how-to block ads
|
»next review in page
 Review by jeffster1970 
UPDATED: 310 days ago
member for 5.6 years, 1693 visits, last login: a few hours ago
 Kitchener,ON
 $18 per month (12 month contract)
 about 3 days
 Bell Canada
 "Inexpensive."
 "Well, d'uh, is uses the Bell lines."
 "So far so good. Excellent value for money."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Came to the end of my two year $36.99 + TAXES, with Bell. Service had been dropping the past few months, so, decided to order this service on Tuesday night. They said it would be a week to get the modem. Got the modem that Friday, instructions said that my service should be running in about 7 or 8 days. Service was already running. Modem comes set-up so no work to do. Plugged it in, 10 minutes later, i configured my VoIP router, my wireless was also back up and running. Tests revealed that service speed would not be quickest (and, i was not expecting an increase) Latency was a bit lower then Bell (well, almost half).
Look, I put up with terrible service from Bell for 2 years, and I don't expect this service to be much better, being that my C.O. is not close, but I refuse to pay so much to Bell for slower then normal internet (I am on the 1.7/680 profile).
I've only been on this service for 9 hours, but 0 problems so far. You people know me, and I will keep things posted. Be prepared, if you are interested in this service, you have to purchase a modem ($49 from them) and prepay for the entire year, taxes in for the entire year was $227. However, I do know that there are people out there paying $50 (with taxes) a month, so, it's kinda like paying 4 1/2 months with bell and getting the rest of the year free.
Okay, a few hick-ups the first week or so, but now everything is good. No down-times anymore, or so it seems. Speeds are more consistent (and at the high end of my profile), so that part is good too.
Update April 5, 2008
Only complaint I have is the occasional downtime during weekends. However, this weekend has been good. For some reason, as I always had to do with Bell, I have to change the line from the Modem to the phone outlet...I have no idea why.
ANYWAY! Acanac seems to have changed my profile, looks like I went from the 1.7 Meg to 3 meg....so..no complaints, and hence my upgrade. Tech support has been pretty quick, called me I was having issues (left an IM for Paul) and I guess when they looked at my lines, it appeared to have support a higher speed...excellent.
Update Jan, 2009
No issues. Weekends are more stable then they were back in April 2008. Occasional knock-off if torrenting...not sure where the issue is, since internet status light is green.
Now I have to await what new contract will be like, hopefully something like last year. I pre-paid for entire year, but not sure if they'll do it again. I see it advertised for $23.95/month if I fail to log into DSLReports, so we'll see.
Good value for money, I have enough money at the end of each month to buy beer, so all is good.
Thanks for the beer!
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Acanac |
 | »next review in page (previous review)
Review by (hidden by request)
Posted: 323 days ago
(review was emailed from domain yahoo.com)
Brossard,QC
$19 per month (12 month contract)
Bell Canada
"Good price, fast shipping, good info source from their official webpage"
"Haven't encountered any yet"
"No reason to search for other ISP"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Ok I don't know if it's me or not, the setup time is incredibly fast. I moved to a brand new house. No phone line connected at all. Bell came over and physically connected the line from the outside pole to my house at about 10am. I then online-subscribed Acanac at about 11am (in another location). I received an email from Acanac with the username and password at about 5pm. I connected with my own modem at about 6pm and the service was available. That's like with one 12 hours. Note that they said it should take up to 5 days to connect.
Without 2 days, their modem was delivered to my front door (again, fast) with everything setup inside. I simply needed to plug in and it worked.
One thing I particularly like about this company is the amount of info that you can find from their website. Basically spend a little time with it and you will become an expert on different situations. This is very smart as you don't need to call them and start deal with the problems on phone.
Overall, if Acanac wants to become one of the best ISP, they are on the right track.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Acanac |
| »next review in page (previous review)
Review by Taylor Brown
UPDATED: 346 days ago
member for 1.5 years, 99 visits, last login: 12 days ago
Russell,ON
$29 per month
Bell Canada
"Amazing Support!"
"Acanac internet doesn't paint my fence, wash my car, or retile my roof :-("
"It's great, has everything, from the average user, and even more for the very tech savvy!"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
This is an update of my review, but with a tech support story.
A few days ago, I figured out that Acanac had a Free Online PC, basically, their knocked down version of their Virtual Private Server. I thought it would be a fun little toy to play around with, but I had no idea where to start. I decided to email them, as I find it a very easy and conveniant alternative to calling them. I also posted my questions about the VPS on the forums.
Thanks to the very helpful and fast tech support guys, I got an email within minutes about setting up my VPS. Even more amazing was that current Acanac customers and staff members had posted on the amazing Acanac forums (community.acanac.ca) awnsering all the questions I had.
Acanac always puts the customer first, and is never aggressive or rude, unlike my other experiences with companies such as Rogers. Yuck!
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Acanac |
| »next review in page (previous review)
 Review by El Quintron
Posted: 350 days ago
member for 1.5 years, 325 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Etobicoke,ON
$19 per month (12 month contract)
about 2 days
"quick install, dirt cheap, convenient payment"
"only moderate tech support, so-so overall"
"For experienced users looking for a deal"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Cost effecient for the new subscribers, great if you're an experienced computer user.
Up front, nothing to worry about for a year (if it works)
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Acanac |
| »next review in page (previous review)
Review by daviiiiiid
Posted: 353 days ago
member for 353 days, 1 visits, last login: 351 days ago
undisclosed location
$18 per month (12 month contract)
about 6 days
Bell Canada
"Great price, Great features"
"One year upfront payments"
"Awesome ISP"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
I ordered on internet, Really easy. Next day I get my confirmation with all my features already available. (100GB Space, ONLINE PC!!, 100 e-mail adresses etc). A day later I get my modem and takes only a couple days more to have the line in my house! Speeds are great, unthrottled and stable. Modem is reliable too! (50$ deposit)
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Acanac |
| »next review in page (previous review)
Review by meldon
UPDATED: 358 days ago
member for 358 days, 0 visits, last login: 358 days ago
Ottawa,ON
$18 per month (12 month contract)
about 32 days
Bell Canada
"Cheap"
"Everything else. Speed, service, tech support and overall client care"
"Dont get Acanac."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings well below consensus)
|
I have found that the service with Acanac is not very good.
The price is excellent for the 1st year, but it is the only reason someone should sign up, and then should expect very poor customer service.
They failed to inform me that I would need dry-loop service, and although i should have known, when I asked they told me it was ok, that my telephone provider was such that I wouldnt need dry-loop.
Then, after 2 weeks, my service was activated, and the speed in non throttle time was slow compared to what I was expecting. Although the service claims to be 5mbps download, I rarely went above 3000kbps service at any time, wether at 2 am, 2 pm or 8pm. When i did go over, my maximum speed was 3212 kbps.
I expected a certain difference, but not such a big one.
My serious problems started after I changed telephone companies and no longer required dry-loop.
At that time, I was told my service would be activated on a certain date, but after calling and being told the order was rejected, and no one called me to inform me of this, it was finally done 2 weeks after the original date.
Then they made a mistake on the order, and i was limited to 512kbps Download and same for upload. All while paying for 10X the speed on download. I am now on week 2 of this mess, and the first representative did not even put an order through, and told be it would be done after 4 business days, then I called back after this time, which is when i was told that there was no order created, and was told it would take a further 5 business days. i called again after 4 business days to confirm everything was ok, and was again told the order was rejected because the representative made a mistake. Once again, no one called me to tell me this, and I would not have known had I not called. Finally today they have put in another order, and i am supposed to have it working in 5 business days.
I have not received any credit for the months i have paid with no or poor service.
I do not recommend that anyone ever deal with this company unless you are financially incapable of affording service from another provider.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Acanac |
| »next review in page (previous review)
Review by draggonfly
UPDATED: 360 days ago
member for 1.2 years, 63 visits, last login: 53 days ago
Brossard,QC
$19 per month (12 month contract)
about 102 days
Bell Canada
"No throtling (But bell throtles), 100gb free online storage, support from 9 am to midnight on weekdays"
"some tech support guys on the e-mail end brush you off and some on the telephone dont seem to know how dsl works"
"Great company for high bandwidth users, not so great on pings and there are packet losses"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
• What other options did you consider for broadband
i used to be with Videotron, switched to Vif and then to Acanac.
Videotron was great on speeds and pings, far faster than dsl could ever be. major drawback was that they were expensive and that the download limits are a paltry 20gb download and 10gb upload for the plan i was on. their 100gb plan is ridiculously expensive and out of the question.
Vif was really good, they had far better pings than Acanac and no packet loss. the only issue i had with them was their soft cap. 50gb/15 day ot 100gb/month softcap really killed my connection, as my entire family uses the internet. since we are at the age of High Definition and streaming is extremely common, bandwidth gets used up quickly.
• What SPEED/package did you order, at what monthly price?
i ordered the package which was on offer at Acanac $18.95/month, 5mbit down .8mbit up
• How was the order & install process?
Order was fairly easy, but flawed. it happened really quickly using their website. however, the welcome letter gets sent to the junk folder of Gmail, so watch out for that if you use Gmail. (this was the flaw) Also, don't forget that there is a fee for teh modem rental. if you already have one, simply put in the details that you do not wish to rent a modem.
• What brand/model was the supplied equipment?
I already had the equipment, a versatek VER170PR which was supplied to me by VIF internet. it has worked flawlessly for a year, and then its power adapter blew up. replaced it and used it for a while with acanac. I am now using a speedtouch ST516V6 for the simple reason that it can give me line stats, even behind my router, whereas the versatek modem cant. (cant check for errors either)
• What good or bad experiences most struck you?
Initial order was August 23 08. Date of the network working as best as it possibly can: December 2 08.
Good:
It was really easy to order. there is also a 30 day money back guarantee. Really good hours for tech support over the phone, mostly good personality tech personnel.
Truly unlimited. Free 100gb FTP storage. Free access to online pc. No blocked ports
Bad:
The connection isnt rock solid, this meaning there is packet loss and pings are higher. the routing tables are not exactly fully optimized either, resulting in a roundabout route to a destination which is nearby. My old isp would be at least 20 ms quicker on pings. for example, i live in Montreal south shore area. pinging a Montreal server on my old ISP took 5 ms, on Acanac it takes 30. Google takes 50ms more.
It took several weeks to get a connection change. Pings were far worse if not terrible on acanac and my line was initially on 5mbit profile at activation. however, it was on interleave. my line being able to handle fast path, i asked for that to happen, since fast path can reduce pings anywhere from 5-30 MS which would put me in the same ping range as my old ISP. The change from interleave to fast path took two weeks to occur. However, when this happened, bell Toyed with my connection and lowered the profile to 3mbit. It then took three weeks (today is the day everything works like it should) to get back to a proper speed profile.
It should normally take less than 48 hours for profile changes to happen, but the reason is simple. apparently my account was in a mess. Acanac keeps two different databases according to one guy i spoke at tech support. (i spoke to four different ones) and the accounting database had all of my correct information whereas the database which manages customer information for the DSL connection stuff was in a mess. That one had my wrong address, phone number, etc etc. only my name was correct. I had to call twice to get that fixed (account information).
anyways, once that was fixed, it did indeed take less than 48 hours for it to be resolved. Some technicians might be able to read the line stats properly while some others might not know what the difference between output power and SNRM is.
here are my line stats for anybody who is interested (to prove that my line was capable of 5mbit fast path from the start)
Before - 3mbit profile - broken by bell
»i11.photobucket.com/albums/a161/···ware.jpg
After - Today - fixed stats
»i11.photobucket.com/albums/a161/···ixed.jpg
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Acanac |
| »next review in page (previous review)
Review by core2extreme
UPDATED: 362 days ago
member for 2 years, 27 visits, last login: 47 days ago
Laval,QC
$18 per month (12 month contract)
about 7 days
Bell Canada
"Great speed, great price, great extras (Online storage, Online PC, SSH Tunnel), EXCELLENT VALUE!"
"Uses Cogent (cogentco) as the Peer 1 network (= slightly higher ping time)"
"For the added-value features and excellent online support system, Acanac has provided me BY FAR the best ISP experience"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Moving from Bell... err... Hell Canada to Acanac, I felt as though a huge weight has been lifted from my back! From day one, Acanac has proved to be the best ISP I have ever used in my opinion.
1. MODEM
I ordered Sunday, and the modem arrived Tuesday. I'm not quite sure why, but they used FedEx Priority Overnight (even though my activation was in 2 weeks time). The modem is the best I have ever received from an ISP. A regular modem, that is by default in bridge mode, nice! I checked, there IS lots of configurable options (such as port foward, firewall, automatic PPPoE, DMZ, almost everything you find on a router), but I prefer to use it just in bridge mode and let my router handle these. No proprietary software (*ahem* Bell); this thing is 1000X better than the crippled 2Wire 2701 from Bell. One thing though, Acanac charges $49.95 as deposit for the modem, which is understandable.
2. DSL CONNECTION
So I tried to connect with my Acanac PPPoE login (even though I still had Bell). I got a mediocre 3396/672 connection compared to the 4386/676 I got from Bell's Total Internet Performance (»gr310.ifrance.com/ISP/Bell.JPG). So I sent a ticket from their online support page. Got a response a few hours later, telling me to re-contact them when my service will be officially "activated". OK, no prob. So I re-opened the ticket on the activation date, and they told me there was a installation issue with my line, and needed to create a ticket with Bell. The same night, only a few hours later, my DSL profile was properly corrected and finally got a 4347/673 connection (»gr310.ifrance.com/ISP/Aca.png). Nice, 5 Mbit/sec as promised!
Perhaps if there was one thing that was not better than Bell, it would be the network infrastructure. As Acanac connects to the internet via Cogent, the latency is a lot bigger than with Bell. There is also some packet loss, which was never the case with Bell. You may compare the Line Quality test of the two services side-by-side here:
*Bell (Total Internet Performance): »/linequality/nil/2448609
*Acanac High Speed: »/linequality/nil/2455286
3. FREE EXTRAS
For only $18.95 per month INCLUDING taxes and modem rental, a 5 Mbit connections with unlimited bandwidth (true unlimited, not softcap) is already a steal of a deal. But Acanac also offers at no extra charge 100GB of online storage (via FTP), which is activated right away with the DSL service. The upload speed to the FTP server is good, plus CPanel X to manage the account, so it a no-nonsense service.
And also, the most important part, is the FREE ONLINE PC. It's basically a CentOS 5 online system, just like VPS, but without root access. You have to contact support to activate this, but once you do, it's amazing. I have not used it frequently, but I did do a speedtest from the online pc, and got an unbelievable 40M/10M connection!
* »gr310.ifrance.com/ISP/OnlinePC.JPG
But the most interesting part with the online PC is the SSH Tunnel. My BitTorrent speeds has gone from 30KBps to more than 540 KBps with the tunnel! I am blessed. They even tell you how to do it: »acanac.ca/SSH-Tunnel-U.htm
The SSH works perfectly, excepts that the server sometimes reset the connection. I recommend using Bitvise Tunnelier instead of PuTTY, because of the automatic reconnect feature.
4. SUPPORT
The online ticket support system is flawless. Before you start saying they don't respond to your tickets, CHECK YOUR JUNK FOLDER! My first support ticket response went directly to junk! They do respond rapidly (one day at the most), and they do solve issues efficiently. No Indian-accent guy reading a script "restart your computer, reset your modem..." No, their staff seems to be knowledgeable and actually have a clue what they're talking about (*cough cough* Bell). They try to really assist you instead of finding lame excuses. As for phone support, I have to admit I never tried it, since the online ticket system is so effortless and effective.
5. CONCLUSION
Acanac has EXCEEDED BY FAR MY EXPECTATIONS. For a company that sells actual 5Mbit DSL with true unlimited bandwidth for $18.95 tax included, it is a bargain that no one can refuse. Bell over-advertises its speed, has bad support, is over-priced, and always tries to find ways to cripple customers' internet experience (throttling, bandwidth restriction, crippled modem). Acanac, in contrast, does not cripple the experience, but actually find ways to ENHANCE it by offering free useful services and helpful support. Believe me, at $18.95 it's a real steal, get it before it's gone.
I am not an Acanac staff, and the only reason why I took such a long time to write this lengthy article is because I truly believe Acanac is by far the BEST ISP I have ever dealt with.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Acanac |
| »next review in page (previous review)
Review by core2extreme
UPDATED: 363 days ago
member for 2 years, 27 visits, last login: 47 days ago
Laval,QC
$10 per month
about 2 days
Bell Canada
"Excellent Tech support, best value for money, decent features"
"Network sometimes busy, call quality varies (but OK most of the time)"
"Very good VOIP service and excellent alternative to Vonage and all the other big VOIP companies"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
I have just signed up for the Acanac VOIP service using the Softphone. Set-up and activation was extremely quick. It took less than 2 days for them to set-up and activate my account. Their email tech support is amazing. I just had to click on "Contact US" from their website, and immediately, I see a text box where I can explain the issue. Unlike Bell and all the other big companies, you don't need to go through a series of Self-help and FAQs, before finding a hidden link to contact them. The response to my query was also extremely quick (took less than a day, and it was Jan 1st).
The email containing the installation procedures was very clear and easy-to-follow, with screenshots and detailed instructions on how to install and activate the softphone. Installing the softphone was easy enough, but there seems to be some sort of problem using the softphone for the first time. There would be an error message (something like "There has been a fatal error"), and the program would just close itself. I did a quick search on Google, and immediately resolved the issue. After that, activation was really easy. Took about 30 seconds and I had a dial tone. If you don't like their proposed softphone (CounterPath X-lite), you can any other softphone, or just connect a real telephone using a ATA adapter (VOIP router).
The feature set is really impressive. The voicemail is really great and intuitive. All the advanced features are there: Personalized greeting, folders, time stamp, etc. When a voicemail is received (after 4 unanswered rings, or if offline), a "New voicemail" icon appears on the softphone. Entering the voicebox is very simple. I just have to dial *123 and enter my password. Also, everytime I receive a new voicemail, they send me an email to remind me, which is great. Other than that, I can make calls on two lines at a time, forward calls, put a person on hold, and all the other features I used to get from my Bell phone. Caller ID is also available (although I can only see the caller's number, not his name). Finally, you can use the softphone to view past calls, missed calls, duration, date, etc. They also have a website where you can listen to your voicebox messages and view call history, and access other phone features.
Call quality is OK, but sometimes the other person hears cracks from my voice. But that may be related to my upload speed. Most of the time, the call is OK for both parties and is good for talking for an extended period of time. The only thing worth noticing is that sometimes the server gives me a busy tone when the destination number is actually not busy. Usually when this happens, the second try will work.
Overall, I think the service is extremely good for its price. I mean, for $10 a month, you get unlimited calls to anywhere in Canada, plus all the great features of VOIP. Comparing with Vonage, I think Acanac provides customers with way better value for their buck. If you are looking for a cheap VOIP service with advanced features and good support, I would highly recommend Acanac's VOIP service.
Followup comments:  
tellcar
@comcast.net | Sounds like a good Voip solution I use Intelefone. A Global Voip solution, phones works on both Dial up and Broadband connections. Most people don't believe its works on dial up but it sure does!
If you want to learn more www.myintelefone.com | |
| 
Acanac Inc
Premium
join:2007-03-05
Mississauga, ON
| services Hello,
Thank you for using our services. We do offer g729 compression to work with dialup also however it is not offered in our free service. You must upgrade to our paid service and then you will be able to use the g729 codes offered on our paid servers.
Sandro H.
»www.acanac.ca | |
| | | |
| Forums » comments on review of Acanac |
| »next page (previous review)
Review by ivangoghr
UPDATED: 1 year ago
member for 1 year, 10 visits, last login: 358 days ago
Mississauga,ON
Contract price not specified. (12 month contract)
"3"
"10"
"2"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings below consensus)
|
Very polite customer support people. And that's where the good experience stops for me.
Beware of the UP TO 5Mb/s claim. I'm paying for a barely 1Mb/s with Acanac (last few weeks it's been 300kbps). I guess it fits in the up to 5Mb/s range. I'm not sure what the reason for that is, and Acanac will not explain it to me. I guess it's a very good ISP if everything goes smoothly, but heavens help you if things go wrong.
No issue will get resolved, they just play for time with their online support, so that you can't cancel the service once 30 days go by. After the initial 30 days, they've got you for a year, no refunds, no help, you're stuck with what they give you.
Bottom line is that if you sign up, and things are not as advertised from the start, get the hell out of the contract before the 30 day mark. It's a hit or miss.
Followup comments: darknestgirl
join:2008-08-11
Montreal, QC | refund after 30 days You can have a refund after the 30 days. They gonna refund the rest of the year. If you had it for 2month they gonna refund 10 month out of it | |
| Taylor Brown
join:2008-04-29
Russell, ON | You can't help it. Unfortunately, it's just a limitation of the technology itself. I'm sure they'll be happy to refund you. | |
| | ivangoghr
join:2008-11-23
 ·Acanac
| Re: You can't help it. Just an update.
Acanac will not refund the money for the unused months if I cancel. They just created another useless support ticket, which will just waste everyone's time. I've been through four of those already. Last time I was told I live too far away from the CO, and that the nearest remote is full.
So yes, the problem is the technology, and neither me or Acanac can't help it.
Too bad Acanac won't do the right thing and forces me to stay with them at a 288/512kbps profile for another 9 months. | |
| | | |
| Forums » comments on review of Acanac |
|
|
(18)
(18)
(33)
·
·
Tunnelier
