 Review by jeisenberg 
member for 11.8 years, 3368 visits, last login: a few hours ago
updated 2.2 years ago
 Windsor,ON
 $52 per month about 3 days "Excellent speed, continuous speed improvement" "None for me, though some complain about caps" "High Availability and Excellent speed - the only way to fly!"
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(ratings match consensus)
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I've been a satisfied Cogeco customer for years. I was one of those who attended the Cogeco rollout in Windsor (still proudly wear my T-shirt) and have been a fan since the beginning. Cogeco started out slowly here, with frequent outages and lacklustre speed.
But as the kinks got worked out, speed and availability increased to the point where I can't think of a reason why *any* other carrier in this city has any clients.
As a standard package residential user, the Cogeco website currently promises up to 5000/640 performance, with no rise in price. I have been recently getting speeds in excess of 4500/600 on the Cogeco Speedtest. And that's without any tweaking or other attempts to optimize the connection.
When I moved to this residence, I prearranged to have Cogeco come on moving day to install the cable/internet service. They came when promised (at the beginning of the installation window timeframe) and had me up and running in under an hour (the wiring in this old house was quite complex, and they managed to crawl through the attic to do the wiring).
I have the full Digital Bundle with Internet, and wouldn't ever want to switch.
When I got a wireless router, I had problems setting up a network connection. Despite their policy of not providing support for networking, they still were able to suggest procedures that helped me work out the problems.
Update: Recently (June 2004), Cogeco began experimenting with 5500KBps download speeds. My Samsung Inforanger modem did not seem capable of supporting the higher speeds. Cogeco support suggested I trade in the modem for another, and Cogeco staff at the Windsor storefront offered me an RCA DCM315 modem without my asking. I am now getting the full speed available to Standard HiSpeed customers.
Update: (September 2005)
I'm still extremely satisfied with Cogeco's internet offering. The speed and service I get are phenomenal (this extends to Cogeco Digital Cable as well - and soon I'll be getting Cogeco VOIP). I specially enjoy being able to see the free credits I've earned for recommending Cogeco to family and friends. So far, no one has been unhappy with the Cogeco service.
Update: (March 2006)
Cogeco continues to be an awesome ISP. Since my last review in September, Cogeco has increased download speeds twice... it now sits at over 7Mbps. I've been a Cogeco VOIP customer since October or November and am very satisfied with that service, and now am using the HDTV channels upgrade to my digital cable service.
Update: (December 2006)
I just got a tickler from DSLR asking me to consider updating my review. And well I should, since the official supported download speed has increased to 10mbps, and I regularly get between 7800 - 9200 during speed tests. I'm pretty satisfied for the most part, and Cogeco service continues to be helpful (both the official and unofficial channels). Monthly fees have risen about $3/month since my last review, but it's the first increase in some time.
Update: (October 2007)
I understand Cogeco has recently begun enforcing the bit-caps and I couldn't be happier. As a customer who very rarely downloads anything and who doesn't use peer-to-peer file sharing networks, I've always been annoyed that a few bad apples can ruin the entire node's performance. Now that Cogeco is cracking down, I'm witnessing several acquaintances getting the warnings and service suspensions that I believe have been long overdue. This can only result in a network with perhaps fewer clients, but significantly less bandwidth stealing -- resulting in significant improvements in network performance. It's still the only game in town for serious speed.
Update: (March 2008)
My only real complaint about Cogeco has been the software fault in the PVR series record feature. I received assurances in a confidential communication back in January 2007 that the problem would be fixed by November 2007 - and then the deadline was pushed to February 2008. The problem persists, and my confidence in Cogeco's ability to either fix the problem or exert influence with those who can fix the problem is now completely eroded. My downgrades in the area of support, services, and value for money reflect my frustration with television service, not internet.
Update: (July 15, 2009)
I just ran a series of speed tests, and can confirm that my speed (both upload and download) have improved by about 10% since last week. Monthly cost for the service has increased fairly dramatically over the past 18 months, with the internet package now running at around $52 per month. Uptime, speed, and quick response to technical questions are still among Cogeco's best features, however, they are starting to take more grief from those clients who are running into trouble staying within the caps (not an issue for me).
Update: (July 24, 2009)
I started a thread about seeing improved speeds with Cogeco. The thread has been running for nine days at this point. When I started the thread, my speeds were about 9400/600. Nine days ago, they improved by about 10%. Today, my speeds are 14500/1050. That's a 50% increase (upload and download) from two weeks ago. I am quite happy!
Update: (February 7, 2011)
Download speed has been a bit spottier than normal since mid-December. My speeds, which had been pretty consistently in the 14000+ range since my last review have been all over the map of late. They've ranged from 3800 - 14900+ since December. Still, I am satisfied overall, primarily because Cogeco extended me special reduced pricing to keep me from looking elsewhere for lower rates. Frankly, I think they should do this with more long-term clients as a gesture of appreciation.
Comments:
  EH
@cgocable.net | Horrible Cogeco support. Speeds dropped from 16K to 1K. Horrible support with Cogeco. Download speeds dropped to 1080 and below from 16K after they did some upgrades. I think they should have called them downgrades. Looking for other cable providers in Windsor. Cogeco doesn't deserve our business.
Took them 4 days so far and no solution. | |
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