| HELP! Teksavvy or Colbanet for budget internet in Montreal? Hi.
After lots of research, I have no idea how to decide between Teksavvy's cable service and Colbanet's ADSL2+. There's a lot of information below, but my question basically boils down to this: Will Teksavvy's 5Mbps or 8Mbps cable service be fast enough to stream Netflix and download content in St. Henri, Montreal?
My Requirements: We won't have a TV service, so we do a lot of streaming, but we've never used more than 50GB/month, and I don't need CRAZY fast. I need just fast enough to stream netflix and download torrents (if a SD movie takes me 6 hours to download, I'm satisfied).
My location: St. Henri, Montreal (Atwater market area).
My Goal: To spend as little as possible to get *just* what I need.
The Breakdown: Colbanet will cost $505 for the 1st year, and $480 for the 2nd. Paid up-front at the beginning of the year. Their ADSL2+ service is "up to 24Mbps", but the salesperson I spoke to said given my distance from the hub I can expect 7Mbps consistently. I can probably grab a used modem for $30. I have friends on that service in the area, so I have no concerns about speed.
Teksavvy's "basic cable 5" 5Mbps service would come to $442 for the first year and $344 for the 2nd. Definitely the cheapest option. But I have no idea if that service will be fast enough for me to stream Netflix. Based on the research I've done, it's questionable.
Teksavvy's "Express cable 8" 8Mbps would be $511 for the 1st year and $413 for the 2nd. Still cheaper than Colbanet, and we don't have to pay up front, so that still seems like the way to go. But again, I worry that my average speed won't be fast enough for streaming.
The final complicator: I could sign up for Teksavvy's 5Mbps service and see how it goes. If it's too slow, I could upgrade to the 8Mbps service with no penalty and try that. If that's still too slow, I could jump up to the 20Mbps, but that would require a $100 investment in a new modem, and would be $60 more expensive than Coblanet in the first year (Colbanet's price increases by $5 in the 2nd year).
HOW DOES ANYONE MAKE THESE DECISIONS? #firstworldproblems #paradoxofchoice.
Help? |
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MFido
join:2012-10-19
kudos:1 | I have the Teksavvy 5M cable internet (thru Montreal-DSL reseller).
NO ISSUES with Netflix.
In 1-2 weeks the 5M/75GB (+ unlimited download 2am and 8am AND unlimited upload) will be $24.95. You can use a Docsis 2 modem as well.
Highly recommended. |
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 Irenic
join:2000-05-02
Montreal, QC | reply to lehons
You know Netflix lets you choose the quality (and resulting size) of the stream, see: »support.netflix.com/en/node/87
I think the 5Mbps service will be fine.
P.S.
Forgot to include the obligatory joke about using the internet at the office for personal purposes on our tax payer's dime.  |
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| reply to MFido
Thanks for the quick responses.
MFido, what area of Montreal are you in? Do you ever have speed issues on the 5M plan?
Does that mean that if I sign up today for $19.95, in 2 weeks they're going to send me an e-mail saying "btw, your service hasn't even been activated yet, but we're already bumping it up to $24.95/month?" |
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| @MFido: Never mind. I just re-read my reply and realized it didn't make sense.
You are correct, Teksavvy's 5Mb plan is $24.95 month. That's not a price increase.
I'm still curious about your area of Montreal, though, and if you ever have speed issues on cable due to congestion.
Thanks |
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| reply to MFido
said by MFido:I have the Teksavvy 5M cable internet (thru Montreal-DSL reseller).
NO ISSUES with Netflix.
Really? Including SuperHD? I thought that was slightly above the 5Mbit range.
In any case, I'm on Colba with a 9-10Mbit sync speed, so probably what you'd be getting (I believe they also gave me a 7Mbit estimate). No problem for Netflix SuperHD. Crunchyroll 1080p video during peak hours is an issue though. I can't figure out if it's my line being marginally too slow, Colba having network issues or Akami being crap.
One thing to consider is that the Teksavvy 8Mbit Cable service at 30$/month has a 75GB/month cap, whereas Colba is unlimited. The 5Mbit/25$ service has a 300GB cap, so that should be ample if it does work out.
As a side note, Colba's 6to4 tunnel is broken. I've even notified them and no reply. It's been months. |
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 HiVoltPremium
join:2000-12-28
Toronto, ON
kudos:15 | reply to lehons
IMO you'd be nuts to prepay for a full year for ANY service from any provider...
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| said by HiVolt:IMO you'd be nuts to prepay for a full year for ANY service from any provider...
I hear you, but I'm not sure. For one, they have a good reputation. Also, it means no sudden surprise mid-year rate hikes (ahem... Rogers).
But yeah, it's a big chunk of change to pay out at the front end.
said by DSL_Ricer:As a side note, Colba's 6to4 tunnel is broken. I've even notified them and no reply. It's been months. I'm not sure what that means.
I don't really do HD content, though, so if I can expect fast enough average speeds for SD, that's plenty. And as for the 75GB cap, I've never used more than 50 on my current Rogers 20Mbit plan, so I'm not concerned about that either. |
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julienvf
join:2008-12-30
Verdun, QC
kudos:1 Reviews:
 ·Acanac
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Tek if you need less than 75gb month and 5mbps is suitable for you. Since you're close to Atwater Market, Colba will probably give you way more speed (12-15mbps) in that area and unlimited bandwith. Activation/modem is slightly cheaper with Colba. Get a TP-link all in one unit (sells for 55-60$ + tx, »www.ncix.com/products/?sku=75531). All of this considered and since you're close to the CO, I'd get colba! |
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| said by julienvf:Tek if you need less than 75gb month and 5mbps is suitable for you. That's the question, isn't it. How can I determine if 5Mbps is suitable for me? If I actually got close to 5 consistently, that'd be fine. But how can I find out what people on that service actually get on a regular basis?
It's not a huge difference in terms of cost ($200 over 2 years), but going with Teksavvy would mean I don't have to lay out the cash up front. |
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MFido
join:2012-10-19
kudos:1 | reply to lehons
I am in West Island BUT is should not make a difference I would say as the the POI is aggregated.
For the price, you see now 5M/300 GB at $24.95. That plan will be $29.95 soon BUT they will launch another plan 5M/75 GB at $24.95.
The speed I get are constant: 5.23M/1.02M
DSL-Ricer ... I do not have a need for SuperHD on Netflix, the regular HD quality is ok for me ... my TV is a 720 HD not a 1080 HD nor a 4K  |
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HiVoltPremium
join:2000-12-28
Toronto, ON
kudos:15 Reviews:
 ·TekSavvy Cable
·TekSavvy DSL
| reply to lehons
said by lehons:I hear you, but I'm not sure. For one, they have a good reputation. Also, it means no sudden surprise mid-year rate hikes (ahem... Rogers).
But yeah, it's a big chunk of change to pay out at the front end.
Good reputation? Unless something drastically improved, they used to have an absolute terrible reputation, at least on these forums as of a few years ago...
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lehons
join:2013-04-03
Montreal, QC | reply to MFido
said by MFido:For the price, you see now 5M/300 GB at $24.95. That plan will be $29.95 soon BUT they will launch another plan 5M/75 GB at $24.95. Since there's no contract and it's a monthly fee, if I subscribe today to the $24.95/300 plan when they change their pricing it will affect me immediately (before my service is even activated)?
75GB will be enough for me, but what will happen to the 8M/75GB plan, currently $29.95? Will that go up as well? Because it's kind of my "backup" plan if the 5M service isn't fast enough. |
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MFido
join:2012-10-19
kudos:1 | »[Cable] NEW RATES - Vidéotron |
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 hm
@videotron.ca | reply to lehons
said by lehons:said by HiVolt:IMO you'd be nuts to prepay for a full year for ANY service from any provider...
I hear you, but I'm not sure. HiVolt is correct. You do not know what you will end up with?
On teksavvy you could end up with 2-meg DSL (remember it's an UP TO 5-meg service).
It's best if you pay the full price for 1 month to see how it is. Then if everything is ok, do the full year pay up-front commitment.
You are nuts to pay 1 year up front just like that. Be smart. |
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hm
@videotron.ca | reply to HiVolt
said by HiVolt:said by lehons:I hear you, but I'm not sure. For one, they have a good reputation. Also, it means no sudden surprise mid-year rate hikes (ahem... Rogers).
But yeah, it's a big chunk of change to pay out at the front end.
Good reputation? Unless something drastically improved, they used to have an absolute terrible reputation, at least on these forums as of a few years ago... Yes the improved. The complaints stopped once they figured out the issue with the hardware. The complaints were like 4 years ago. Took a year, but they fixed it.
People are generally happy with Colba now and find value in the unlimited for the price they pay. None of this having to watch a bandwidth counter to prevent over-charges. |
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 TSI AndreGot TekSavvy?Premium,VIP
join:2008-06-03
Chatham, ON
kudos:7 | reply to lehons
Our services are pre-paid, monthly and no contract. My recommendation is to give us a try and if you don't like it, you are not tied down. But, I am sure we will be able to convince you to stay as we are awesome! |
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lehons
join:2013-04-03
Montreal, QC | reply to TSI Andre
Re: HELP! Teksavvy or Colbanet for budget internet in Montreal? said by TSI Andre:Our services are pre-paid, monthly and no contract. My recommendation is to give us a try and if you don't like it, you are not tied down. Hi Andre.
Thanks for the reply, but while that's true, the $85 activation fee is sufficiently prohibitive to prevent just such sampling. It'd cost me $85 to 'give you a try' if I don't like it and decide to switch.
And while I do appreciate that Teksavvy is non-contract and paid monthly - one of the reasons I'd like to go with them- it also means that Teksavvy can (and in this case will) increase prices at any time. Through other posts on this forum I've found out that the plans currently being advertised will be changed in the coming weeks - after I've subscribed but even before my connection is activated. It does upset me that I'm going to sign up for a package, pay for 1 month + activation, and even before the tech comes to set it up my package will be switched. |
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MFido
join:2012-10-19
kudos:1 | reply to lehons
That's life man ... nothing stay the same ...
The DSL prices went down. Cable prices go up ... Say thanks to CRTC |
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