Bell WiMax Internet

[Rattletrap2]

Hey Folks,

Are there any other users of this service out there?

We have had it for 5 years now (Not many other options) and suddenly we were shut down without notice or warning on Friday.

I tried calling Friday night, but of course got no where. The kid on the phone told me they shut it all down on Tuesday Feb.14th. I said mine was working fine on Friday morning, just not when I got home.

He could care less!

Anyways, tonight I started on them again and after almost 3 hours (most of it on hold) I finally got it reconnected! Apparently we were not supposed to be shut down in this area!

I feel they had lost track of these systems out there and this was there way of locating the users. WiMax is a portable modem that has to "see' the tower it is communicating with. Whoever called in, they reconnect if you are in an area they want to support. Luckily that is me. The only other choice is a Turbo Hub or Turbo stick, but the cost is much higher for heavy users. This WiMax is not capped or limited other than the 3 mbps speed which we never see.

 

It ain't great, but it works for us.

[Gerritt]

Yes Bell is systematically shutting the service down as they cannot monitor usage.... I received a letter some time ago telling me they were scrapping the service, their alternative is the Turbo Hub... and a MAX download of 3GB a month... and you pay extra on and above that... 3GB is NOTHING in todays day and age! and with 6 people in the house will last little more then 4 days... It is all a scam!!

 

They are scrapping a working and somewhat reliable service for rural customers... So they can charge more for overages and really low bandwidth caps.. as like I said they are unable to monitor usage with the current (old) network

 

 

 

it is a scam! and I have been advised to look into xplornet as an alternative to Bell, as their new pricing structure will make High Speed unaffordable.

 

 

G.

Edited February 22, 2012 by Gerritt

[Raf]

Press them guys. There was a post on another forum that I frequent in reference to Rogers doing the same thing that yes, they are scrapping the current rural internet and replacing it with the turbohub/stick HOWEVER, they were offering BIG discounts to do so to appease the people who enjoyed higher bandwidth caps with the previous option.

 

If Bell does not do the same, this would be a good time to threaten to move.

 

btw, I am on the Bell TurboHub.. and yes, I have to watch the monthly consumption. It's not bad at 3gb and we are usually below 3gb/mnth (two adults - that are heavy [but smart ie. no netflix, youtube] users - i also setup a web cache proxy yo help), but at nearly $100 for 10gb it gets really expensive really quick.

 

Depending on what you use the internet for.. Xplornet can be decent given the higher monthly bandwith caps or can be utter crap. The problem with satellite is the high-latency. For example, if you do any kind of online gaming, you can forget about it.

 

Rural Ontario is a 3rd world nation (not really) when it comes to high speed internet options.

Edited February 22, 2012 by Raf

[Entropy]

Press them guys. There was a post on another forum that I frequent in reference to Rogers doing the same thing that yes, they are scrapping the current rural internet and replacing it with the turbohub/stick HOWEVER, they were offering BIG discounts to do so to appease the people who enjoyed higher bandwidth caps with the previous option.

 

If Bell does not do the same, this would be a good time to threaten to move.

 

btw, I am on the Bell TurboHub.. and yes, I have to watch the monthly consumption. It's not bad at 3gb and we are usually below 3gb/mnth (two adults - that are heavy [but smart ie. no netflix, youtube] users - i also setup a web cache proxy yo help), but at nearly $100 for 10gb it gets really expensive really quick.

 

Depending on what you use the internet for.. Xplornet can be decent given the higher monthly bandwith caps or can be utter crap. The problem with satellite is the high-latency. For example, if you do any kind of online gaming, you can forget about it.

 

Rural Ontario is a 3rd world nation (not really) when it comes to high speed internet options.

 

 

 

If you are in the Kawartha's or North Durham, try Cable Cable. Less than $50 a month, 1 year contract, think it was about $100 to install the transiever and modem. I hate telecommunication bills and service, but love this company. Their office is in Fenelon Falls, and when you call their phone number you get someone in Fenelone Falls. Local people, great prices, and no cap.

 

PM me if you are interested, I'll give you the name of the woman that served me, she was great.

 

Entropy

[Rattletrap2]

If you are in the Kawartha's or North Durham, try Cable Cable. Less than $50 a month, 1 year contract, think it was about $100 to install the transiever and modem. I hate telecommunication bills and service, but love this company. Their office is in Fenelon Falls, and when you call their phone number you get someone in Fenelone Falls. Local people, great prices, and no cap.

 

PM me if you are interested, I'll give you the name of the woman that served me, she was great.

 

Entropy

Entropy,

Thanks, but I am North of Orangeville between there and Shelburne. Anyone know of any decent options for this area?

Gerritt and Raf,

Thanks for your take on this. If anyone understands this stuff, it would be you two!

I get download speeds close to 3 mbps early in the morning, but prime time drags way down. It was just under 1 mbps a short while ago.

[Raf]

Entropy,

Thanks, but I am North of Orangeville between there and Shelburne. Anyone know of any decent options for this area?

Gerritt and Raf,

Thanks for your take on this. If anyone understands this stuff, it would be you two!

I get download speeds close to 3 mbps early in the morning, but prime time drags way down. It was just under 1 mbps a short while ago.

 

I am just sw of orangeville. It's funny, after posting yesterday I drove into hillsburgh and saw Xplornet 4G signs have popped up. From what I can tell this is a new service and different from what Xplornet was offering previously. I need to call them and ask questions, their website shows a 49.95 / 10 gig service or 69.95 / 30 gig service with speed of "up to" 3 / 5. Right now I am paying 45 for 3/gigs with Bell (turbo hub) - speed is "up to" 5 and that's plenty quick for my needs.

 

If Xplornet 4G is not available in your area yet, it will be soon.

Edited February 24, 2012 by Raf