jonassimpson
join:2009-03-27
Toronto, ON
| Ontario - CIA Cable Speed Bump
I've been a 3Web (CIA) cable customer for a few years and I'm in Toronto. It's not my primary Internet connection (I use DSL from another provider for most things). I've never had the speed problems many people complain about through 3web and routinely get around 6.8 Mbps/500 kbps speeds.
I got an email from CIA offering me 10 Mbps service for a few dollars more per month. I have a couple of questions:
- has anyone done this/does anyone have 3web service at the 10 Mbps rate in Ontario? If so, do you see improvements in speed and how much faster is your connection?
- will the standard Motorola Surfboard modem I'm using and have had for years work at the faster speed or do I have to replace it?
- I know CIA wasn't taking new cable customers in Ontario for a while but they seem to be doing so again. Is there any worry that in switching my service around I'll get disconnected and be unable to get a non-Rogers cable connection set up? Has anyone just signed up for CIA/3web service in Toronto and did you have any problems?
Thx,
JS |
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sbrook
Premium,Mod
join:2001-12-14
H0H 0H0 | They've made a deal with Rogers to offer the equivalent of Extreme service. The surfboard is fine to handle this. Lots of Rogers customers have Extreme. The question really is whether CIA's backbone is up to it. |
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elwoodblues
Elwood Blues
join:2006-08-30
Toronto, ON
| reply to jonassimpson
Yeah the surfboard is supposed to be good for 30mb if I recall.
On the phone with them and activating the additional speed 2 3 days before Robbers makes it work.
--
It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses. |
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Ottawa
@cybersurf.com | I haven't been able to find (maybe I'm just blind) what the upload rate increase is, assuming there is one.
Any official info around?
- Ottawa |
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Oinktastic
join:2005-08-24
Scarborough
1 edit | Here in Ontario, the Extreme Tier is 10Mb down/1Mb up whereas the one below (Express is it?) is 7Mb down/512Kb up. |
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dontbugme1
join:2005-12-25
Scarborough, ON | reply to jonassimpson
I also received an email from 3web, I am satisfied with the speed and it is not worth to get the extra upto 4M for $10. |
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CF7
@cia.com | reply to jonassimpson
I would not upgrade to higher speed as CIA/3web continues have problem in Ottawa at regular speed since Nov 2008. They need a better arrangement with Rogers. |
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Ian D Allen
If this were easy, everyone would do it.
Premium
join:2008-10-26
Ottawa, ON
| said by CF7 :
I would not upgrade to higher speed as CIA/3web continues have problem in Ottawa at regular speed since Nov 2008. They need a better arrangement with Rogers.
I've posted some CIA/3web cable download stats here:
»cable congestion in Centretown Ottawa (Preston/Somerset) |
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elwoodblues
Elwood Blues
join:2006-08-30
Toronto, ON
| reply to jonassimpson
It works well enough for me... lots of congestion where I live , so when the script kiddies get home, the net slows to a crawl.
--
It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses. |
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nabilaa1
join:2009-06-24
Windsor, ON | reply to jonassimpson
hi , is any one knows if 3web dsl internet works with n fusion iks fta box ? i already 3web dsl customer I'm thinking to get nfusion box
thanx |
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Oinktastic
join:2005-08-24
Scarborough
 ·TekSavvy Solutions..
 ·3 Web
2 edits | said by nabilaa1  :hi , is any one knows if 3web dsl internet works with n fusion iks fta box ? i already 3web dsl customer I'm thinking to get nfusion box thanx As far as I can tell from their site, those nFusion boxes will work with any internet connection. They'll even provide you with powerline ethernet or wireless adapters for them. I think that's a tad off-topic for this post though.
Back on topic...
I'm currently engaged in getting some answers about packet loss I've been having in East Toronto with my 3Web Cable connection. I got through to tech support in under 1 minute, impressive I know, and the CSR was polite and very helpful.
I'm still using the 7Mbit connection because I cannot justify paying more for 10Mbit when I can only get the full 7Mbit at 4am. We'll see once/if that clears up.
I have a friend who's on Rogers who just got bumped automatically to the new 10/.512 "Express" speeds. With Rogers, the speeds are often as advertised I find. I'm not sure how much that correlates to 3web's ability to provide that speed.
I'm wondering if Rogers will up the speed of "Extreme" now since it's still 10/1 and it just looks wrong to have matching download speeds between two different tiers 
Does anyone know what the upload speed of 3web's 10Mbit connection is? I'll ask them next time I talk with them on the phone and report back to you guys.
said by jonassimpson :Is there any worry that in switching my service around I'll get disconnected and be unable to get a non-Rogers cable connection set up? I think as long as you still have an account open with them, you should be fine. They do seem to be slowly taking new subscribers now as well, so I don't think they'd cut you off and not be ready to re-sign you.
About your other two questions JS:
The modem is fine. The Motorola can take much faster speeds than it's currently handling, so you won't have to upgrade that until they switch to a higher DOCSIS standard, which probably won't be anytime soon.
And as for the switching to 10Mbit, it doesn't look like anyone here has gone for that yet, but I can vouch for Rogers' ability to do it lol.
I think if your connection regularly gives you the advertised speed, you can be fairly confident that the network isn't saturated in your area and a higher profile would indeed provide more speed.
I hope that helped... |
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jyeung
inspiration reality
Premium
join:2004-03-30
North York, ON
1 edit | I've gone for it, and I do get 9.8Mbps very constantly. Very impressed.
Oinktastic: I get 10Mbps/1Mbps, so the upload is good enough.
- Jason |
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Gza14
join:2002-12-31
Scarborough, ON
| Jason: Lucky for you. I've been having nothing but speed problems still. Had two Rogers techs show up (while parents were at home, not myself), with the second one claiming I had a defective modem. What a load - I had explained to the tech support rep that my speeds were much better in the mornings (but not 100% to Toronto servers) - and as such, suspected a congested node.
According to that douche of a tech, and 3web's tier2 support, they've concluded it was a defective modem.
Fair enough... so I had another modem lying around (MAC address registed with my Rogers Lite account), so I had 3web register that one instead. Now I have to call Rogers to confirm/ authorize the change before we can proceed any further, and otherwise prove to 3web that it's not a hardware issue.
Rogers' site isn't the most friendly when it comes to locating contact numbers either. As much as I wanna give 3web a chance again, my patience is running thin... especially when my Yak DSL is just running along, fine and dandy. |
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jyeung
inspiration reality
Premium
join:2004-03-30
North York, ON
·Cybersurf Corporat..
·3 Web
·Bell Sympatico
·TELUS
2 edits | Well..if it's time dependent, it's almost certain that it's a congested node.
CIA is now part of Distributel, so we'll see if they do any upgrades to the network. Is Rogers fine in your area?
EDIT: Speeds for tonight. Fantastic.
- Jason |
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Gza14
join:2002-12-31
Scarborough, ON
1 edit | No idea if Rogers is indeed fine or not; I almost never use my Rogers Ultra Lite account, unless a backup is needed. 
Update: 3web suggested that I call Rogers to unbind my Rogers SB5100 to their service for diagnosis purposes (to rule out my supposed-defective SB5101), but I just missed them as Rogers' network engineering department is already closed. Gave 3web the update, but the ticket still stands as a result.
Oddly enough, prior to calling them, my speeds were crawling - the typical 1Mb down max. Now, however...
I think the all the kids went to bed, heh. Very strange. |
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Gza14
join:2002-12-31
Scarborough, ON
1 edit | reply to jonassimpson
Bump.
Internet was just flaking out for a bit.
This is what I'm talking about.
Sigh, here's to hoping it stays like this! |
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jonassimpson
join:2009-03-27
Toronto, ON
| reply to jonassimpson
Well, I thought I should follow up and report back. I went with the upgrade and had no interruptions (it's not my main connection, so it doesn't get full-time use anyway). I was getting pretty good speeds before the upgrade so I didn't think local congestion would be an issue.
This is what I got just now:
I can't complain about that. More than respectable for $35 a month.
Thanks to everyone for your feedback.
I don't know if I should start a new topic for another question I have, but I'll pose it anyway: is there a way to get a static IP from 3Web/CIA on their cable high speed connections?
JS |
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ChampUz
join:2009-02-13
Mississauga, ON | Wait
is CIA Cable internet 10mbps 1/mbps $37.50 ? and with caps?
That seems SWEET! |
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Tekkkyyy
@speakeasy.net | reply to jonassimpson
How is cia home phone now?
Their price seems reasonable but horror stories keep me ignoring them. Anyone recently their $40 package? |
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Roop
join:2003-11-15
Ottawa, ON | i signed up for the $45 10mbit + voip package. hardware should arrive this week. i'll be sure to post how it works.
currently on rogers it's $62 for 10/1. my speeds are excellent but it's usually $87 a month because i exceed the banwidth cap. |
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