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Switching from DSL to cable - what to expect?

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Deal Addict
Aug 30, 2007
2002 posts
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Switching from DSL to cable - what to expect?

I've been a devote DSL user since I got into fast internet ~10 years ago or so, but now that I've been waiting in vain for Bell fibe to come to my area (7 years old house, in Hamilton, not in outskirts) for a long time, I am starting to conteplate my other option (cable). With Bell (actually Teksavvy) I am only getting 4 Mb/s down 0.8 Mb/s, so even for the traditional DSL I seem to be rather far from their equipment (I think 4km), so Fibe will probably take a long time to arrive here (I think they need to be within 500m). What drives me nuts is that for my neighbour across the street (an old house 50m away from mine) the Fibe options are available. But I guess one can be very close physically and miles away in terms of DSL network.

In the last year our area was switched from Shaw to Rogers cable, so I can now get fast cable internet. I need a good upload speed, so I am considering 30/5 and 60/10 Mbit/s packages. I looked it up on http://www.canadianisp.ca , and there are a few interesting options out there. In terms of positive reviews, Netfox seems to be the king now (you have to go to May 2013 to see the first negative review, which did have an official response from the company). Anyone had bad lick with Netfox? In contrast, my own Teksavvy is below average now (-0.2 rating in the last 3 months).

In terms of price, unlimted 30/5 and 60/10 cable packages are cheapest at Velcom - 65$ and 51$ per month. They have a rating 0, and quite a few very negative reviews recently, so I'll probably stay away from them. The Netfox's prices are higher (80$ and 63$), but they do provide an unlimited Canada calling telephony for only 15$/month. I am currently paying almost 35$/month for landline phone with Teksavvy, so I can switch from 4Mbit/s DSL + landline phone to 30/5 Mbit/s cable + telephony by paying extra 8$/month only (with the bonus of free Canada-wide calling).

And here are my questions for anyone who either switched from DSL to cable, or who is using cable internet from third parties in Rogers area (especially if there is anyone from Hamilton Mountain):

- What was your experience overall?
- Does cable interenet typically deliver the advertized speed (especially the upload speed)?
- Does cable interenet speed fluctuates wildly?
- If I am already subscribing for Rogers cable TV (basic digital package), will they have to come over to do the cable internet hookup?

I heard that Rogers doesn't allow third party cable internet providers in the areas where they own a subsidiary (like on Hamilton Mountain, where they bought Shaw network recently; originally Mountain Cable). Is it true? Teksavvy told me recently that they cannot provide cable internet in my area, but I got a response yesterday from Electronic Box that they can. I think it still a is fairly good chance for me to pay for the modem and activation just to find out that Rogers won't let them do that.
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Oct 15, 2005
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North York
you can expect crappy speeds during peak hours for sure and ping spikes.
Deal Addict
Jul 6, 2005
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Toronto
mind = blown

I went from Teksavvy's 5/0.5 Mb/s DSL (after about 8 years of service) to Teksavvy's 45/4 Mb/s rCable.

Downloading a 1.2 gigabyte movie torrent went from 2+ hours to about 15 minutes.

I don't really feel the effects of peak-hour slow down where I live, and I have all of my (big) downloads scheduled to go from between the hours of 2:00AM to 8:00AM.

I have the occasional issue with buffering vids on YouTube and when streaming movies on my androd TV box, but I think that is a problem with my DNS server that I may have to investigate/remedy at a later time.

Do it... you'll ask yourself why you hadn't done it earlier.

Edit:
yes... I meant to type gigabyte, instead of terabyte
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Mar 23, 2009
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Repooc wrote: 1.2 terabyte movie torrent
That must be one mighty long movie.
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Aug 30, 2007
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Thanks for the feedback. Teksavvy got back to me (after I mentioned that their competitor is able to provide rcable service in my area) saying that they submitted a "qualification" request (I guess to Rogers). Presumably that should provide a definite answer regarding whether my area is serviceable or not by Teksavvy.

What I am afraid of that even if the area is serviceable it is likely a new area for third party providers, meaning potential long delays and headaches getting it to work.
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Aug 30, 2007
2002 posts
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Repooc wrote: mind = blown

I went from Teksavvy's 5/0.5 Mb/s DSL (after about 8 years of service) to Teksavvy's 45/4 Mb/s rCable.

Downloading a 1.2 terabyte movie torrent went from 2+ hours to about 15 minutes.

I don't really feel the effects of peak-hour slow down where I live, and I have all of my (big) downloads scheduled to go from between the hours of 2:00AM to 8:00AM.

I have the occasional issue with buffering vids on YouTube and when streaming movies on my androd TV box, but I think that is a problem with my DNS server that I may have to investigate/remedy at a later time.

Do it... you'll ask yourself why you hadn't done it earlier.

Thanks. I haven't heard about 45/4 cable option - is it through Rogers? Is it the official option, or the actual performance?
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Jul 6, 2005
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pulsar123 wrote: Thanks. I haven't heard about 45/4 cable option - is it through Rogers? Is it the official option, or the actual performance?
It's a plan that's no longer offered... I think they bumped a few plans up (with cost) sometime this past summer. I made the switch from DSL to rCable back in March-ish this year and it was available then.
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Oct 15, 2005
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try comparing 50/10 VDSL to 60/10 cable and you will see consistency in cable is a moof..

Repooc wrote: mind = blown

I went from Teksavvy's 5/0.5 Mb/s DSL (after about 8 years of service) to Teksavvy's 45/4 Mb/s rCable.

Downloading a 1.2 gigabyte movie torrent went from 2+ hours to about 15 minutes.

I don't really feel the effects of peak-hour slow down where I live, and I have all of my (big) downloads scheduled to go from between the hours of 2:00AM to 8:00AM.

I have the occasional issue with buffering vids on YouTube and when streaming movies on my androd TV box, but I think that is a problem with my DNS server that I may have to investigate/remedy at a later time.

Do it... you'll ask yourself why you hadn't done it earlier.

Edit:
yes... I meant to type gigabyte, instead of terabyte
Deal Addict
Aug 30, 2007
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infamouskid wrote: try comparing 50/10 VDSL to 60/10 cable and you will see consistency in cable is a moof..
Sure, but surely cable 30/5 will beat my measly DSL 4/0.8? VDSL might be years away for my location.
Member
Aug 8, 2014
456 posts
115 upvotes
Toronto, ON
infamouskid wrote: you can expect crappy speeds during peak hours for sure and ping spikes.
This is false! Well partially. Some people do experience issues due to congestion, but it's not everyone. It all depends on your area.

I get 5ms pings and full speed with Rogers cable. My speeds/latency are better with cable than VDSL.
Deal Addict
Feb 7, 2008
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i had rogers 30/5 cable and switched to teksavvy 15/1. My download speed from mega.co went down from 1.1-1.5 MBs to 700-1000 KBs.
I had cable tv with rogers and they refused to give me a good internet deal when I called them to cancel cable tv. Rogers TV box is so bad, I would just get a slingbox and have it installed in my family's house in U.S. or Asia next month.

So far, my internet speed is slightly slower than previous plan, but my monthly bandwidth go up (150 to 300GB), and my bill go down from $80 (30/5 + digital basic tv) to $45 (15/1 + dry loop + equipment purchase / 24 months).
However, the cisco modem/router that comes with rogers is very bad...it couldn't handle more than 1 device streaming HD video...Everytime I watch youtube 1080p/720p or download large file on one device, others would get very slow connection.
After initial set up, my new router can handle up to 5 devices with HD streaming.
Member
Aug 8, 2014
456 posts
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Toronto, ON
oajlu wrote: i had rogers 30/5 cable and switched to teksavvy 15/1. My download speed from mega.co went down from 1.1-1.5 MBs to 700-1000 KBs.
I had cable tv with rogers and they refused to give me a good internet deal when I called them to cancel cable tv. Rogers TV box is so bad, I would just get a slingbox and have it installed in my family's house in U.S. or Asia next month.

So far, my internet speed is slightly slower than previous plan, but my monthly bandwidth go up (150 to 300GB), and my bill go down from $80 (30/5 + digital basic tv) to $45 (15/1 + dry loop + equipment purchase / 24 months).
However, the cisco modem/router that comes with rogers is very bad...it couldn't handle more than 1 device streaming HD video...Everytime I watch youtube 1080p/720p or download large file on one device, others would get very slow connection.
After initial set up, my new router can handle up to 5 devices with HD streaming.
What were you speeds on other websites with Rogers? I don't think mega.co is a good gauge for speed test.
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Feb 7, 2008
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YYZviaYUL wrote: What were you speeds on other websites with Rogers? I don't think mega.co is a good gauge for speed test.
I like to use mega.co as reference cuz it's something I use a lot...it's like on paper vs reality :razz:
I just ran few speednet app on my tablet on both rogers and teksavvy connection (i still had rogers service till early dec)

Teksavvy: Ping: 10ms, Download 10.90 Mbps, Upload: 1.51 Mbps
Rogers: Png: 15ms, Download 17.57 Mbps, Upload: 4.76 Mbps

I only has PS3 connectted through wire, and it did get close to 30mbs from rogers.
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Apr 16, 2001
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infamouskid wrote: you can expect crappy speeds during peak hours for sure and ping spikes.
YYZviaYUL wrote: This is false! Well partially. Some people do experience issues due to congestion, but it's not everyone. It all depends on your area.

I get 5ms pings and full speed with Rogers cable. My speeds/latency are better with cable than VDSL.
Yep, if your node is overloaded, you're screwed until Rogers decides to split it. Me, I get sustained d/l speeds of 170Mbps. :cool:
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Deal Expert
Oct 6, 2005
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infamouskid wrote: you can expect crappy speeds during peak hours for sure and ping spikes.
Really depends on each person's individual situation.

Over the years I've had both DSL and cable connections in a couple cities in Ontario, and in fact I have dual cable + dal at home right now. My cable connection has very low ping times and is consistently faster and more reliable than DSL.
Deal Addict
Aug 30, 2007
2002 posts
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Teksavvy got back to me saying that they do not have the cable option in my area. So now I have ebox saying that they can provide the cable internet, and teksavy saying they cannot. I can't imagine why/how Rogers would only allow some third parties to resell their services. I suspect it is ebox which got it wrong here - they have nothing to lose after all if I apply, pay for the modem and shipment etc and it doesn't get through. I hope at least one more third party will clarify the situation (I sent emails to a couple more).
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Nov 18, 2002
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infamouskid wrote: you can expect crappy speeds during peak hours for sure and ping spikes.
That's the equivalent of saying expect traffic and collisions when someone tells you they've upgraded from a tricycle to a car.

The fact of the matter is a jump from 4/0.8 to 60/10 is huge for the OP even if there is congestion and spikes.

I'm a long time cable user and have lived in many old and new neighbourhoods in downtown TO. I can count on one hand the number of days where I can say I've truly experienced ISP congestion. I also have a business VDSL line out at one of my business locations where the QoS has been pretty poor. Now I'm not about to go out and say that vdsl is crap and cable is king based on my own personal experiences.

To the OP, nothing wrong with it. If it all works out you will see a huge night and day difference in your up/down speeds. As long as your ISP isn't overprovisioning service you'll be fine.
Deal Addict
Aug 30, 2007
2002 posts
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This doesn't get any more confusing than what it is now. I decided to get a better picture of my cable options by sending the same request to ~10 third party cable internet providers in Hamilton. Five got back, and here is the data:

Teksavvy : no
Acanac : no
Foxnet : not clear, but likely no (they only mentioned DSL in their reply)
Ebox : yes
CIK Telekom: yes (but they gave the options 10,20,55 Mbits/s which are for Cogeco; Rogers has 10,30,60)

Still waiting for a few more (Velcom, worldline, primelite, sunsonic, slamhang, simconet).

I wonder if the hardware in place in my area is akin to Cogeco (it used to be serviced by Shaw until last year), hence this confusion and the cable internet packages which are not normally provided by Rogers?
Deal Expert
Feb 29, 2008
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pulsar123 wrote: Teksavvy got back to me saying that they do not have the cable option in my area. So now I have ebox saying that they can provide the cable internet, and teksavy saying they cannot. I can't imagine why/how Rogers would only allow some third parties to resell their services. I suspect it is ebox which got it wrong here - they have nothing to lose after all if I apply, pay for the modem and shipment etc and it doesn't get through. I hope at least one more third party will clarify the situation (I sent emails to a couple more).
Ebox or teksavvy is wrong. Either you have cable in your area or you don't. Check Rogers' web site with your postal code.
Deal Addict
Aug 30, 2007
2002 posts
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I just got a reply from HeroNet, and I think their information is the most detailed and explains my situation well:

"You are in an area that Rogers has taken over Shaw, but the network is not yet ready for Cable serves to independents at the moment."

Hence all the confusion. Oh well, not a big deal. I waited patiently for faster internet for years now, can wait another 2-3 years :(

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