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Review by speckledfrog 
Posted: 3 days ago
Fair warning: reviewer joined this week
 Orangeville,ON
 $57 per month
 about 4 days
 Bell Canada
 "nothing right now"
 "Inconsistant, very slow"
 "not worth it"
| Pre Sales information:
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Mostly bad experiences have stuck
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Review by killiar
UPDATED: 11 days ago
member for 350 days, 17 visits, last login: 1 days ago
Innisfil,ON
$35 per month
about 212 days
Bell Canada
"Fast, reliable, never down. You get the speed you're promised. Low latency."
"Have to rent the modem"
"Better then Rogers. Definitely a MUST HAVE if you are in range"
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I was looking at Rogers Cable, however, my previous experience with them (prices, reliability) turned me away.
Bell DSL (Bell Internet, Bell Sympatico as it used to be called) had just recently added coverage to my area for 6mbps ... EDIT: Now 7mbps
Speed results below:
My Expected Result - My actual result
Download 7Mbps - Download 6.8Mbps
Upload 1Mbps - Upload 0.8Mbps
Latency ? - Latency 40ms
As you can see, I get what I pay for. Strongly recommend Bell over Rogers any day.
Installation was a simple plug into the phone jack and off I go. They provide phone filters for free (so you can use your phone while you browse). Service stays up through power outages.
My only complaint is that you have to rent the modem for $4.00 a month (but it's a router!). I'd really prefer to purchase the modem.
Installation was fast and easy, but I wanted my service fast, so I plugged it in before the installation time. That set me back about a day. Don't do this! Wait for the time listed on the page
Followup comments:  
Oinktastic
join:2005-08-24
Scarborough |  Just wondering...
Also, have you considered a Bell wholesaler like Teksavvy, Velcom, Acanac, Caneris, Ebox etc..? | |
| | killiar
join:2008-11-22
Innisfil, ON
 ·Bell Sympatico
 ·Rogers Portable In..
| Re: Just wondering... The $35.00 a month does include the modem rental fee.
I have considered Teksavvy and Acanac. However the speeds were a bit of a turnoff for me. Since it says 5mbps download. I'm getting 6mbps, I don't know if I want to drop 1mbps (as little as that sounds ,I'm paranoid).
Teksavvy looked great to me. Especially their unlimited / 200GB a month limit (but Bell is trying to change that).
Either way, at the time I like Bell personally, until they pull a move that rips me off (it's probably coming). | |
| | | | | | | killiar
join:2008-11-22
Innisfil, ON
1 edit | Re: Just wondering... Thanks for the response | |
| 
um yeah
@videotron.ca | "Definitely a MUST HAVE" Well that statement is far from being the truth if you live in a place with no other alternatives.
Maybe it's a "MUST HAVE" if that's all you can get and if you can get it for about 30$ and grandfathered unlimited. | |
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 Review by Kringle
UPDATED: 27 days ago
member for 5.7 years, 1821 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Pierrefonds,QC
$31 per month
about 2 days
Bell Canada
"It's a decent Internet connection"
"Throttling, MSN email platform"
"Getting better (only been 1 week) but we'll see..."
| Pre Sales information:
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I have been a subscriber to Bell Sympatico HSE for a very long time. Here's a bit of history and my relative satisfaction along the way.
The saga - part I
We started with Sympatico when Bell offered an employee promotion that entitled us to HSE for $19.95/mo and a NORTEL DSL modem (back in the stone ages). It was cheaper than the dialup that I was using so it was a no-brainer. The self-install kit was promptly delivered (3 business days from order date) and the line was set up at the CO the day after I received the kit.
The installation went flawlessly as the documentation was clear and concise. I found that I needed extra filters so I ordered them online (painless) and they were in my mailbox the next day! That's service.
After setting up DSL access on a single computer using Access Manager as a trial, I then connected the DSL to my network switches through a DLink DI-701 (retired) hardware firewall for shared access on the numerous computers that we have. This too went really well.
The speed, however, left something to be desired as the ADSL was really "A" at approx. 920/20 kbps.
The saga - part II
Over time I became more and more frustrated with the pathetic upload performance and was looking into switching to Videotron cable Internet service who offered an order of magnitude more upload speed (verified with colleagues that had Videotron) for about the same price. Then I stumbled upon the link to the speedtests on the Sympatico Web Site. Imagine my joy when I found the DSLReports forum describing an available FREE upgrade from the NORTEL modem to increase the ADSL speed to 1500/320. (However, Sympatico really should have advised their customers about the problem with getting the upgrade while using the NORTEL modem. They knew who we were!)
I called 310-SURF and I had a new SpeedStream 5200 delivered, again, in 3 business days. I picked up a DLink DI-604 router/firewall to replace my antique DI-701 and plugged everything in. It didn't work! A quick call to 310-SURF and I was advised that they had to change the card at the CO. The solution was to put back the NORTEL modem and wait until it lost sync and then replace it with the 5200. Total call time: 5 minutes. It lost sync almost precisely on schedule and the changeover was seamless. This is what you get when an ISP supports very specific communications hardware!
A little tweaking and I was getting 1435/318 quite consistently. So much for the experimental run with Videotron cable.
The saga - part III
Word on the street (read DSLReports forums) was that there would be another FREE upgrade from 1500/320 to 2500/640. What pain would there be associated with this??? Absolutely none. The modem lost sync and the DI-604 automatically re-established the PPPoE connection and I had the new sync rates! There have been no problems whatsoever with this completely transparent upgrade!
[update] Now my speeds aren't as good as some Videotron subscribers that I know but still far better than others. It really depends on the time of day and what cable node you're on. On the other side of the coin, there are geographic pockets where Sympatico (all DSL) really stinks.
The saga - Misc.
[update] I finally redid my POTS installation starting at the demarc point. There are still too many devices on the line, but everything is now centrally double-filtered and still my connection is rock solid with constant speeds of 2485/665 kbps. I guess that the work on the demarc was quite unnecessary given the quality of my signal. At least I'll be ready for the next round of upgrades.
Back at the beginning of "The saga - part II" I spent a lot of my broadband conversations ragging on Sympatico. The ragging has been replaced with something akin to electronic pride. Where else can you get this kind of service for even twice the 20 bucks a month I'm paying???
UPDATE: 2005/JUNE/03
Nothing new - still great although it could be faster. I really would like a faster upload speed. Still solid as a rock so who cares about STATIC IP? I've had the same IP address for over four months. I'm still very satisfied.
UPDATE: 2005/DECEMBER/18
Nothing new - I'm still very satisfied. Like I said before, this could pass for a STATIC IP address. Constant 310KByte/sec on a decent source (symantec.com). I STILL want a faster upload but I don't want to pay for ULTRA.
UPDATE: 2006/DECEMBER/18
Nothing new - I'm still satisfied (but less so). Like I said before, this could pass for a STATIC IP address. Constant 310KByte/sec on a decent source (symantec.com). I SHOULD be getting faster speeds but I don't seem to be eligible for the time being. Every now and then the word Videotron passes through my mind...
UPDATE: 2007/MAY/12
Still can't get full speed and I'm less satisfied with support now. Even with my discounts, I can save about $120/yr with Videotron. Not quite at the level where I'd put up with the hassle of changing everything over but it's sure getting there.
UPDATE: 2008/MAR/26
Now I'm getting the full speed that I'm paying for (they must have switched my line for another one). Support isn't an issue - I don't call them. I'm also pleased that they've grandfathered in my UNLIMITED bandwidth usage (as long as I behave). Still no contract and still cheap.
UPDATE 2008/AUG/21
This is starting to suck more. Every time they turn off the throttling (daily) I have to reset my modem. I still have sync but no Internet access - back to normal after a modem reset. This occurs whether or not I'm actually using the connection! I haven't used P2P for over 2 months either! I've tried another modem with no change to the symptoms. Also, they've just hit me with a $5/mo. price increase for the "improved" service which coincides nicely with having to reset my modem daily. On the plus side, I still have my grandfathered unlimited HSE plan. I think that they REALLY want to push me away from being a customer.
UPDATE 2008/DEC/13
The situation is completely unbelievable. My Sympatico email has been chugging along with no problems since I first got it back in the days of 33K dialup in the early '90s. Now I have been FORCED onto the MSN platform and it has been nothing but problems since.
1) My email accounts immediately went MIA until Deadpool kindly fixed them up.
2) My email client has intermittently been refused authentication but I read that it was being fixed so I didn't bother anyone.
3) Now email authentication just doesn't work, period.
Why is it that Bell, in their infinite wisdom, can't follow the old, simple adage... "If it ain't broke don't fix it." Why must I be continually insulted by being told that it's for my own good and it will make my user experience better when, without fail, whatever is changed (that worked flawlessly) goes directly to hell in a handbasket?
All of this, coupled with the fact that I have to reset my modem almost every time that throttling is turned off or on is really making me feel like an idiot for sticking with Bell for my family's landline, wireless and Internet needs.
UPDATE 2009/JUN/18
No change except for a bit more stability. Now I can actually go for a couple of days without having to reboot my modem! No, I haven't changed suppliers only because it's too much of a hassle given the very small cost advantage (employee discount). It's just OK for my needs and I'm sure that Bell's counting on that from most of their customers.
UPDATE 2009/OCT/12
Got a call from Internet Repair saying that they were working on one of my neighbour's speed problem and noticed that I could have a speed improvement because my occupancy was in the high 90's and I had an old modem. OOPS - WILL I LOSE MY GRANDFATHERED, NO-CAP PLAN??? I was assured that they had no access to the plans but only the profiles and hardware. OK, I'll chance it and scheduled the tech to come by in 2 days. I lost my phone line for a couple of minutes on the scheduled day and shortly after that the tech showed up (as scheduled). He said he had to change my modem and check my filters so I explained that I had a POTS filter and would like a Speedstream 4200 and I could give him back my 5200 immediately since I wasn't using it. No problem and he went back to his truck and got me a 4200 and said that he would switch my profile when he saw that the modem was changed. After switching to a maintenance profile for a couple of hours (I don't know why), he seems to have put me on a 7M/800K profile that is working beautifully as shown by this Speed Test:
Speed Test #79836221 by dslreports.com
Run: 2009-10-12 09:13:47 EST
Download: 5972 (Kbps)
Upload: 685 (Kbps)
In kilobytes per second: 729 down 83.6 up
Tested by server: 4 java
User: 2 @ dslreports.com
User's DNS: bell.ca
Compared to the average of 345 tests from bell.ca:
* download is 76% better, upload is 22% better
The stability has improved dramatically and there have been no resets for 5 days. There definitely was an issue with my old line that Bell previously refused to acknowledge and now they fixed it with no prompting from the studio audience. Maybe they ARE trying to improve their customer service...
All I can say is that, this time, everyone involved performed admirably to get the job done smoothly and efficiently and it was a VERY refreshing experience! Many thanks to all that were involved.
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 Review by vitesse
UPDATED: 27 days ago
member for 6.8 years, 638 visits, last login: 7 days ago
Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu,QC
$60 per month (12 month contract)
about 30 days
Bell Canada
"Not to date"
"very bad customer service, Expensive, Cheap equippement"
| Pre Sales information:
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They ordered the service before I started to work for the company.
They send us 2 defective modem so it take 1 month to have a connection.
We had a contract the first year. We wanted to cancel after the first year, but the CSR had made an error. The CSR forgot ton cancel the service for an unknown reason, they admit it, but refused to cancel the "new" automatic contract. We stayed with them 1 more year, we could have gone to the court, but felt this was simpler to stay with them.
The second year we added a router. the router never worked with their "cheap" modem, I say cheap because of low quality of construction. They never understand why we wanted to add a router, nor why the modem wasn't working with it. they refused to give us support because we was using a router. We finally borrowed another dsl modem to find out that the problem was with their modem. They send us 4 modems, but we only received 1, they lost to order for modem replacement, (so it took 3 month to receive a working modem from them.
The modem is speedstream 5200 or 4200 (reconditioned and not always in working state)
We used their low speed dsl service (the line was good ans stable)
The main problem is with their CSR, not speaking French or English, and having for most of it, no knowledge at all in computer technologies (we talk to some CSR that had no idea what was a router, nor what was a pppoe connection and that's pretty basic technology today)
--- updates from another experience ---
Another problem with one of my friends. It was paying for their 6mbps package and was feeling is Internet was slow. He call many time the customer department to see why it was not really fast and they say everything was fine and he was receiving 6mbps service. Last month I took one of my modem to his house because the speedtest was showing only 2mbps. He is only 500meter of the CO. the attenuation in upstream and downstream was 6db / 8db the SNR value was 34 db for downstream and the RCO was 12% occupancy. So we call Bell to tell that. The first CSR was insisting that he was on 6mb profiles and that my modem was "defective" the second one tell me that it was an incompatible model (I have an ST516 v6) and that using another modem then what bell give was illegal. We finally talked to a third one that explain us that it is an up to 6mbps service and that bad electrical apparel inside the house on inside the neighbour house is preventing us from going faster. They all refuse to admit that the line quality taken from the ST516 was good.
He only wait is contract finish to go to a third party DSL provider.
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Review by Terrific
Posted: 31 days ago
member for 1.3 years, 3 visits, last login: 31 days ago
Cobourg,ON
Contract price not specified.
"Steady Infrastructure and Reliable Service"
"Customer Service Answered off -Continent"
"Over Priced for BAsic Service, but heavily advertised."
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Ordered the Basic DSL service of 2Mbps/ Only was ever able to get Download speeds of 64 Kilo-Bytes Per Second, until I called Customer Service. It should have been installed at the higher rate when I subscribed.
Customer Service is always Not in Ontario or Quebec. Usually in India or Philipenes.
Initailly ordered Wireless Option but was only delivered Wire-Only Modem.
WIll see if the service improves (2 Months using service)
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Review by graniterock
UPDATED: 33 days ago
member for 6.6 years, 370 visits, last login: 1 days ago
London,ON
$48 per month (12 month contract)
about 30 days
Bell Canada
"Reliable and stable"
"installation was significantly late"
"Average ISP... but you could do better."
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Overall happy with the service but with some serious thorns in my side:
When I first got the service moved to my house it was significantly late (by about a month) from the date they said it would be activated. The account was in my wife's name who had the account for many years before it came to my house. Initially 12 month contract but then month to month.
I have found using the Broad Band Report direct support forum and the chat suport very useful in solving my problems. I wouldn't recommend telephone support due to hold times and their inability to give me solutions to my problems.
I had an unlimited package but was forced out of it due to raising the cost of it. I was also very annoyed becuase they promised me a 7 meg sync rate if I changed to a capped package. I specifically said I know you guys say up to, but what will the actual rate at my house be. The guy on the phone said after clicking a few buttons it would be 7. After getting changed to the 60 gigs per month package, I found it was slower and the direct support guys on the forum confimed I would only be getting 6 (5015 actual speed).
I have now changed over to a different ISP. I would have been willing to take a retentions offer. However the offer was one of the packagees listed on the homepage. No special deals. The kicker was this new package they offered me had a 25 gig cap. My usage the previous month was also right around 25. I wasn't going to risk overages. So instead I cancelled the service and went to a new ISP.
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 Review by rizzler
Posted: 36 days ago
member for 5.3 years, 1594 visits, last login: a few hours ago
canada
$39 per month
about 3 days
Bell Canada
"reliable"
"tech support"
"ok now with speed upgrades"
| Pre Sales information:
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happy
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 Review by quanta
UPDATED: 39 days ago
member for 7.5 years, 2866 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Toronto,ON
$45 per month (month by month)
about 15 days
Bell Canada
"Rock-solid reliability, consistent speeds, low waiting time for tech support (5-10min)"
"Low retention rate for newsgroups"
"You get what you pay for. I like it."
| Pre Sales information:
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This is the Sympatico HSE Standard, at 1.5Mbps, dynamic IP via PPPoE. For the record, I work for Bell Nexxia, but my job is not related in any way to Sympatico or Bell Canada operations.
First off, my only beef was getting it set up. My new number wasn't in the database, and it took a while to get all their ducks lined up in a row. After that, no problems. I got a Nortel 1MM modem, a free D-Link NIC, and four filters. Activation was free.
When I moved, I just filled out the online form, and everything was up and ready for me when I arrived at my new place. I just had to replug in the modem and my PC, and everything was good.
I plugged it in, and it works. It may have gone down a total of 60 minutes for the past year I've been using it. I am always getting top speeds (~93KB/s).
I can always get a tech support guy within 5-10 minutes of calling.
As for the bandwidth cap, well, I don't go over it, so it isn't relevant to my decision.
UPDATE (Sep '03): A lot of positive changes to Sympatico this year, partly because of Bell's new "Keeping it simple" marketing initiative. First, the bandwidth caps were dropped. Secondly, One Bill was introduced, so you can have your phone and Sympatico charges on a single bill. Thirdly, HSE was upgraded to a full 1.5Mbps down/320K up. I had my Nortel modem was exchanged for an Efficient 5200 with one phone call. The new modem and filters arrived in three days, and the my line was transferred to the Alcatel platform four days later. They included a prepaid envelope to return your Nortel modem and filters in. Now I enjoy ~173KB/s.
My only pet peeve is that the new modem did not come with a wallmount filter for my kitchen phone.
UPDATE 2 (Mar '04): In Bell's drive to their Next Generation Network, HSE subscribers were upgraded from 1.5Mbps to 3Mbps! I received my upgrade sometime in late February. Now I enjoy 280KB/s download, and 80KB/s upload. Jolly good.
UPDATE 3 (Sep '09) After buying a home I switched to CondoTV. Lots of changes to "Bell Internet" in the past 5 years, not all positive. Service remains reliable, but price has gone up. Have decided to cancel my grandfathered no-cap plan and switch to Teksavvy.
Followup comments: snorlax14
join:2007-11-20
Thornhill, ON | Why the same smooth ride rating? If you have cancelled service for "lots of changes not all positive" you might want to rethink the smooth ride rating. | |
| |
Snore master
@videotron.ca
| Re: Why the same smooth ride rating? Bell employee, and a recent (apparently) ex-bell employee posting who's ex-bosses frequent this forum. So that says something.
besides the comment where he states, "Low retention rate for newsgroups" is also a give away since bell hasn't has news groups in about 3 years or so.
So no, it isn't reflective. Easy to see. | |
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 Review by Talon88
UPDATED: 44 days ago
member for 6.2 years, 2711 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Toronto
$30 per month (12 month contract)
"Speed Is Stable 5Mb Service"
"Except BT Throttling From 6pm-1am ET, Price Error, Need to call every month to Fix."
"If they charge me more than $30, I will Leave Bell right the way."
| Pre Sales information:
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Before BT Speed is good. But now they have
BT Throttling From 6pm-1am ET. Sad, But at least
not the Whole Day like Rogers. I am still have
unlimited. If you sign new contract, you will have
60GB Cap. Bottom line is, Internet service at Canada
is stepping back. Other country in the world is moving
Forward. It's Sad!
Renew the Contract after the first year. Still can get
$30 a month with unlimited cap.
Disconnect Bell at 2009 Sept. It's Because they want to
charge me ~$5x with 25GB Cap. They don't want to
keep good old customer.
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Review by jwillisbarri
UPDATED: 47 days ago
member for 4.6 years, 211 visits, last login: 5 days ago
Barrie,ON
$50 per month
about 7 days
Bell Canada
"Up 99% of time"
"Support - not in Canada and do not listen to customer"
"Good if you never have to call support"
| Pre Sales information:
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(ratings match consensus)
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I have had no problems with my sympatico with the hardware.
I use a D-link Router so there is no Sympatico software on the computer.
Support has no clue and does not listen to your concerns and follows a script. - I only found this out when I had to help a friend. Being Deaf and using my friend to relay what was said was hard, the relay person had to keep asking the support to repeat as they could not understand the accent.
If you have a simple request like a password reset they can do that fast. But try to debug something more technical -that does not work too well.
I am still on the grandfathered unlimited plan. It still works well for me. $5 more a month as I am not on contract.
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Am I a rare case?