally got a wireless modem hooked up because every time I switched cables between my home network and Rogers it caused too many problems. They insisted upon taking over the other connection after I tryed repeatedly to create a new connection. I'm not super good on that stuff, but if I have problems, 90% of users will too.

Anyway speedtest result with wireless router connected is:
Down 1999 kb/s
Up 353 kb/s

I have no idea how that compares.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19865883 Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:50:00 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19856851 anon : Hi Dax. thanks for the info. Very helpful. try www.speedtest.net for your speed and report back. Happy surfing.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19856851 Tue, 22 Jan 2008 23:30:52 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19850040 anon : FINAL ANSWER TO SAGA

Been busy for a few days getting things installed. I ordered Rogers outdoor Unplugged modem. Arrived a few days later. The Rogers sales lady was very nice on the phone when she asked for my postal code to place the order I told her my story with both Bell & rogers and that if she enters my postal code the system won't let me place the order because there's no service. So - I love this - she says OK, and she puts her own personal PC in the system, but my address and it accepted it. Now this is decent service and ingenuity!!! Bravo! Even better is that she reduced the $249. cost of exterior modem just because she thought it should be lower. Now THAT is customer service.

So, Rogers outdoor arrives. It's got 100 ft. of cat5 cable, lots of hardware to attach modem to just about anything and guide book. I plug it in and go up on the roof. Way too cold, but I'm on a mission. 6 years of sh*t dial-up and I WANT SPEED!!

I point it east where I was getting 2 LEDs off Bell indoor modem and I've got 3 lights. OK, turn it around a bit, point south and now I've got 3 lights for sure and 4 sometimes. I'm in heaven - almost fall off roof in joy.

I then call up brother-in-law 4 miles away who had gone through the same thing with Bell indoor. Go on his roof and we've got 3 lights for sure and he's in a valley! Rogers - you've got another customer calling! and a former die-hard Bell lover at that.

So, I got back to my roof, set the modem on the peak and connect to Rogers. Whoops, gotta call tech support to get activated. Nice guy at Rogers. He can't see my modem. So, I go up on the roof with the cell phone and the modem had fallen over. Straighten it up and he's instantly telling me he can see it. Within a few minutes I've got SPEED.

Now, he's telling me that I'm 10 kms from the tower in North Brantford. Gee, isn't Brantford the city that neither Bell or Rogers said was in the coverage area???? So, I bolt it to the roof and I've got 3, sometimes 4 LEDs.

SPEED: It says I'm connected at 10.0 Mps. dunno, I hate numbers. The first thing I do is download one software update that I need to download every few weeks. It's 150 MB, not tiny. With dial-up I was usually 15 hours if it actually stayed connected the whole time. With Unplugged it was just under 15 minutes total. You do the math.

I'm on Rogers Premium at $44.95/month including a $5. savings because I'm a Rogers cell customer. I still need to call Rogers tech support and get myself configured correctly. Unplugged and my office network seem to want to share the same connection and I spent an hour trying to get that fixed on my own and it's still not perfect.

So... the end of the saga. If in doubt, buy the indoor modem and try it, as posted earlier there's a 30 day trial period and mine went back the day they sent me a return sticker. For both the indoor and outdoor, move around everywhere you can. They do not seem to like trees. Move slowly. The LEDs take a second or two to respond both once you get a good signal and when it gets weak. So don't wave it around, take your time. Even on the roof, it preferred one end over the other, even though it should not matter.

So far I have not downloaded a whole lot. I'm pretty sure that the speed of download is not as dependent on signal strength as I thought it was. In other words, if you've got 3 LEDs, I think (may be wrong) that you will have the same speed as you would have with 5 LEDs.

The signal does not like problem terrain, same as cell phone but supposedly different wave length.

If in doubt, try it out. Hope this has helped. If you can get an outdoor version from Bell, it should be identical to Rogers but Bell seems to have problems finding it on their sales list. I don't doubt that they really do have it available though.

Doug]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19850040 Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:23:02 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19849589 anon : I am also in the city and am also interested in the hp notebook promotion. But need some definite feedback about urban area reception. Have no real need for rural area usage. oakville burlington users? Thank you in advance]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19849589 Mon, 21 Jan 2008 23:07:30 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19848630 anon : Hi Dax,

I am contemplating getting Bell's WiMax Unplugged PC package(they throw in a free HP laptop with a 3 yr contract, at $79.99 per month). After reading your post, I am quite wary about the connection. Where are you located? I am in the city, so I'm wondering if I would encounter the same finicky connection as you. Thanks.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19848630 Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:33:17 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19788706 anon : Thanks for that. Bell did not mention it but Rogers did. Rogers seemed to say that I was much better off without the antennae. Not sure why. I'm already on a 2 yr. contract, so I'll call Bell and see what can be done.

Anyone got suggestions on a do-it-yourself antennae. I even was thinking about a plexi box I could put the unit in and attach it to a pole. I doubt Bell would replace my unit for free if I got a lightning strike though.

Doug]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19788706 Sat, 12 Jan 2008 19:04:21 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19788229 Adam20 : also bell has an outdoor antenna but it is probably more expensive and it has a 2 yr contract]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19788229 Sat, 12 Jan 2008 17:20:51 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19788211 anon : Well, the saga continues.

I rec'd the Unplugged unit from Bell and plugged it in. Zip, zero, nada, nuthing. So today I went up on my roof. From my roof I can see 10 miles clear in the signal direction. The unit is VERY sensitive to direction and location, no doubt about that. On the roof I can get one LED within a 6 degree angle, 2 LEDs within a 2 degree angle and 3 in one spot half the time. Knowing that, I put the unit back in one second floor window and can get 1 LED for sure but no more. Exact angle to face the unit is pretty narrowly defined.

SO .. the unit might have to go back to Bell and I should call Rogers about an outdoor antennae. Do any of you know if I can rig up something on my own? I'm reasonable decent at mechanical things and I'm thinking if I can put up a mast and wire it into the Bell receiver it would do the trick. Any thoughts?

One more thing, my last post was under wifi26 instead of dax. I had a brain-dead moment and forgot what I had used on the O/P.

I have not activated the unit and unless I can get 2 reliable LEDs, I can't see any sense of doing that. I'd really like to get this going as it is my ONLY hope to get rid of slow dialup.

Thanks, Doug]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19788211 Sat, 12 Jan 2008 17:16:23 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19782073 sbrook : unfortunately that stigma started with the "used car salesman" ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19782073 Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:25:53 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19781968 Adam20 : Yep, it makes us great sales people look bad:)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19781968 Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:08:14 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19780314 sbrook : Sadly, yeah ... There are a lot of good sales folks out there who want to ensure the customer is happy instead of putting commissions in their pockets though. But the poor ones stand out so much giving the whole sales profession the stigma.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19780314 Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:27:29 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19778714 BryceS : ^Harsh to the good sales reps.

Real to the normal sales reps.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19778714 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 23:31:03 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers [OT] http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19778251 sbrook : An often quoted joke (no offense to sales people really intended here)

"How do you know when a salesman is lying?"
"When he's moving his lips"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19778251 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:15:20 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19778214 anon : I finally ordered from Bell. It's on it's way and should be here Friday.

The problem with comparing speeds is that it is dependent upon distance that you mention, but also upon what package you bought.

In talking to tech reps from both they seem to suggest that Rogers is quoting typical speeds and Bell is stating it as "up to" speeds. The tech dept. of both will tell you it's the same service but the sales dept. flatly deny it. Who would you believe? When I asked a techie about the sales dept. BS, his reply was "did you expect anything different from a salesperson?" That's why I went with Bell. I like answers like that. Honesty goes a long way. also, Rogers tech said it is high;y unlikely I will get any consistent signal and they would prefer not to sell to me. Bell said, try it and send it back if it doesn't work well.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19778214 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:09:45 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19777057 joshb :
said by sbrook See Profile :

you're suggesting that he would be trying to use both services with a single modem? (And maybe that's why he was told impossible?)
That's the nail I was trying to hit. You got my point dead center....

If he wants both services he would need two modems to do it....

As far the billing thing I agree that for any big organization changes are tuff.. Look at the mess Telus has on there hands right now trying to merge the BC system with the AB system... It's a giant melting pot of leaving customers when there contracts come up....

This whole situation smells fishy in some ways... I think most likely the Bell rep only gave half the story and the OP probably only posted half of that story..... So in the end I am not really sure how to make head or tails out of this hole thing....

Any way you cut this pie some-ones not giving the whole slice to your plate
--
common sense isn't so common....is it?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19777057 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 19:02:11 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19776917 mlerner : Umm yeah, I don't understand either and YES you CAN use data and voice on your cell at once if it's 3G.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19776917 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 18:40:32 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19774037 sbrook : And I still don't understand what you're trying to say unless you're suggesting that he would be trying to use both services with a single modem? (And maybe that's why he was told impossible?)

But that's not how it works since unplugged would be on one modem and portable would be on a DIFFERENT modem. They would come with different modems (since the application is different).

Billing issues like that easy to resolve for a large organisation???? Never!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19774037 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:59:47 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19772438 joshb :
said by sbrook See Profile :

Pardon????

Of course you can have them both at the same address ... Bell's problem is probably one of billing, not a technical one at all!

It comes from two separate radio "connections". Were what you suggested true 2 cell phones couldn't be used at the same house! These two radio connections are kind of like have 2 msn chat windows to two people open at the same time. They're time shared down the same TCP/IP connection. In the case of WiMax portable and WiMax unplugged, they're possibly both on the same radio signal (not always) but time shared ... just as multiple cable modems can share the same cable segment.
Your not understanding what I was trying to say... I'm not surprised as I read that post myself now and it makes no sense... I am going to delete it... Please excuse my bad use of the english language. :)

Lets try this analogy instead Can your cell phone do data and voice at the same time... answer no. It's the same sort of issue... If your talking on a blackberry you will not recieve any email until you hang up your phone call....right? It's the same sort of technical deal... I am going to use GSM for this explianation.... When your doing data your using EDGE (1 protocal) when your talking your using GSM (another protocal most rogers phone will never display the change but it does happen) It's the same sort of technical...

Also you need to realize part of the reason for that technical limitation is gov't regulations when it comes to wireless frequencies.... After all there are certian things that lame man just don't need according to the gov't.

Billing issues like that would be very easy to resolve I would think.... If not Bell is more messed up than I ever thought possible.. :(
--
common sense isn't so common....is it?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19772438 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:15:07 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19772265 sbrook : Pardon????

Of course you can have them both at the same address ... Bell's problem is probably one of billing, not a technical one at all!

It comes from two separate radio "connections". Were what you suggested true 2 cell phones couldn't be used at the same house! These two radio connections are kind of like have 2 msn chat windows to two people open at the same time. They're time shared down the same TCP/IP connection. In the case of WiMax portable and WiMax unplugged, they're possibly both on the same radio signal (not always) but time shared ... just as multiple cable modems can share the same cable segment.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19772265 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:39:16 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19772149 joshb : N/M]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19772149 Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:20:57 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19765319 FoxTrott : For what I learned when I tried to get the service in my area, Bell and Rogers will get exactly the same speed with the portable modem, I think it's a Motorola.

But Rogers also offer a fixed modem, to use in a house, putted in your ouside house wall, that is slower but offers more range. We can clealy see on the rogers coverage map the areas where only this outside modem works, and not the mobile one.

This service is 10 or 15$ less expensive for what I can remember.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19765319 Tue, 08 Jan 2008 23:11:48 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19759835 sbrook : Please take discussions of different ISPs or if you're looking for different ISPs to the Canadian Broadband forum. Thanks]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19759835 Tue, 08 Jan 2008 08:22:54 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19759290 Adam20 : If I were you I would read up about colba.net, I have yet to hear even a remotely half decent review about them]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19759290 Tue, 08 Jan 2008 01:56:37 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19759263 dbsanfte : Not Speakeasy, my bad...I meant TekSavvy or Colba.net DSL. It's late and I'm getting all the names confused. :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19759263 Tue, 08 Jan 2008 01:41:41 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19759250 dbsanfte : I beta tested Unplugged and this December I subscribed to the service with Bell. Unfortunately, and I do not know if this is because of traffic shaping or just the WiMax, but running bittorrent will cause pings in World of Warcraft to go insanely high...800-900ms on average, at all times during AND for up to an hour AFTER the torrent has been closed. Web browsing is mostly unaffected but anything UDP-related runs like complete sheisse. Limiting bittorrent upload speed does not help at all.

For the record I get around 2900kbps down and maybe 350kbps up. My down-speed varies from 2200-2900 during the day, but up-speed is pretty constant. Montreal/NDG.

Phoning tomorrow to cancel service due to the throttling/slowness crap. Will probably switch to speakeasy DSL.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19759250 Tue, 08 Jan 2008 01:36:23 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19759108 anon : If Bell and Rogers are the same service then their speeds should be the same also. Could ppl post the fastest speed that they consistently get on Bell or Rogers. Then we can compare if one is truly faster than the other. I have read of ppl getting 2700mbps on Bell. Rogers - I have only read of ppl getting 1700mbps. Can anyone state that they get better speeds than that on Rogers? thanks. speedtest.net may give us a consistent test reading. I realize that the speed is dependant on one's location but wondering what the fastest attainable speed is of each service. Sooooooo who has the fastest Bell Wimax speed and who has the fastest Rogers portable speed. And who is fastest - Bell or Rogers? ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19759108 Tue, 08 Jan 2008 00:45:37 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19739809 anon : Here we go again...

Rogers Business Rep called me. I can feel the pain starting already. She asked for my wife because she had forgotten my name. Gee, I emailed her back and left a phone message plus the Rogers acct is in my name????

Anyway, she tells me that yes, I can get an AirCard but that would mean I'd have to buy a laptop.
Do you mean I have to buy a Rogers laptop?
No, you would need to buy one.
But why would it not work on my own laptop?
Oh, you own a laptop?

But, I don't want an aircard because they are expensive plans.
How would you know, I haven't told you the price yet.
OK, so what's the price?
Well, if you downloaded 200 meg it would be over a hundred dollars.
So, that's just what I said, expensive. OK, now can you tell me if there is a download limit on Rogers Portable Internet for Business.
I'm afraid that you can't receive Portable internet because your office is beyond Rogers cable area.
Portable Internet is wireless, not on cable.
That product is an AirCard which you don't want because it's too expensive. All we offer is either cable or AirCard.

Believe it or not, this went on for another 5 minutes until she agreed to transfer me to High Speed Tech Support because I think I was really starting to bug her, especially after I suggested that maybe she should look at the Rogers web site that clearly shows Portable Internet. She was upset when I suggested that Bell & Rogers shared the same tower for the service.

So, I called tech support. Spoke to a nice guy who triple checked my location. He suggested that even though I was OK on their map, that he would only buy it with a 30 day refund policy (not automatic on either Bell or Rogers) because I would not be happy with the quality of signal. He confirmed that Bell & Rogers share the same signal and that the download speed is very much dependent upon signal strength. He suggests a minimum of 3 LEDs on the modem and any less will have signal dropping.

So there you have it folks. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19739809 Fri, 04 Jan 2008 18:33:06 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19738822 Guspaz : Just because a company doesn't enforce caps today doesn't mean they won't tomorrow. If there is a cap, enforced or not, treat it like it IS enforced for the purposes of considering which provider to go with.

You've got to ask yourself, if they have a cap but don't enforce it, why isn't it listed as "unlimited"?

Bell and Cogeco both had DSL/Cable caps that they didn't enforce. They both now do. Caveat emptor.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19738822 Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:51:26 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19738799 FoxTrott : 2 months ago when I was looking for the service, Rogers told me that the limit is 30GB, but they do nothing when you download more for now :-) ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19738799 Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:48:15 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19738666 LINCSAT : I have sympatico unplugged 3 meg service and have had it for over 1 year now. When I purchased it with the 2 year deal the caps where at 60gig per month and then bell dropped it to 10gig per month but that did not affect me because I had a contract for 60 gig per month. Also bell does not enforce caps on bell unplugged at all peroid.

Another note I would like to point out is when all 5 light bars are on it means that the service is capable to recieve the whole 3meg service. Example I have all five bars and if I move it from a window or to the basement it goes down to 4,3 and even 2 bars and when the bar level drops so does the speed period.

The service for me has been excellent and I would never switch from it because it is portable and it browses fast and downloads at 3meg and it is not affected bt bells torrent woes with dsl customers.

I recommed it!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19738666 Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:26:34 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19737993 BryceS : The WiMax In-Home service and the WiMax Unplugged service cannot be offered at the same time. You're either eligible for one or the other, can't have both.

Why? Because my regional manager said so! I don't know the technical reasons, but that is the way it is.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19737993 Fri, 04 Jan 2008 13:34:26 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19737716 anon : An update on the problems & answers so far:

On Jan. 3rd after spending another time on hold with Bell and suffering wretched 1940s (WWII)Christmas music that sounded like it was off a scratched 78 for 20 minutes I finally hung up. What are they thinking, people like horrible music that is out of season???

Anyway, finally Vladimir called me and Bell Business side has 3mg download with no limit at $60./month. Initially he said that I could not receive it, then after telling him it was on my Bell coverage map, then yes, I could. Hmm. 30 day return if not acceptable. That is not what Bell consumer side says though. For the $5. extra per month, I'll pay the extra to make sure there is no limit imposed. Bell business will not bundle anything even though I have a Bell business line. Modem is $250. with no contract, $99. with 2 year contract and monthly prices go down with a 3 year contract. He also said that WiMax is NOT Unplugged and that they are different. After reading him the info off the Bell site, his reply was 'that's confusing isn't it?" Ya think so, Bell???

Rogers business has exactly the same thing at exactly the same price. They also said I was out of coverage area and then backtracked when I pointed out the coverage map. I'm waiting for Rogers to get back to me with a Bundle offer since I use cell phone from them, but Rogers Business is a different division from Rogers Consumer. Geeez.

So, you guys that say it's the same stuff are correct. I am told that it is a radio wave, not cell. Who cares though, they're all waves of one length or another. More BS

The consumer side is a little more weird trying to understand the differences, but it certainly appears simply to be an issue of who has more BS in marketing.

Now, whether I can actually get a signal and what speed I get is another question.

It's obvious that Bell, especially the consumer side ABSOLUTELY SUCKS on customer relations. They answer emails with incorrect info and wrong call back numbers, the chat did not work when I used it, all phone calls lead to India tech support and when you go through their automated phone system you end up being asked for your postal code, then promptly disconnected because there is no service to that PC, even though their is.

At least with Rogers, you can get a human fairly fast, even though they don't know much, they are trying to be nice to you.

The saga continues...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19737716 Fri, 04 Jan 2008 12:45:36 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19736965 FoxTrott : I think that only Rogers offers the fixed modem, that provides a wider range. Bell only sells the mobile modem, it is faster, at 3 mbps, but works on limited area.

The fixed modem runs slower, 1.5 mbps, must be fixed on a wall outside the house, so it is not mobile like the 3 mbps is.

Difficult to get it with you in your car.

Fox]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19736965 Fri, 04 Jan 2008 10:49:37 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19736816 mlerner : They should just copy Rogers, it's the same coverage! :p]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19736816 Fri, 04 Jan 2008 10:25:34 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19736743 FoxTrott : The wimax network from Bell and Rogers is provided by Inukshuk. »www.inukshuk.ca/

I recently had to request service in my area, and it was clear that Rogers knows the service and is ready to offer it, and that Bell does not seems ready to sell the service correctly. Their coverage map is inaccurate, with Rogers we get a very precise map, including if we can get the portable or fixed modem.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19736743 Fri, 04 Jan 2008 10:12:14 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19731180 Adam20 : It's not really hassle, if it does not work call and get a full refund... It's as easy as that.

The agents who are trained to take these calls know not to second guess the customers as the service does not work in allot of areas.

Therefore all you have to do is call for a refund.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19731180 Thu, 03 Jan 2008 13:11:30 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19730930 sbrook : There are just about always pockets of low/no signal. I live in a semi-rural area ... if I travel 1/4 mile in any direction I choose, I can get decent cellphone signal, but just where I am, most of the time you can't hold a conversation, even though if you look at the map, there's no question we're in a signal area. You can't guarantee 100% coverage.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19730930 Thu, 03 Jan 2008 12:29:39 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19730903 BryceS : We can't just go out there and check! That costs money. ;)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19730903 Thu, 03 Jan 2008 12:26:11 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19729728 estreet : OK I'm curious, and perhaps someone can explain why;

When I type my Postal Code either for Rogers or Bell I am shown a map - my property location deep in a green zone (Signal available)

Location - I am 1000 feet from Lake Simcoe shoreline (Facing the Lake - actually from my Bay window, I can see the Lake), 27kms from the Tower (Hawkstone) - (to be fair their are some trees, but not heavily wooded) and yet when the Bell Tech tried to get a signal (external modem) - there was none as in nada - not even 1 light

Question To Bell/Rogers Tech's: When these signal obtainable maps are drawn, does anyone bother to check signal strength, (like get off your behind and really check) or are your Tech's using max. distance prot' from the NLOS Tower to approximate signal strength? (2 dozen of my neighbors would like an answer, incl me)

My Opinion - Rogers and Bell should be brought to task on this issue - Why advertise availability, have people pay for an external modem (Rogers), then go thru the hassle of returning it when it's useless. And furthermore, my location should prove a point (a flat body of water to a NLOS Tower) - don't believe a word of it unless you have proof, ugh, beforehand (just imagine them doing something for the consumer), it won't work.
There's money to be made in fortune telling..........lol ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19729728 Thu, 03 Jan 2008 08:49:51 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19726697 Adam20 : Wimax Unplugged Up to 3 megabits/s has a 10Gig cap dow dl/ul'ing(total) per month, it comes with the first year of unlimited* bandwidth(usual goes, dont strain the network resources)
additional bandwidth is billed at 1.50$per gigabyte up to a maximum of 30$ in additional charges

both companies offer 30 day buyers remorse for full refund, bell is billed through cc and rogers is a monthly bill.

Rogers is 1.5 meg not 2, and bell has a maximum of 3 meg.

both companies offer 2 tiers of speeds available to customers.... hope this helps]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19726697 Wed, 02 Jan 2008 18:59:16 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19726388 BryceS : The market won't open because the only affordable way for WiMax to cover the 122ish areas was for Bell and Rogers go:

"Okay, we'll compete, but lets split the costs right down the middle and everyone will think that this is competition because customers can bounce back and forth between two companies."]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19726388 Wed, 02 Jan 2008 18:05:08 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19726175 anon : Thanks so much. That makes a lot of sense since the coverage map is identical. I'll stick with Rogers unless I hear something otherwise. It will be nice when the market opens up a bit more.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19726175 Wed, 02 Jan 2008 17:29:53 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19726056 mlerner :
said by BryceS See Profile :

Bell and Rogers will offer the same service as they teamed up to offer the same service. Just different prices and customer support.

Bell and Rogers are doing this program as a co-op with each other.

Only technical difference may be the modems they use.
That's correct. Performance is exactly the same and it's technically up to 3 mbps, it's just that Bell is advertising the average speed.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19726056 Wed, 02 Jan 2008 17:12:44 EDT Re: WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19725683 BryceS : Bell and Rogers will offer the same service as they teamed up to offer the same service. Just different prices and customer support.

Bell and Rogers are doing this program as a co-op with each other.

Only technical difference may be the modems they use.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19725683 Wed, 02 Jan 2008 16:13:50 EDT WiMax Unplugged Speed vs Rogers http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19725622 anon : I've spend most of a whole day trying to get answers from Bell. It's so frustrating.

Both Bell & Rogers wireless internet maps show that I am just within the edge of excellent coverage. Actually both maps are identical in my area.(same tower?) Bell's site insists that my postal code cannot receive their service, but that clearly is wrong since the PC covers many square miles. The map shows it clearly as OK.

Bell customer service says that if I buy the modem and it shows at least 2 of the 5 lights active, I have enough signal strength and I can activate. Their pdf manual says that "A weaker signal does not mean that your connection is slower" So, does that mean that I should be getting the full 3Meg speed? NO. You don't know that until you activate and once you activate, you're locked into the 2 year term. Hmmm. So, if I only get 1, is that fast enough? That's unlikely, they say! But no guarantee.

Rogers says that I have 30 days to get a refund if I am not happy. My personal experience with Rogers has been MUCH better than Bell, but Rogers is 2 Meg. at about the same price.

Now, through forums, I'm reading that Bell may be nowhere near the 3 Meg they state. Maybe the same as Rogers, I don't know. I have no other choice, cable does not reach us and satellite is super expensive. I read that Bell WiMax has the potential to go to much higher speeds that Rogers.

Both have a 30 gig cap, but neither will tell me how much they charge if I go over that limit.

Any advice? Comments??]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19725622 Wed, 02 Jan 2008 16:01:07 EDT