Entrepreneurship & Small Business

Small Business Internet Package - Rogers or Bell??

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Member
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Oct 20, 2004
241 posts
28 upvotes
Kitchener

Small Business Internet Package - Rogers or Bell??

Looking for a small business internet package and Rogers and Bell both offer something similar.

Rogers - Business Internet Pro (60down/10up), Business phone (5 features) and 300 NA minutes LD per month = $84.95 per month (3 year contract)

Bell - Business internet (25down/10up), Business phone (8 features) and 2400 LD minutes per month = $84.28 per month (3 year contract)

Because it is a three year contract the price is guaranteed for the whole three year term.

Would appreciate any comments (good or bad) from anybody that has either of the above packages. I believe that the Rogers business phone is VOIP and Bell is POTS. Anybody have any problems with the Rogers VOIP?

Any comments would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
22 replies
Sr. Member
Jul 10, 2005
763 posts
123 upvotes
Toronto
I wouldn't restrict the selection to those 2, and I wouldn't go with a contract. They seem to benefit more the ISP than the customer.

Check dslreports for reviews of providers.
Deal Expert
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Aug 6, 2001
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Stuck in a Box
dani_toronto wrote: I wouldn't restrict the selection to those 2, and I wouldn't go with a contract. They seem to benefit more the ISP than the customer.

Check dslreports for reviews of providers.
Not necessarily if it becomes a 'fixed' price. Historically, internet connectivity has only gone up in pricing.
Deal Addict
Nov 17, 2004
3236 posts
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It really depends on what you're looking for and what you do.

The Rogers Internet is much faster, but after 25mb, you usually don't see any real difference unless you're streaming a ton at the same time. You didn't mention bandwidth either, because these days it's more important. Is either one unlimited or capped, etc?

For phone, do you need all those features, or do you just need it for fax? Etc. The Rogers VoIP is supposed to work with fax, so it'll be fine.

I find that for business, I prefer to stick with bell or Rogers instead of the other providers that lease their lines. When there are line problems, they get fixed faster. And also, for providers like teksavvy who have great rates fortes identical services, they are quite expensive for business services- basically the same as the bell or Rogers promotion rates.

We were previously on a 3-year contract with Bell and just switched to Rogers for another 3-years. Both are 3-year promotional rates at half the price of their regular costs. My plan is to just keep on switching back and forth every 3 years and keep using their promotions. They even help you port your number and cancel your services with the ther provider now too.
Deal Addict
Jun 12, 2015
2550 posts
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Ontario
CensoredByRFD wrote: It really depends on what you're looking for and what you do.

The Rogers Internet is much faster, but after 25mb, you usually don't see any real difference unless you're streaming a ton at the same time. You didn't mention bandwidth either, because these days it's more important. Is either one unlimited or capped, etc?

For phone, do you need all those features, or do you just need it for fax? Etc. The Rogers VoIP is supposed to work with fax, so it'll be fine.

I find that for business, I prefer to stick with bell or Rogers instead of the other providers that lease their lines. When there are line problems, they get fixed faster. And also, for providers like teksavvy who have great rates fortes identical services, they are quite expensive for business services- basically the same as the bell or Rogers promotion rates.

We were previously on a 3-year contract with Bell and just switched to Rogers for another 3-years. Both are 3-year promotional rates at half the price of their regular costs. My plan is to just keep on switching back and forth every 3 years and keep using their promotions. They even help you port your number and cancel your services with the ther provider now too.
Sidetracking but are you saying for the average consumer who streams, browse, console games 25 down is sufficient? Kinda makes the 200+ down they offer excessive
Deal Addict
Nov 17, 2004
3236 posts
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Dynasty12345 wrote: Sidetracking but are you saying for the average consumer who streams, browse, console games 25 down is sufficient? Kinda makes the 200+ down they offer excessive
Absolutely. I had 25 at the office (I think it's 50 now) and I have 25 at home and I can stream netflix, my wife can stream Netflix, and I can also game at the same time. And usually, I'm downloading something through torrent at the same time. The only time that I wish I had faster internet is when I download 10 different things at the same time.

I'm not even sure what I'd do with 200...probably download every movie in the world lol
Member
Oct 8, 2010
226 posts
64 upvotes
What is the nature of your business? How many people will be using the lines at once? What sort of internet traffic are you expecting?

Contract means nothing since you will typically get a letter around April saying there is a $3-4 increase with Bell for the internet.

Also it depends on your location. Some places Bell is better some is Rogers. I couldn't get upload speeds faster than 1mbps with Bell in Hamilton so I had no other choice but to go with Cogeco.

If you call in as residential and get residential service in a business location, you will have a much better deal. Only issue is Call Display but with a really good internet connection, I would get a VOIP line. Been using for years with a 10/1 connection no issues. You can also look into using soft phones.

A little bit more information can help determine what you really need.
Deal Addict
Oct 29, 2010
4475 posts
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The fixed price for the term thing is BS. Unless your business deals with technology, i would go with a 3rd party ISP and get 5-6mb speed. You don't need more than that.
I would also never sign a 3 year term. In business you never know what's going to happen tomorrow, let alone 3 years. Maybe 1 year term but 3 is crazy.
Deal Addict
Nov 17, 2004
3236 posts
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^ I don't see what's so crazy about signing a 3 year contract for something that you'll need for sure regardless of your business and regardless of what you do. Unless your contract term is longer than your lease, I don't see any real risk in it.

If you have to cancel your lease, canceling your internet contract is the least of your worries.

If you move to a smaller space or bigger space, you can always transfer your contract with you.

And as for only paying for 5-6mbps, I personally wouldn't recommend it. It's not even about just your office computers these days, but about your staff and clients. Our internet slows down considerably when there are more staff at work, and when certain clients are there as well, as they stream HD TV shows while they're waiting.

EDIT: and I'm not too sure about the price increase thing. Our bills never went up during the 3 yr contract promotion period with Bell, and I'm hoping that won't happen as well with Rogers.
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Mar 23, 2008
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Toronto
I'm with bell and hate it. Sometimes the Internet slows down to a crawl for no apparent reason to the point where all of my ip phones are unusable.
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Aug 6, 2001
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Stuck in a Box
NEMESIS_2008 wrote: I'm with bell and hate it. Sometimes the Internet slows down to a crawl for no apparent reason to the point where all of my ip phones are unusable.
I would invest in a better router versus blaming bell. For all things bell sucks at, their own internet infrastructure is one of the best in the world. Unless, you are getting screwed by old school copper at your building (last mile).
Sr. Member
Jul 10, 2005
763 posts
123 upvotes
Toronto
weedb0y wrote: I would invest in a better router
Definitely.

I use a Zyxel USG50. It can utilize 3 simultaneous/redundant ISP connections: cable and/or dsl and/or 3g.
Deal Fanatic
Nov 11, 2008
8974 posts
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I recently switched my business internet and phone over to Rogers because they were offering much cheaper prices. Previously, was paying for 45 for phone and 55 for 7/1. Never really though about looking at the services until I got the IP security cameras installed. Viewing them remotely was a pita because of the lack of upload. Started looking around and Rogers gave me 59.99 for 60/10 unlimited, and 2x $10 business phone w/ 2 features 3 year contract. I choose call hunting and call display on line 1, and call display and VM on line 2. Don't need any other services. Rogers does use VOIP technology, but not in the traditional sense like voip.ms or freephoneline so the quality is pretty par with Bell.
Moderator
Sep 27, 2003
11121 posts
3367 upvotes
Newmarket
bargainhunter99 wrote: Contract means nothing since you will typically get a letter around April saying there is a $3-4 increase with Bell for the internet.
If the OP opts for the Bell Business Bundle (Internet + Telephone), the price is protected for the 36 month term.
RFD Forums Moderator
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Sep 27, 2003
11121 posts
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Newmarket
OP - you should be able to do about $10 - $15 / month better on the bundles through Bell. The bundles are the same no matter who you purchase it through, but different sales channels have access to different promotions.
RFD Forums Moderator
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Jan 9, 2002
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Burlington
Check out start.ca... Been very happy with them for 3 years. Recommend them for all our clients if available in their area. No contract, great speed and price. Plus, tier 1 c/s is local
Not your standard VoIP. Different and novel options & advice for my RFD friends.
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Mar 23, 2008
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weedb0y wrote: I would invest in a better router versus blaming bell. For all things bell sucks at, their own internet infrastructure is one of the best in the world. Unless, you are getting screwed by old school copper at your building (last mile).
We have old school copper
Newbie
Jun 14, 2013
83 posts
3 upvotes
Toronto
I just went with Rogers; $107 including tax
30up/5down
Basic TV
Phone line 5 features
$100 credit
No other fees (set up and etc)
3 year contract though
Deal Addict
Dec 14, 2011
1999 posts
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London
Can't stand bell. 4.5 years ago we picked a three year Internet contract. A year ago I thought I should shop around for a better deal. Turns out on the day of my third anniversary, it automatically renewed for an additional three years at a higher rate. I called and rhey cited some clause in the contract that lets them do as they please.

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