Rogers sucks; Bell sucks; which one sucks less?

I recently tried working from home and it was a disaster. I have Rogers 'Lite' which gives me 3M down (*should be* enough) but only 256k up. Let's assume for the sake of discussion that I can get 10% off with bundling; I could probably get 15% if I whine and moan but it would be a 12 month thing and then more whining).

The 'Lite' is $36, and the next package up is $47 -- the extra $11 gets you up to 10M down but still only 512K up. The package after that is $60, and you increase your upload speed to 1M, with the same 10M down. So, let me get this straight -- for an extra $13 you get 512K down more. Wow!

I don't understand why those brainfarts don't realize that they are selling crack, here. All they have to do is give *everyone* the fastest access speeds they can and then just charge the cap limits. I should be in marketing/sales. But that's for another rant.

The reason I'm still with Rogers is because when I "ditched the dish" a few years back I got a rent-free-for-life HD PVR, a second digital box and a cable modem. They no-longer charge separately for the modem, but the PVR and second STB is a savings of $30 per month. Given that I now have internet, cable TV and home phone with them, this is no-longer as big a savings as it used to be, relatively speaking.

So how does Bell compare? Right up front I'd like to say that I was with BEV for nearly 4 years, but I did not have either HD or a PVR during that time. I was not happy with the (at the time) fairly frequent signal dropouts due to snow on the dish, rain or even threat of rain. I hear things are better now with a larger dish and more satellites?. My friends with BEV tell me the dropouts are not frequent -- couple of times due to heavy snow; comparable to cable but more predictable. Their guide is infinitely better, which also makes their PVR better (for instance, you can select to record *only* first run shows and skip reruns).

Pricing is hard to gauge, because of bundling, special discounts (which apply only to new customers, it seems) and the fact that they are *all* b*stards and keep raising their rates. That said, after that exercise in futility also known as trying to work from home, I went to the Bell site and priced myself a package. Surprisingly (and, to be entirely fair, I have no idea if the TV package I picked was the same -- it *sounded* comparable but, of course, the devil is in the details), for roughly the same total amount that I am paying now with Rogers, I would be getting the following *upgrades*:
- 6M down versus 3, and 1M up versus 256k
- two HD PVRs versus one HD PVR and one SD box (I'm currently enjoying an HD box as my second STB, but that's only for 12 months; they'd probably extend that to keep me happy)

And that's even though I'm saving $30/month in the rent-free-for-life deal! And I'm discounting any of the "save $10 per month for the first 12 months" stuff -- I'm comparing the *regular* monthly charges, if there is even such a thing.

So, what's the catch?

Comparing the prices side-by-side (on the packages I'm either getting now or interested in getting). The Bell prices I see are usually bundle prices, so I'll also apply 10% off for Rogers:

Internet:
- Rogers Express (up to 10M down, 512K up): $42.30
- Bell Performance (6M down, 1M up): $32

Rogers package gets you 60GB cap versus 25 for Bell, but 25 has been more than enough for me so far (even with my 13-year-old download shows to watch on his laptop).

TV:

Rogers VIP: $51.75
Bell Digital Basic Plus: $48

Hard to say which one is better since I don't really know what's in the packages. The "plus" in the Bell package gets you three themes. I like the fact that Bell throws in the time-shifting of US channels but don't know if that applies to the HD channels; with Rogers I'd have to add $9 to get the West-coast HD feeds; it would also get me TSN-HD and some crap I'll never watch. I don't have enough time to watch TSN-HD other than a few additional Sens games in HD. Probably not worth it for me.

Phone:

Rogers Classic Value: $25.15
Bell Home Phone Basic: $29.95

The two packages are very similar, but Rogers lets you chose the 2 features, where Bell fixes them at Call Display and Visual Call Waiting. I think Rogers is the clear winner here when you consider that the 500 NA LD minutes will cost you an extra $5, plus the call display when watching TV is pretty cool

Hardware pricing:

Rogers HD PVR: free for me, but regular monthly charge (with 10% off) is $22.45
Bell HD PVR: $20 (and free for 12 months)

If I didn't have a rent-free-for-life deal Bell would certainly be the better deal. They charge less, give you better discount on buying, and they have a better PVR, to boot.

With Bell, if you want more than two receivers you'll have to get a multiswitch. Not sure how much extra that will be. With Rogers, they charge for extra outlets, which pretty much forces you into VIP if you have 3, and even with just 2.

So, what do I do? I went to the Bell "build a bundle" page and tried to build a bundle similar to what I now have with Rogers but with 6M download and 1M upload, and it came out to $109..85. Add taxes and it's $122, or roughly what I am now paying with Rogers. Granted, this is with free PVR for 3 years, so after 3 yeas I have to "re-negotiate".

Is the better internet speeds enough to overcome the inconvenience of switching?

Share your thoughts and opinions.

i don't know if this company is available in ottawa but they are an internet one.
radioactif?

they are DSL, i pay 40$ a month(on a dead phone line 30 on a live). unlimited upload and download.
supposed to be faster then cable.

Wind is coming, that'll change the playing field.

Flo The Action wrote:i don't know if this company is available in ottawa but they are an internet one.
radioactif?

they are DSL, i pay 40$ a month(on a dead phone line 30 on a live). unlimited upload and download.
supposed to be faster then cable.

I really am not interested in getting services from different companies. Getting a single bill from Rogers is actually something I enjoy (until I open it, that is).

Also, DSL depends on the distance from the CO or from wherever the fibre is terminated, plus, of course, the actual equipment involved. You can't really say it's faster than cable since you don't really know how fast it is until you, well, know. Assuming you have copper to your house and not fibre (which I do) you are definitely limited over what cable can deliver (which, of course, is then limited by distance and equipment).

Here, in Ottawa, we have National Capital Freenet which charges $30 (about to go up to $31) for 5M down/800K up. It's an extra $10.22 for a dry loop.

However, since I don't really want to go to different providers I can't do much more than use their prices when negotiating with Rogers or Bell. 5M down/800K up is certainly better than Rogers Lite (3M down/256K up), and the Lite service costs $36 -- even with a 15% discount it would still be $30.60, and then you are limited to 25GB cap versus 200GB.

SpezDispenser wrote:Wind is coming, that'll change the playing field.

Wind? Pass.

Sorry, but for now Wind is only offering mobile services. Will they even be able to enter the home market given Rogers/Bell hold on it? I've been waiting for Telus TV for about 5 years, now. Even Bell IPTV -- they have the technology but I'm beginning to wonder if there is a non-technical reason why they are not rolling it out except in limited trial locations.

If bundling is important to you stay far away from Bell because satellite sucks arse. Cable is far far far more reliable. Don't forget also that in the winter you get to clean the snow off that dish too.
I'm stuck with satellite where I am. No cable. I miss cable.

I prefer Bell TV to Rogers TV based on programming, but we've experienced signal loss from rain which is ridiculous.

Location and dish size play a lot into satellite reception. Where I was (when I had BEV) we were at the highest point on the street, and it was a new neighborhood with no mature trees. There was a bit of a hill behind us but, luckily, the satellite was pointing in the opposite direction.

I keep hearing people claim that, with the extra satellites up there now the signal loss is not as much of a problem as before (but if it's thick cloud cover as far as the eye can see I think it wouldn't matter if they had 20 of them up there). Getting a larger dish helps, as well. Is the regular dish now bugger than the one they used to have 5-6 years ago?

Some people still have those massive dishes on the ground lol

SpezDispenser wrote:Wind is coming, that'll change the playing field.

Along this vain..

My sister in California pays 98.00 US a month for...(wait for it)

Full HD Direct TV (and I mean everything movies, Speciality Channels, sports packages..the whole shebang)

T1 line into their house. I don't know what the speeds are, but I downloaded work files there in about 1/3 the time I do when I'm at home...so guague accordingly. (my work files are 1.5 GB in size)

Unlimited anywhere long distance plan

2 Cell phones (both iPhones)

Now this is a US company, but a friend of mine who is a plebe at the CRTC said there is a huge push for american provides to be granted liscense in Canada. The sticking point right now is the Canadian Content, but funny enough the AMerican providers are willing to help provide local programming to get in the door, where as ROgers and Bell are trying to avoid providing local programming.

He says we'll know in about 6 months to a Year but he said the recent American Cell Providers coming into Canadian Markets have paved the way for companies like ComCast and QUest to move up here to compete with the only 2 companies in Canada.

Devo

Sounds like exciting times a-coming.

By the way, are you sure about a T1? That's only about 1.5 Mb/s (although it's the same down and up).

wprager wrote:Sounds like exciting times a-coming.

By the way, are you sure about a T1? That's only about 1.5 Mb/s (although it's the same down and up).

Absolutely...my Brother in law works for a high tech company but is either travelling or when at home, he's working out of his house. As a result that's the one thing he insisted upon.( I think he said it's T1, what the hell do I know...I know it's 1.5 Mb upload not sure about download). Funny enough he used to work for Bell Sympatico and laughs all the time because he knows they are offering about 1.3 the speed they could. They could offer T1 to just about everyone within a major city but don't as they can get more money the way they do it now.

He has said since they moved to California, that if the american provides were allowed to distribute in Canada, Bell and Rogers would be in dire straights as they would have to dramatically cut their prices while increasing the service they provide just to keep even.

T1 is 1.544 or 1.536 (depending on signaling) up and down. It's a symmetric service (unlike ADSL, where the A stands for Asymmetric). Perhaps he said T3.

wprager wrote:T1 is 1.544 or 1.536 (depending on signaling) up and down. It's a symmetric service (unlike ADSL, where the A stands for Asymmetric). Perhaps he said T3.

Maybe..I do know that instead of the hour plus it takes me to down load the 1.5 GB file from my work, it took me less than 25 minutes...I didn't try uploading as I decided to wait and check my files in when I got home...

We're a Bell household now but I'll be honest the only reason was that when he worked for Bell I had the bare minimum in internet, and he jacked it up for me. As well I got a "Family" discount on my services. Since he's left, we've reduced our home phone to 19.95 a month. We have a digital answering machine at home for messages, but no call waiting, no call display, no voicemail...nothing. We don't use long distance as the only person in our families who doesn't live in Ottawa is my sister, and she calls us.

I've toyed with the idea of switching to Rogers, but I wonder what the compareable cost is to having all my channels (all 4 Sportsnets, both TSN's, Discovery, TLC, History, the kids channels and food network. That along with the basic channels for GLobal, CBC, CTV (With bell you get all the stations across Canada).

If I knew I could equal the service for less $$$ or hastle I'd do it, but as you said, either way your still paying a lot and you still have to complain.

I pay 179.00 a month now, for Satelite (channels listed above), Internet (65.00 a month or there abouts), Home Phone, and 1 Cell phone. I don't have HD ( I know get with the times right) but I have an older Sony Grand Vega TV that only has 720P I believe.

I don't believe it's worth HD with that TV and until I finish my basement I'm not buying a big TV as I don't have anywhere to put it.