Bell Fibe TV + Internet Review

[KingKeith55]

So as of today I switched to Bell Fibe TV and Internet.

 

I have the Fibe 25/10 Internet with Unlimited usage, Fibe Good TV package (150 channels + a free PVR) and  Home Phone.

 

So far I get the speeds I pay for, and the TV is better than Rogers. 

 

Some things I noticed so far are that There was a higher Download speed on Rogers internet and a Slower upload speed on Rogers internet, and a terrible 80GB cap. And with Rogers I got like 30 channels instead of my 100 advertised channels. 

 

I have noticed some slowdowns if your doing a lot on the internet though, like if someone else is playing a game and you are downloading something then you start streaming video it becomes slow. I havent noticed it much and only when I was doing a bunch of intensive things at once.

 

Its basically Hopped-Up DSL, its not really Fiber Optic. But for some reason its not available in some areas, possibly because it requires something else. The wireless TV works great, saved a lot of extra cables. I had some problems getting my PC to work on the wifi, but after I rebooted my PC it let me use the internet. Not that big of a deal.

 

Il update if I find any problems or any other things about it, Here is a speedtest:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Victorious Secret]

I won't leave Telus. I'm only 25D/5U but I have no cap. I have no reason to leave. 

 

Shaw tempts me with their high speed packages, but I have no desire for caps knowing full well that as a family we would break it every single month.

[mooseducks86]

I won't leave Telus. I'm only 25D/5U but I have no cap. I have no reason to leave. 

 

Shaw tempts me with their high speed packages, but I have no desire for caps knowing full well that as a family we would break it every single month.

Shaw service sucks in some areas. A friend of mine is paying for highspeed 100 ($90/month for 100/5) and is currently getting 8mbps down/5 up from around 5PM-2AM. Shaw suggested downgrading to their lowest plan until they upgrade the nodes in the area (currently at 95% full) which may be in a few months - but either way from what the customer service rep said really defines their service:

 

"It is completely up to you if you want to pay more for a service that you are not receiving in your area. You now know that only during daytime you can achieve the speeds you are paying for so it's up to you to decide if you want to keep the plan you're currently on, we cannot discount or refund you because its due to the area you live in and not our service."

 

Or some jive like that. I personally downgraded months ago from highspeed 50 to highspeed 25 because I'm barely around and I'm not downloading as much as I used to - but even with the 25mbps plan youtube and other streaming services seem to need to buffer for a few minutes (or display low quality automatically with services like youtube for the first minute or two of a video) and there are no issues with shaw in my area. As far as I know - I get the speeds I pay for - or darn close - whenever I've checked. Even when a streaming site buffers 10% of a 21 minute show for 10+ minutes. Many of my favorite sources for XBMC are the pits lately. 

 

OP: Thanks for the review - its good to know what else is around. Its not available in Alberta (when you choose ontario it shows you plans - when you choose alberta it just show an empty white area and then a link to info about bells LTE network. There's also Acanac as an option for those of you in ON + PQ - they resell both DSL and Cable.

[Psykomantis00]

 

I love this game. 

[Luca Vinciguerra]

I have 500Mbit down and 200Mbit up here in Germany

[cooperb21]

Canada has worst internet of a devloped country so its not a suprise.

[ZuluGod]

Compared to Australia you have brilliant upload... My household runs on Optus Cable internet with the tier 3 speedpack, and this is our speed. My upload is nothing however good download.

[cooperb21]

Compared to Australia you have brilliant upload... My household runs on Optus Cable internet with the tier 3 speedpack, and this is our speed. My upload is nothing however good download.

 

 

Ill take your download speed with a slower upload any day. 

 

Here is mine. Best internet in my area. 

 

[Rovert19]

So as of today I switched to Bell Fibe TV and Internet.

 

I have the Fibe 25/10 Internet with Unlimited usage, Fibe Good TV package (150 channels + a free PVR) and  Home Phone.

 

 

How much are paying for that? I've been thinking of switching internet providers. We don't plan on getting cable though.

[dalekphalm]

So as of today I switched to Bell Fibe TV and Internet.

 

I have the Fibe 25/10 Internet with Unlimited usage, Fibe Good TV package (150 channels + a free PVR) and  Home Phone.

 

So far I get the speeds I pay for, and the TV is better than Rogers. 

 

Some things I noticed so far are that There was a higher Download speed on Rogers internet and a Slower upload speed on Rogers internet, and a terrible 80GB cap. And with Rogers I got like 30 channels instead of my 100 advertised channels. 

 

I have noticed some slowdowns if your doing a lot on the internet though, like if someone else is playing a game and you are downloading something then you start streaming video it becomes slow. I havent noticed it much and only when I was doing a bunch of intensive things at once.

 

Its basically Hopped-Up DSL, its not really Fiber Optic. But for some reason its not available in some areas, possibly because it requires something else. The wireless TV works great, saved a lot of extra cables. I had some problems getting my PC to work on the wifi, but after I rebooted my PC it let me use the internet. Not that big of a deal.

 

Il update if I find any problems or any other things about it, Here is a speedtest:

 

The 25/10 Fibe Internet package is a technology called Fibre to the Node/Neighbourhood (FTTN). How it works is they use Fibre cable to connect from their Exchange/Central Office, to the local node in your neighbourhood (It's a little metallic box outside on the street corner - or often in the basement of large apartment buildings). They then use traditional copper pairs to run DSL straight from the node to your house (This is referred to as the "last mile").

 

The specific DSL technology is called VDSL.

 

It's the same basic technology that Rogers and Shaw use for their higher speed packages, except they use DOCSIS 3.0 instead of VDSL for the "last mile". The advantage of DSL is generally lower ping, and you're getting a dedicated connection between you and the node, thus your neighbours are much less likely to have an impact on your speed. With Cable, because of the nature of how it works, your neighbours can cause issues with your own connection, but cable offers much higher potential download speeds and doesn't suffer from distance-speed issues as badly.

 

I personally am using the TekSavvy 150/15 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable package. I don't like supporting Bell or Rogers directly. I'd much rather support TekSavvy, who is a small (ish) independent Canadian family run business (based out of Chatham, ON). They don't offer TV services, but I personally see no value in traditional TV service anyway, so that part will of course vary per person.

[Doopywoopy]

I've had good experiences with Eastlink. I have a student package where Its only 55 a month. which isn't too bad for the download that you get. 

 

 

 

[Rovert19]

We've been on CIK telecom for the last year and a bit. I believe they rent from Rogers. We're paying $60 a month for 25 down/2 up cable with home phone. Up until a month or so ago, it was fantastic, but in the last 3 weeks to a month, it has been terrible during the evenings. Are there any providers worth switching to? I live about half an hour north of Toronto.

[KingKeith55]

Bell was the only provider that actually had decent upload speeds in our area. Rogers couldnt deliver upload speeds worth shit, we got the same download speed (around 26 mbit/s) But the upload was a lousy 1mbit/s

 

The price wasnt different for the internet. The bundle was like 150 dollars which is expensive for some people.

 

But its around average of what most people pay for this kind of thing in southwestern Ontario. Im a bit southwest of toronto.

[Zambonie]

 

I love this game. 

They have Time Warner cable in Tampa..? Hm, didn't know that, how much is it for those speeds?

Ofc, it's probably everywhere but in Hernando county.

 

Anyway, for me, these are really good speeds.. Canada's speeds where always okay for me when I was up there at times..

My speed

www.speedtest.net/result/3960510232.png

[Rovert19]

Bell was the only provider that actually had decent upload speeds in our area. Rogers couldnt deliver upload speeds worth shit, we got the same download speed (around 26 mbit/s) But the upload was a lousy 1mbit/s

 

The price wasnt different for the internet. The bundle was like 150 dollars which is expensive for some people.

 

But its around average of what most people pay for this kind of thing in southwestern Ontario. Im a bit southwest of toronto.

 

Back when I was living in Guelph, we were using Rogers and it was a terrible experience. Canadian ISPs really need to get their act together, sigh.

[dalekphalm]

Back when I was living in Guelph, we were using Rogers and it was a terrible experience. Canadian ISPs really need to get their act together, sigh.

Yep, it mirrors the US situation in many ways. In any given territory, you generally have two choices: Bell and Rogers, or Shaw and Telus (this is a generalization of course, Quebec and a few of the other provinces have some others like Videotron, etc).

 

Of course you have the TPIA's (Wholesalers like TekSavvy), but their hands are tied since the Incumbents fight them every step of the way. It was only a couple years ago that the CRTC forced the incumbents to even allow the TPIA's to offer faster speeds then 6Mbps, despite being capable of double or triple that speed.

 

I've always hated Rogers as a company. Out of all the incumbents, Rogers just seems the most slimy and underhanded, from my experience and reading the experiences of others. Unfortunately, I'm still paying them "indirectly", since the TekSavvy DOCSIS 3.0 cable package I have is provided over Rogers lines.