TekSavvy → SB5101N capped to 6mbps?

A friend of mine is giving his modem to a family member (as he is leaving the country), he called Teksavvy CSR and they informed him that his modem (SB5101N, ordered from TS) is capped at 6 mbps.

Is this a new practice?

I ordered the same modem directly from Teksavvy when cable first rolled out in Toronto, I have the ~30mbps plan, and have never heard of this.

Is TS CSR just trying to push a new modem on new accounts?

No, Rogers - Cogeco do not accept this modem for higher speeds anymore

Rogers now requires that all modems for new or changed connections for speeds above 6Mbps plans must be DOCSIS 3 modems. The 5101 is DOCSIS 2.

If you currently have a plan that is above 6 Mbps with a DOCSIS 2 modem, they aren't yet forcing you to change ... but if you change plans they will. So you are grandfathered for now.

It's just TekSavvy meeting Rogers new rules.

Cogeco has a 10mbit plan, and docsis 2 is fine on that speed. If Rogers had a 10mbit or 15mbit plan, docsis 2 would probably be fine at those speeds. In Rogers areas the plans are 6 and 25, and at 25 they've decided docsis 2 isn't suitable.

And yes, it is new. Started mid-april.

If one was to get the current 28mbps service with the now capped motorola modem, would the connection simply not work? Or would it not go faster then 6mbps? Or would it work fine and this is all extortion and other sorts of bs?

Modems must be registered with the Incumbent to be enabled (they use the MAC and customer s/n) so ...

If you currently HAVE service with a DOCSIS 2 modem and don't change your speed package, then you can continue with that speed package without changing modem. You will be "grandfathered" and continue at that speed until Rogers chooses to want everyone on DOCSIS 3.

If you currently HAVE service with a DOCSIS 2 modem and change your speed package to one above 8MBps then they Rogers will reject the change speed order.

If you currently HAVE service with a DOCSIS 2 modem but replace that modem with a DOCSIS 3 modem and register the new modem and change your speed package to one above 8MBps then they Rogers will carry through the speed change.

If you currently DON'T have service, you can't get service above 8Mbps with a DOCSIS 2 modem. The installation order will be refused.

SB... Are you sure that 8Mbps is the threshold. I thought it was 15M & above that required D3.

Here's an excerpt from Rogers TN 29, November 7, 2012, Page 2 of 4
" ... Rogers sent 6-month notice to the ISPs on October 16, 2012 that DOCSIS 2.0 modems would no longer be accepted on speed tiers of 15 Mbps or above, hence the proposed April 16, 2013 effective date."

Yes, no existing plan other than 6M will accept D2 modems, officially.

But, I have a brand new unused SB5101N here, and I guess I'm still hoping (faintly) that the Rogers 6M/256K plan MIGHT get an upgrade to 8M/1M, or 10M/1M, and still allow Docsis2!

Hello,

Since the new packaging and pricing was released the D2 modems are only available on the Cable 6 packages. Which city does your relative live in and we can verify with the approved modem listings.

Martin

Hey Highway,

The connection essentially would work but not to its full potential and not to full speeds. We would also be unable to provision the modem, upgrade service with that modem, on anything higher than cable 6 depending on the area.

Martin

I had heard 8 ... but could be wrong. That said, whether Rogers will update the 6M plan in our lifetime is another question altogether.

The bottom line though is that if you're gradfathered with D2 above the base plan, you're good ... What Rogers grandfathering plans would be for the future is like looking in a crystal ball.

Well, I'm "hoping" they left themselves that 'wiggle room', from 6 to 14, for a reason.

After all, Rogers should be totally embarrassed by still offering 256K upload on cable, right???

8M/1M would be a nice new basic cable plan. What's Cogeco's slowest?... 6M/1.5M?.

I was grand fathered and a few issues came up and now I'm being forced to reactivate, meaning I'm being forced to buy a new modem which two weeks ago was working perfectly fine. I don't think it's fair. I was not upgrading and I was not leaving tek savvy. There was an issue with my credit card and tek savvy ran right to disconnection, dooming me to 100 more dollars then I can afford to pay.

Rough spot to be in. Might want to look into the 6mbps packages to save a few $/month and avoid having to buy a new modem. The 6mbps/256kbps 300GB for $31/month is great deal.

Once you go 28mpbs there's no going back! There has to be a better solution then settling.