My ISP is screwing me without flowers...

[Hal-9000]

I am enraged.I pay for one or four tiers of possible internet service.

Up until this year my 'high speed' package gave me the following:

7.5 Mbps download speed
.5 Mbps upload speed
75 gigs per month bandwidth

Now I see my bandwidth has been reduced to 60 gigs per month and I have to pay 2 dollars for every additional gig I go over.

My Dad and I bundle our TV and internet through the same company to save some money.... we have the most basic digital cable package bundled with the 'high speed' internet package.
Bundled the price on their website right now is :

basic digital cable - 29 dollars
high speed internet - 37 dollars
= around 68 dollars per month with tax and b.s.

So I notice on the past two invoices we've been getting charged 78 dollars.I call up their customer service and end up getting enraged.....

she - Well sir that was the price at the time you bundled the services, so sorry.
me - Yes but you've reduced the bandwidth and I'm looking at your site right now and it says I should be only paying 68/month.
she - Well sir you're not on a contract so we can change things daily if we want...
me - *furious* So let me understand this....you can reduce my service AND make me pay more than advertised for services????
she - Yes that's correct.
me - Maybe I should just change my provider if this is the way you handle customers?
she - Yes sir we've been hearing a lot of that, please feel free to discontinue services.
me - *mumbles comment about her lineage referring to her Mom being a dog*
she - Have a good day sir...click.

So I finally have a bandwidth meter on my site and it's way out to lunch.Much like Lance's, it displays a big blue graph for each month.
It also displays that I've uploaded an average of 1.5 gigs - 2 gigs per month.I do not upload anything because of my lame upload speed.

I guess I'll have to get my bill every month and see how many additional gigs they're going to charge me for, based on their shitty, inaccurate graph

What a load of doody, I am not happy.

[Noilly Pratt]

Since I think your provider is the same as mine, what program did you use to check your bandwidth?

[DemonGeminiX]

Didn't Godfather post an article in News and Views about changes to Canadian internet services a little while ago? How they were gonna be shafting you guys on the bandwidth end?



In any case, that really bites, man. Sorry.

[Jezter]

Maybe you should install a bandwidth measuring software to stay on track better? Also, change providers. That is absolutely appalling bullshit they are doing there. Plus, capping ze Net is bollocks anyway.

[Hal-9000]

Since I think your provider is the same as mine, what program did you use to check your bandwidth?

they put it on the Shaw site under your account....I'll try and get a screen

[Hal-9000]

Maybe you should install a bandwidth measuring software to stay on track better? Also, change providers. That is absolutely appalling bullshit they are doing there. Plus, capping ze Net is bollocks anyway.

We really only have two main choices...Shaw and Telus.Shaw is through your cable and Telus uses the phone lines.Shaw (my provider) is typically faster and more stable...that's the only reason I stay.They have us by the short hairs and they know it.

[Hal-9000]

Didn't Godfather post an article in News and Views about changes to Canadian internet services a little while ago? How they were gonna be shafting you guys on the bandwidth end?



In any case, that really bites, man. Sorry.

What bothers me the most aside from the reduced bandwidth...is their attitude about changing fees on the fly.It is month to month but I'm getting the creepy Gestapo feeling that ve vill haf to bend to zere vill...OR ELSE!

I don't do helpless very well....

[Hal-9000]

I'm allowed 60 gigs per month


so WTF is the 100 gig green line at the top for?


also, note how much I upload per month....is that really all pictures here at this forum?

[Godfather]

Sorry about that buddy....


If it's any consolation, Shaw upped by cable bill to 73$ when the last one was 27$. Apparently I had some promotional deal and they didn't inform me when it ran up as they said they would

Can we start up our own ISP/Cable provider in Canada?

[traveler]

Can we start up our own ISP/Cable provider in Canada?

You may be onto something. Advertise priority service for bit torrents, streaming porn and forums for radical muslim extremists.

[Hal-9000]

Sorry about that buddy....


If it's any consolation, Shaw upped by cable bill to 73$ when the last one was 27$. Apparently I had some promotional deal and they didn't inform me when it ran up as they said they would

Can we start up our own ISP/Cable provider in Canada?

It's the changes without notification that are bothering me....

I'm on their site and bundle my two services...gives me a total.
I have that up while chatting with 'support' and then view my bill.

There's a blatant 10 dollar discrepancy within THEIR OWN SITE


she says - I can see it sir, I just can't do anything about it.
(fuck that she can't)....



The thing that really worries me in their bandwidth tracking software and the additional 2 dollars per gig over.
If I download 100 gigs in one month...that's 80 ADDITIONAL dollars on top of my regular bill





homey don't play that shit

[Godfather]

I heard they quietly removed that shit

I can't see it on the Telus site but that worries me because now I'm just uncertain what my limit is. I see a bandwith cap where they throttle it... that's fine, I get it. But it doesn't say it's a cap where they charge for overages and how much they charge

So now I'm just confused

Telus bugs me to move my Shaw cable to them, Shaw bugs me to move my internet to them.... it's all just a fucking mess I don't like either of them

[Noilly Pratt]

I hear you GF - I have my phone through Shaw...has been just fine, but had bad service when I had cable. We cancelled cable about 8 years ago when it seemed that we were hemorrhaging money, we cut all unnecessary expenses.

I hear there's quite the underground movement that uses antennas to get their cable channels (local anyway) so I'll try that when my existing rabbit ears stop working (Don't laugh, I get 8 channels very clearly).

If anyone wants links I can look them up - people out there have it all figured out. you get better than what the cable providers give you because they have to filter the HD signal somewhat but off the aerial it's pure HD.

For me, I'm kinda laughing because my company will fund my internet, but it just ain't right!

[Jezter]

If anyone wants links I can look them up - people out there have it all figured out. you get better than what the cable providers give you because they have to filter the HD signal somewhat but off the aerial it's pure HD.

I would like to read about this very much. Sounds rather sketchy to me... cuz what you are saying, if I understood correctly...that DVB-T is being ripped off illegally to replace DVB-C. Cuz for some very weird reason they send unfiltered HD over the air that is already crowded and struggling to find place to deliver data with enough speed to support HD....where as in cable you can push through A LOT more much more reliably. It is very counterintuitive this idea. And what does filtering the HD in this case even mean?

[Noilly Pratt]

Good questions, Jez...I only know from what I read. Here are 2 websites I bookmarked. They pertain to my area but the principles should hold steady for anywhere. I know that Canadian regulations stipulate that the local stations must broadcast over the air as well as be available on cable.

An antenna (home built)
http://members.shaw.ca/hdtvantenna/

http://johnbollwitt.com/2009/01/20/g...-in-vancouver/