 Review by adisor19 
UPDATED: 120 days ago
member for 5.1 years, 1748 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Saint-Constant,QC
 $70 per month
 "Tech support is the best in the industry."
 "They still depend on Bell for the last mile and if the line is bad, you get what you get..Also, they're expensive now."
 "Great service and support but expensive compared to simillar ISPs."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings below consensus)
|
UPDATE July 23 2009
After confirming that my 2 lines are now working fine with Velcom and MLPPP, i have called TekSavvy and cancelled my 2 lines with them. As usual, it was a pleasure to speak with the tech on the phone and there was no delay in processing my request. I mentioned the reason for cancelling was the 4$ extra for the MLPPP service. Unlike the time when i cancelled with Videotron, he didn't offer me any sort of retention deal, but it's not like i was expecting any.
And so ends my time with Teksavvy. I will review Velcom after a few months and let you all know how it goes.
Adi
UPDATE July 17 2009 :
I came home and noticed that my download tests are around 5MBPS instead of the USUAL 10Mbps. Intrigued, i logged on to my router as i figured that one of the modems was no longer connected. What i saw, puzzled me even more : the MLPPP status was showing me : FAILED.
I tried disconnecting and reconnecting again but the problem persisted so my next step was to check out the TekSavvy forums here on DSLR. To my surprise, i was not the only one in this situation. There were others like me.Turns out that Teksavvy started charging 4$ extra per month in order for me to use MLPPP and therefor bypass the Bell throttling.
This is unacceptable. I already pay a lot for 400GB and with the added 4$, it would be even more the unlimited business internet cable service that has no cap.
I have found out that another DSL provider called Velcom offers MLPPP AND unlimited downloads for the same amount as TekSavvy so i have ordered 2 accounts with them. As soon as they'll be active on MLPPP I'll be calling TekSavvy and cancel my 2 accounts.
That's too bad as i really liked their service and support.
-------------------- INITIAL REVIEW FOLLOWS ----------
I decided that paying 70$ to videotron for 7Mbps down and 850Kbps up was less of a value then paying the same amount to Teksavvy and using 2 lines bonded through MLPPP. So i took the plunge and ordered the service from Teksavvy. I happen to be very lucky as i'm getting full sync on both lines : 5Mbps down and 800Kbps up on each line. Bonded together i get 10Mbps down and 1.6Mbps up with a 400GB per month quota. This is more than what Videotron would offer me and what makes it especially nice is the upload speed.
Both modems ordered arrived on time and the lines were also activated on time. I had a problem with the dryloop line not syncing initially but after verifying at the demarc, the second line wasn't connected. Tech support was extremely helpful when i called and they guided me and gave me advice to fix the problem. I can honestly say i've never had such good tech support from any other ISP that i've been with. Teksavvy truly is a great ISP and i can only hope that they will start deploying their own equipment in the future in order to bypass Bell for the last mile.
Adi
Followup comments:  dmbcanada
join:2009-06-01
Ingersoll, ON
 ·TekSavvy Solutions..
| Didn't You Get The Memo? I believe TekSavvy sent out an e-mail in regards to their MLPP service changes. If not it has been advertised on their web site and in the forum here at DSLReports.
I don't think you will have any better service with Velcom, plus they will proably get wind of Tek Savvy's charges and start doing the same.
Good Luck!  | |
| emoci
join:2007-05-29
York, ON
| The change in MLPPP was not news quote:
Intrigued, i logged on to my router as i figured that one of the modems was no longer connected. What i saw, puzzled me even more : the MLPPP status was showing me : FAILED.
I agree you may be able to find service for slightly cheaper elsewhere ($4 less to be exact).
However you should not have been puzzled or surprised about the change in MLPPP status...
The post below indicates that you new this was going to happen as early as May 8, 2009:
»Re: MLPPP Poll | |
|  |
adisor19
join:2004-10-11
·Velcom
·TekSavvy Solutions..
·Radioactif
 ·Videotron
·Look Communications
| Re: The change in MLPPP was not news said by emoci : quote:
Intrigued, i logged on to my router as i figured that one of the modems was no longer connected. What i saw, puzzled me even more : the MLPPP status was showing me : FAILED.
I agree you may be able to find service for slightly cheaper elsewhere ($4 less to be exact). However you should not have been puzzled or surprised about the change in MLPPP status... The post below indicates that you new this was going to happen as early as May 8, 2009: » Re: MLPPP Poll Indeed, i got wind of their plans back then. However, there was quite a bit of an uproar about it and i figured they backed down on it especially since there wasn't much mention of the change on the tekSavvy forums in the last few days before the MLPPP cutoff happened, hence my surprise to see that only 1 of my 2 DSL links was actually working.
Adi | |
| | | emoci
join:2007-05-29
York, ON
| Re: The change in MLPPP was not news said by adisor19 :said by emoci : quote:
Intrigued, i logged on to my router as i figured that one of the modems was no longer connected. What i saw, puzzled me even more : the MLPPP status was showing me : FAILED.
I agree you may be able to find service for slightly cheaper elsewhere ($4 less to be exact). However you should not have been puzzled or surprised about the change in MLPPP status... The post below indicates that you new this was going to happen as early as May 8, 2009: » Re: MLPPP Poll Indeed, i got wind of their plans back then. However, there was quite a bit of an uproar about it and i figured they backed down on it especially since there wasn't much mention of the change on the tekSavvy forums in the last few days before the MLPPP cutoff happened, hence my surprise to see that only 1 of my 2 DSL links was actually working. Adi The following was sent to all customers via email and posted on the forums...
»New offerings and exciting changes
Officially MLPPP on all other ERXs was to be turned off on July 1st. They simply provided some phase-in time ....
In any case hope everything works out with Velcom! | |
| | | |
adisor19
join:2004-10-11 | Re: The change in MLPPP was not news I don't visit the Teksavvy forums and i unfotunaty didn't read the email in question untill later on once i saw i wasn't the only one in the situation.
I will let you all know how Velcom turns out. | |
| Decius
join:2009-07-10
| Comment I'm new to Ontario and I'll tell you why I went with Tek - it's not because people are raving about it because it's the cool thing to have.
To me, customer support responsiveness is extremely crucial, and especially when you're dealing with something so variable as internet access.
If you get high latency, Bell and Rogers won't be able to help you. I dont know about the company you're going with, but when I called Tek the guy i was talking to knew what ping times were in regards to gaming, for example, and if the tech knows that he will be able to diagnose a specific issue relating to it.
In other words, I've had about a hundred and one times when I've called Rogers and asked them if something is wrong, and they almost always say nothing is wrong even though after about 2 hours or half a day or half a week, the issue just resolves itself, be it lag, slow hostname lookups, etc.
Now, I'm a very new customer to tek so I can't say they are great - however, right now I feel secure in the knowledge that if something were to slow down and I gave them a call, they wouldn't give me the run around.
To me, that's very important. But I sympathize with you switching - 4 bucks a month may not be much but the principal of it may be what's bugging you. | |
| | | 
David_T
TSI, here I am
join:2006-09-01
Oakville, ON
·Cogeco Cable
·TekSavvy Solutions..
1 edit | Unfair This doesn't make any sense. Your cost goes up $4/mo and suddenly Pre-Sales Info, Services and Value for Money goes down to 40%? I think you're being very unfair with your ratings.
And your above comment is wrong ^
Again, MLPPP has never been officially offered. It was discovered to work by a customer a while ago and TekSavvy had simply left it enabled. It was never an official service nor has it ever been advertised on the TekSavvy website.
They didn't start "[offering] it for a more expensive price", they simply hadn't been offering it at all. It has essentially been in testing this entire time. And now that they have invested a substantial amount of money into new dedicated equipment for MLPPP, they have decided to offer it as an official service (and thus, are now charging for it).
TekSavvy had made it very clear that they would soon start offering MLPPP for $4/mo. It is not their fault that you did not read their email or read the numerous announcements posted on the forums.
It makes no more sense than complaining that Microsoft will soon start charging $319 for Windows 7 when they've been offering the pre-release for Free. | |
| |
adisor19
join:2004-10-11
·Velcom
·TekSavvy Solutions..
·Radioactif
·Videotron
·Look Communications
| Re: Unfair said by David_T :This doesn't make any sense. Your cost goes up $4/mo and suddenly Pre-Sales Info, Services and Value for Money goes down to 40%? I think you're being very unfair with your ratings. And your above comment is wrong ^ Again, MLPPP has never been officially offered. It was discovered to work by a customer a while ago and TekSavvy had simply left it enabled. It was never an official service nor has it ever been advertised on the TekSavvy website. They didn't start "[offering] it for a more expensive price", they simply hadn't been offering it at all. It has essentially been in testing this entire time. And now that they have invested a substantial amount of money into new dedicated equipment for MLPPP, they have decided to offer it as an official service (and thus, are now charging for it). TekSavvy had made it very clear that they would soon start offering MLPPP for $4/mo. It is not their fault that you did not read their email or read the numerous announcements posted on the forums. It makes no more sense than complaining that Microsoft will soon start charging $319 for Windows 7 when they've been offering the pre-release for Free. Not fair, you say ? Let me explain why i dropped my rating of them :
The Presales info went down because when i first called TekSavvy and signed up with their service i has specifically asked the Tech/CSR on the phone whether they offered MLPPP so that i can bond 2 lines together. His answer was a reassuring : "YES" and he proceeded to create my account. There was no warning in there that the MLPPP service will be extra in the future or that it will be discontinued in its current form ! So again, Pre-Sales info was useless to me now.
As for value for money, let me put it this way :
400GB cap = bad. Videotron offers UNLIMITED bandwidth at 7Mbps albeit with a slower upload of only 850Kbps. Other ISPs out there like Velcom also offer MLPPP service at no extra cost. So tell me, how exactly is the Value for $ supposed to be better at TekSavvy?! Yeah, good tech support only goes that far. In the end, that Money part starts getting higher and higher : first, we get slapped with a 400GB cap for the same price and then we get the added insult of 4$ for MLPPP. I'm sorry but you're either a fanboy, or $$ is simply not an issue for you.
To me a good ISP must offer : Good price, No throttling, no caps, good download speeds, good upload speeds.
Right now TekSavvy only has 3 of those things. Due to the 4$ for MLPPP, Videotron now has better pricing. And then there is also Velcom which i am currently about to test out.
All i'm saying is think twice before swallowing that 4$ extra per month and compare what's out there.
Adi | |
| | | yokocar
join:2008-04-12
Whitby, ON
·TekSavvy Solutions..
| Re: Unfair Velcom does indeed support MLPPP bonding with no cost. However, there is no technical support for it either. You're paying $4 for Teksavvy to assist you if you need it- and to help support TekSavvy's new supportable equipment.
Don't be surprised if they eventually move it to a "supported" feature and have to charge for it as well. You can keep jumping ISP's to skimp the few extra dollars here and there, but really what are you gaining? | |
| | | | | | InvalidError
join:2008-02-03
·TekSavvy Solutions..
·Videotron
| Re: Unfair said by adisor19 :So tell me, how exactly is the Value for $ supposed to be better at TekSavvy?! Yeah, good tech support only goes that far. In the end, that Money part starts getting higher and higher : first, we get slapped with a 400GB cap for the same price and then we get the added insult of 4$ for MLPPP. I'm sorry but you're either a fanboy, or $$ is simply not an issue for you. Teksavvy "slapped" the 200GB cap over a year ago, long long long before charging for MLPPP came into consideration. If you signed up back when Unlimited was $30/month then OF COURSE pre-sale would have had no way of knowing MLPPP would become an extra charge.
said by adisor19 :To me a good ISP must offer : Good price, No throttling, no caps, good download speeds, good upload speeds. In the current market, you are only allowed to have three of those things.
Cheap unlimited unthrottled/uncongested high speed is only economically sustainable for as long as the subscriber base does not attempt to use disordinate amounts of bandwidth. Put enough heavy users on a network and something will have to give... that's what happened with TSI Unlimited. | |
| Decius
join:2009-07-10
| Continued So to qualify, its not really just the 4 dollars - its that competition has become more competitive while tek has not, thereby making them less attractive to you.
According to me, it is legitimate to complain if a company you are with is not being competitive.
However, I do not believe in "unlimited" caps - from the old days of hosting when you had "unlimited hits" to "unlimited downloads" with ISPs, it simply does not work. Bandwidth always gets saturated, then you get latency and packet loss. It may not happen immediately, but I fully support caps as that is reasonable.
Unlimited is actually "unlimited until everyone joins us and then we'll have to add caps because we obviously can't provide the whole world unlimited bandwidth".
But again, if you are able to find a company that is providing the same package and more for a reasonable cost, and you don't require technical assistance, then moving may make sense.
But to me it becomes more an issue where you and tek have different priorities - you seem to want bandwidth and aren't as concerned about possible packet loss, ping times and customer service. You want bandwidth, and lots of it, along with speed. Teksavvy provides enough for me, but maybe not for you.
And to me a company that provides unlimited is unlikely to be able to compete with the quality of that bandwidth as a company that provides caps, at least in the long term. For me, that is a very important issue - I don't see Tek becoming saturated anytime in the near future.
But again, if you sign up with a company that is providing all of this and unlimited, you'll probably get a good year out of them without too much hassle if it is indeed not too popular. | |
| awowogei
join:2008-09-15
Quebec, QC
1 edit | RE : Continued said by Adisor19 :
400GB cap = bad. Videotron offers UNLIMITED bandwidth at 7Mbps albeit with a slower upload of only 850Kbps. Other ISPs out there like Velcom also offer MLPPP service at no extra cost. So tell me, how exactly is the Value for $ supposed to be better at TekSavvy?! Yeah, good tech support only goes that far. In the end, that Money part starts getting higher and higher : first, we get slapped with a 400GB cap for the same price and then we get the added insult of 4$ for MLPPP. I'm sorry but you're either a fanboy, or $$ is simply not an issue for you.
With Videotron, if you want the so called unlimited bandwidth, you must pay them 91,95$/Month excluding taxes. They also don't support MLPPP. So you get 7000/800 for 100$ with Videotron instead of 10000/1600 for about 80$ with Teksavvy. What kind of mind do you have. To me, it's clear that Tek is the one who offer the best! Also, if you care so much about unlimited bandwidth, just pay the damn 20$ for it. so you'll have unlimited BW with must better speeds.
Awo | |
| |
adisor19
join:2004-10-11
·Velcom
·TekSavvy Solutions..
·Radioactif
·Videotron
·Look Communications
| Re: RE : Continued said by awowogei : said by Adisor19 :
400GB cap = bad. Videotron offers UNLIMITED bandwidth at 7Mbps albeit with a slower upload of only 850Kbps. Other ISPs out there like Velcom also offer MLPPP service at no extra cost. So tell me, how exactly is the Value for $ supposed to be better at TekSavvy?! Yeah, good tech support only goes that far. In the end, that Money part starts getting higher and higher : first, we get slapped with a 400GB cap for the same price and then we get the added insult of 4$ for MLPPP. I'm sorry but you're either a fanboy, or $$ is simply not an issue for you.
With Videotron, if you want the so called unlimited bandwidth, you must pay them 91,95$/Month excluding taxes. They also don't support MLPPP. So you get 7000/800 for 100$ with Videotron instead of 10000/1600 for about 80$ with Teksavvy. What kind of mind do you have. To me, it's clear that Tek is the one who offer the best! Also, if you care so much about unlimited bandwidth, just pay the damn 20$ for it. so you'll have unlimited BW with must better speeds. Awo You need to RE READ videotron's site again. It's 70$/month for 7Mbps down and 850Kbps up and UNLIMITED, UNTHROTTLED downloads/uploads.
Please, pple if you wanna flame me, at least gets your facts straight so that i don't have to point out your ignorance for everyone to see.
Thanks,
Adi  | |
| | awowogei
join:2008-09-15
Quebec, QC
| Nope, it's you who got caught in their tricks... you'r taking in consideration that the price is 29,95/M right?
Well that's only for the first month IF and only IF you take a 12 month subscription WITH the phone and TV from Videotron.
If you just take the internet without 12 month subscription and you don't take the phone and TV, it's gonna cost, including taxes, as much as 126,37/Month...
Everything explained in the following picture!!!!
»img186.imageshack.us/img186/4859/adim.jpg
Do you still want to go with them??? | |
| | |
adisor19
join:2004-10-11
·Velcom
·TekSavvy Solutions..
·Radioactif
·Videotron
·Look Communications
| Re: RE : Continued said by awowogei :Nope, it's you who got caught in their tricks... you'r taking in consideration that the price is 29,95/M right? Well that's only for the first month IF and only IF you take a 12 month subscription WITH the phone and TV from Videotron. If you just take the internet without 12 month subscription and you don't take the phone and TV, it's gonna cost, including taxes, as much as 126,37/Month... Everything explained in the following picture!!!! » img186.imageshack.us/img186/4859/adim.jpgDo you still want to go with them??? 29.95$ a month ?!?!?! WHAT ?! WoW, you still have no idea what you're talking about since your picture actually points out to the 30GB/month cap on the COSUMER side of Videotron. I'm NOT interested in 30GB caps. This is the reason why the BUSINESS side plan costs 70$/month with no caps whatsoever and with no throttling either.
Go to www.videotron.ca and select BUSINESS instead of CONSUMER and you'll see what i'm referring to. Hope this finally clears things up for you.
Adi | |
| | | | 
Ahoy matey
@videotron.ca
| Re: RE : Continued Advisor19,
I usually tend to agree with you on stuff, but in this case I do think you are doing as "yokocar" said here »Re: Unfair.
he said:
"You can keep jumping ISP's to skimp the few extra dollars here and there, but really what are you gaining?"
I have to agree 100% with this.
We both know videotron can give a superior quality Connection (not service) unthrottled & unlimited for 70$. I would have went videotron business before even bothering with MLPPP, personally.
If not, TSI or Velcom would be my first choice.
But to jump from one ship to another ship then again to another ship for a savings of 4$/month is kind of ridiculous (but we have seen many worse than this jumping for a 1$ savings, So we have all seen worse).
If money was tight, you would even be bother with two lines, forget about MLPPP.
So I don't get it.
I can understand your "feelings" to the matter at hand though.
If UBB comes in and other little extra charges Bell is trying to push through at the CRTC, then I'll see you back at videotron by winter  | |
| | awowogei
join:2008-09-15
Quebec, QC | Yeah, sure, if you take the business side of videotron, it do cost 70$. Sorry for the inconvenience. I was talking about the Residential side  | |
| | |
hmm
@videotron.ca
| Re: RE : Continued said by awowogei :Yeah, sure, if you take the business side of videotron, it do cost 70$. Sorry for the inconvenience. I was talking about the Residential side FYI: Anyone can get the business package. I don't think you realize this. | |
| | | |
weee
@teksavvy.com
1 edit | Re: RE : Continued That package fine print:
This limited time offer is available to all new Internet Business customers who subscribe to Vidéotron's High-Speed Business Cable Internet service, and is conditional on a 36-month contract. The 3 free months will be distributed as follows: the 1st, 13th and 25th. Free installation applies to regular installations only. Other promotions are available, depending on the contract. Rental of the cable modem is included. Business High-Speed Internet access (cable modem): unlimited access. Dial-up access: 20 hours a month; each additional hour is billed at 1$/hour. Long distance charges may apply. The contract is non-transferable. Penalties apply for breach of contract. Available where technology permits. This offer and these rates are subject to change without prior notice. Taxes not included. Certain conditions apply.
† The client must pay annual fees to the registrar. Does not include Web site hosting services. | |
| | | | | | | | | |
hmm
@videotron.ca
| Re: RE : Continued Don't know what you're reading but their website says:
you have the choice between a:
With a 12 or 24 or 36-month subscription (who would take more than a year??). If you want no subscription it's 79.95 instead of 69.95.
ah I see the conditions say one thing, the web page says another. It's always been a minimum of a 1-year contract.
The part you are purposely ignoring and omitting in your copy & paste above is the following from their webiste:
From their website:
..."Other promotions are available, depending on the contract".
High-Speed Internet Rates
With a 12 or 24 or 36-month subscription (You have the choice) $ 69,95 /month
Without a subscription $ 79,95 /month
Also, if they pull a Bell and throttle, that's a material change and breaks the contract and there are no termination fee's. Exactly like those who were bright enough on Bell use leave Bell mid-way thorugh their contract.
So the cherry picked copy and paste you did is completely taken out of context.
MLPPP unlimited is 40 + 40 + 4$ + drl loop fee's
Or unlimited option 2 (if it lasts) 40 + 30 + 4$ + dry loop fee's
Or maybe you can get a bit off in a group rate.
Sorry, but nothing to bitch about (at least not till they throttle and how they throttle).
Till then this (in my opinion) is the best solution for those who can get it.
It's Less expensive, and their network is great (support aside).
But feel free to knock it. You only showed you didn't read what you were looking at, or cherry picked certain parts. | |
| | | | |
last one
@videotron.ca
| said by weee :
That package fine print:
This limited time offer is available to all new Internet Business customers who subscribe to Vidéotron's High-Speed Business Cable Internet service, and is conditional on a 36-month contract. The 3 free months will be distributed as follows: the 1st, 13th and 25th. Free installation applies to regular installations only. Other promotions are available, depending on the contract. Rental of the cable modem is included. Business High-Speed Internet access (cable modem): unlimited access. Dial-up access: 20 hours a month; each additional hour is billed at 1$/hour. Long distance charges may apply. The contract is non-transferable. Penalties apply for breach of contract. Available where technology permits. This offer and these rates are subject to change without prior notice. Taxes not included. Certain conditions apply.
† The client must pay annual fees to the registrar. Does not include Web site hosting services.
So in summaray, what you posted above is indeed not correct. At all for the 1 year 69$ unlimited package. | |
| | | | |
hmm
@videotron.ca
| 
Tron unlimited |
As you can see you have the choice of 1 year (not 3 like you misinterpreted) 3 is if you want the modem for free (around 100$ or something).
That's that the asterisk (*) is for and the conditions yu posted in bold are for.
You completely misread the webpage. | |
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