Review by jnmontario 
Posted: 129 days ago
member for 149 days, 36 visits, last login: 88 days ago
 Smiths Falls,ON
 $50 per month (36 month contract)
 about 16 days
 "I have highspeed access that isn't (with the exception of torrents) throttled"
 "The connection reliability isn't there, nor is the customer service."
 "It's Bell. What can I say, they took a decent idea then mega-conglomerated it to be relatively sad."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
So I've had Bell's WiMAX now for almost a week. After having Storm (yay) then being forced to use Xplornet (boo), the only other option for highspeed where I am was to go satellite (yeah right) or Bell. I could have used Rogers, but since the late 90's I decided as a consumer I'd avoid them for the rest of my natural life for a variety of issues.
So there it is. Three weeks ago I ordered the service. I was promised 3 days max. before somebody would call to come out and check my signal. Five days later I called them to set one up since obviously I got lost in a database vortex somewhere and I had a deadline to keep to drop Xplornet (»www.xplornetsucks.com for a reason) and get my money back. It was a week and a bit before they were able to come out to my place. There were a few issues with the installer (the LOS was fine, but when they mounted it they didn't bother to check the signal again - which had dropped to 1-2 'bars'). I had to reinstall the radio once the guy left so that I got a solid 3 bars (out of 5).
Once up and running I noticed that about every once in a while I would have to cycle my radio because my internet access would completely crap out (whether I was connected via. my router, or plugged directly into my machine). Every time I called they would come up with bizzare tech tips like 'leave your radio unplugged for an hour' or, 'it's your computer that's having problems - do you have an anti-virus program?' (that was my favorite one....I calmly told the lovely representative on the phone that I had no spyware, no trojans, no viruses, than I've had WISPs now for 5 years and that it would be more than a little coincidental that my connectivity issues developed the day that WiMAX from Bell was installed).
I suspect that my DECT 6.0 phone may be an issue, but of course, with the burger-jockeys answering lvl 1 support at Bell I can't have a rational conversation.
Bottom line: When it works, it works well. Not as good as Storm, but good enough (far better than Xplornet). Unfortunately, the one thing Xplornet was good for was customer service since they were a relatively small company. With Bell, if you don't have an operational system/service you're screwed because you then have to deal with the lumbering giant.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Bell Sympatico |
|
Bell Sympatico
(129)
(73)
(34)
(24)
(26)
·