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[BC] Shaw WIFI Hotspots

Not very good in the test trials, leaves alot to be desired currently and is. It what you think it is unfortunately.

Hey bbford,

What pkarlos has mentioned here has no merit as wifi is in trial. You talking about the hotspots being spread out currently with select locations. In spring, taking a site like calgary that has 20 hotspots and installing thousands. Not to mention seamlessly handing off from one ap to the next.

You can't base your judgement off of going outside of one location expecting that distance, speed etc will be amazing. When you are in it however, the speeds imho are really fast. Even sometimes exceed what my speeds are at home both on upload and download.

In spring when the shaw exo wifi is actually launched with thousands of hot spots, then you will be able to experience the true capabilities.

If you want to try it out, go to one of the hot spots and make your own judgements. Personally i see this new wifi network causing lot of issues for teleco companies, especially with free services like dell voice that just launched in canada. Less data requirements on a cell phone when you may be majority of the time on the shaw exo wifi network. Customer wins imo since it is free and an extension of your home internet. I big value added bonus.

im in calgary and already in the last 2 or so months that ive known about this service, according to the map on shaws website, the number of hot spots has increased by quite a bit !

reply to ShawCableGuy

So basically, if you need access to data everywhere then Shaw's wifi network will not suffice. You will still need a data plan on your mobile phone.

If you don't need data everywhere and are okay waiting to reach the next hotspot before jumping online then maybe Shaw's wifi network will suffice. Challenge here is that we don't yet know how large and how abundant the hotspots may or may not be.

Its usually sound advice to buy what is available now and not what you hope will be available in the future.

Couple of points to remember Shaw's wifi is still in beta and hasn't officially launched yet. Secondly check out their current beta map here »shaw.ca/wifi/ also FAQ area.

Apparently it's a 3 year plan in building out nationally.
It has cellular companies like telus particularly scared. Scared of people ditching data plans and people will at some point en-mass. Shaw Wifi is also superior to LTE speeds and free... something else that will play a part and dampen western cell companies price gouging efforts.

The wisest choice would not be to commit to any kind of contract for data right now and play it ear in my opinion.

"It has cellular companies like telus particularly scared. Scared of people ditching data plans and people will at some point en-mass. Shaw Wifi is also superior to LTE speeds and free... something else that will play a part and dampen western cell companies price gouging efforts."

I most certainly hope so, and I'm really hoping Shaw does the implementation of the wifi network quickly. I'm in the market for a new phone, and currently have a decent plan. Well, decent as a Canadian can receive anyways (6gigs/$30 month)

However, looking at what is available now, I'm not sure if I could afford switching to a new type of phone. (LTE 5gig/$60 month) So i'm really going to push for rogers to keep what I have and just make the phone upgrade. Knowing them, however, they will want me to switch. but we'll see.

However, if Shaw does have the wifi out and a bout by the time I'm ready, I might just downgrade my phone all together. Very rarely do I need data outside of the city, so all this wifi business would be an extreme bonus for me, and money saver. Unfortunately, being in Winnipeg, we are normally in the middle to last on the city list for implementation of things. So, we'll see.

reply to tudorwise

I dunno, I'm two small blocks away from Shaw Wi-Fi spot, and I'm not seeing it even with a roof mounted 4 meter mast...

(Although it is pointing 45 degrees right from the Shaw tower, equipped a 32 degree directional antenna)

Shaw wifi isn't some sort of miracle wifi access. It still needs to conform to CRTC's rules for unlicensed spectrum, so you won't see it from more than a couple hundred feet (under ideal circumstances). The idea is that as time goes by, there will be more and more access points. But until one is close to you, your devices won't see it.

There's one half a block away from me I can't pick up at all unless i walk to right outside the building it's in, funnily enough I have a friend who live in a building slightly further away from me than it is in the same direction, and i can pick up his low end netgear N access point at 40%-ish signal and connect no problem. So i'm not very impressed w/ shaws access points so far.

reply to bbford8
it just seems like most of these are indoor AP's, (like a bunch of restaurants in Calgary)

I was really hoping for more outdoor AP's on streetlamps and such but I guess that requires a partnership with the City (or Enmax?)

It's interesting how the WiFi rollout is only in Shaw's BC/Alberta footprint.

Seems like a defensive play to add more value to bundles in an intensifying competitive environment.

It's similar to the strategy little Cablevision in New York City is using against wireless and wireline behemoth Verizon.

reply to bb147
I'm thinking they'll start to deploy them in their node boxes,

Enclosure, Fiber, Power - everything is there, and it is their own space.
--
Yes, I am not employed and looking for IT work. Have passport, will travel.

reply to talios
Key words "building it's in". Wifi doesn't work so good through walls, especially if they're concrete. Betcha your friend is in a house that's not built of concrete.

And houses are not framed with steel studs like many commercial buildings are. Steel studs form a metal grid which does affect wifi according to some light googling.

reply to bbford8
Hey guys, I'm working on getting some further details on our WiFi roll-out and future plans. I'll post further details here once they're available.

pkarlos - We take your feedback and opinions seriously and I apologize for the way ShawCableGuy replied to you. That's not the way myself or anyone who officially posts for the company would ever speak with a customer.

Cheers.
--
Sean
Twitter - @Shaw_Sean

reply to bbford8
@lazz - We're definitely looking at opportunities to cover as many areas as quickly as possible. The idea is that we want to target where you go, wait, relax and use your mobile WiFi devices. We’d love to cover entire cities but that probably won’t happen in the near future. We’re all about you saving your money on those expensive data plans and look for Winnipeg to start growing in coverage over the next few months.

@talios - Shaw WiFi uses a standard unlicensed spectrum and needs to conform to CRTC rules on the amount of power pumped into an access point.

During the WiFi trial, we're working hard to cover as much area as we can but if you’re at home, the best way to experience WiFi is over your own network. Shaw is using carrier grade equipment and strives to provide the best coverage as best we can. Look for more and better coverage in the places you go such as cafes, restaurants, malls etc.

Cheers.
--
Sean
Twitter - @Shaw_Sean

reply to bbford8
Industry Canada deals with frequency allocation, power, and the like.

Not the CRTC.

Incase someone wants to look up some of this infomation, we don't want to send them to the wrong place

The other issue that I suspect the Shaw eningeers have to work around, is the handoff between APs, cellular, it changes between tower to tower with no intruption in service,

If every AP is being it's own network, your device would need to get a new DHCP lease, break all of the active data sessions, and re-create them from the new AP and new IP address.

There are definately ways around this, to make it work properly, but it will take the Shaw people some work to get setup and working properly.

--
Yes, I am not employed and looking for IT work. Have passport, will travel.