Question: Switch to VMedia Fibre!

[Grand Total]

I've now received my fourth e-mail enticing me to switch to FTTN from CIK Cable.

1- Better technology (Dedicated fiber vs. Shared cable)
2- Better service 25/10 rather than 25/2
3- Free upgrade to better modem
4- All for the same monthly price, and free dry loop.

I'm on my fifth email. I'm satisfied with my CIKTel cable too.

1- You get shared fiber then dedicated copper.
2- You pay for 25/10 you may not get all of that.
3- Don't equate more expensive with better, they are not necessarily the same thing.

I've thought long and hard about this offer too, but haven't switched yet.

[Hacksaw2085]

Is that in writing anywhere ?

[ My wife is a legal assistant so if it not written on paper, it doesn't exist... ;-) ]

--

I guess I'm over-paranoid that Bell will eventually try to have me bend over....
(... as they always seem to want to do... )

P.

Other than on this forum, I suppose it's not written anywhere. Not that I've found.

[koreybray]

I had Vmedia - CIK CABLE service and took the offer to move to FTTN and I can tell you first hand, it's ten fold better. Just works as it is to work. I can also tell you from the mouth of Bell's Tech that VDSL is setup so that the 25x10 service is synced at a higher levels (if your line can handle it), you are getting true 25x10 service. I verified this via my VDSL MODEM as well. There is no visible loss from the posted speed from PPPoE due to this setup.

[Grand Total]

I had Vmedia - CIK CABLE service and took the offer to move to FTTN and I can tell you first hand, it's ten fold better. Just works as it is to work. I can also tell you from the mouth of Bell's Tech that VDSL is setup so that the 25x10 service is synced at a higher levels (if your line can handle it), you are getting true 25x10 service. I verified this via my VDSL MODEM as well. There is no visible loss from the posted speed from PPPoE due to this setup.

Interesting. I only need 25Mbps download and 10Mbps upload would be nice, not to mention the cost saving. My problem really is that I'd be fixing something that isn't broken.

[Pixel]

I'm reviving this thread because I have once again received Vmedia's offer to switch to FTTN.

Same deal as before.., they cover all costs of modem upgrade and installation, even dry loop fees,
and upgrade my service from 25/2 to 25/10, ....all for the same monthly fee.

While I'm tempted by the offer, I'm EXTREMELY leery of getting back in bed with Bell (which is what FTTN is... )

I fear price creep very quickly.

I'm also a little concerned about the other "other" e-mail I got from Vmedia
informing me of Bell decision to challenge a CRTC ruling about re-selling FTTN

https://www.vmedia.ca/blog/fight-bel...rnet-monopoly/

So Bell can dictate any price they want, and that will get passed-on to the consumers....

I don't want that !

So I'm curious as to what others think about switching (...or not )

LMK.
Thanks

[Pixel]

Oh, and another thing....

Would switching to FTTN now exclude me the ridiculous practice
or restricting bandwidth between 7pm-11pm ?

I'm still very angry that I can not download torrents during prime-time.
(... my wife and I sometime want to watch a show or an episode we missed during the week,
only to realize that we can not download anything at the time we want to watch it. )

We are most certainly not big bandwidth users, but the "only" time we'd like to download something,
we can't.

If I'm paying for 25M bandwidth, I EXPECT 25 M bandwidth ... ALWAYS !

... and I fail to see how me downloading anything impacts other users
(...unless they were directly on the same Cable subnet I was on.. )

/rant off


So let me know if there would be nightly bandwidth restriction with FTTN .

[modsuperstar]

Oh, and another thing....

Would switching to FTTN now exclude me the ridiculous practice
or restricting bandwidth between 7pm-11pm ?

I'm still very angry that I can not download torrents during prime-time.
(... my wife and I sometime want to watch a show or an episode we missed during the week,
only to realize that we can not download anything at the time we want to watch it. )

We are most certainly not big bandwidth users, but the "only" time we'd like to download something,
we can't.

If I'm paying for 25M bandwidth, I EXPECT 25 M bandwidth ... ALWAYS !

... and I fail to see how me downloading anything impacts other users
(...unless they were directly on the same Cable subnet I was on.. )

/rant off


So let me know if there would be nightly bandwidth restriction with FTTN .

I'm just calling a spade a spade here, but basically you are complaining because you can't illegally download torrents during primetime. When everyone else and their mother is using the internet, you would like special treatment, even though the demand is at it's highest. Do you go to Costco on a Saturday then complain that you're an executive member and therefore deserve the closest parking spot? That's how you sound with complaints like that.

[koreybray]

Although, I don't like the idea that companies like Vmedia have to resort to QoS style network management, due to how the CRTC has the system setup with billing by the incumbent using a Peak based billing model, it has become a required state to keep costs for Vmedia and us the end users in check.


If Vmedia was doing this to get around having to expand capacity on a regular basis, I would have a different view on this, but for the reason they are, I don't see the issue.

I also feel they have a right to use QoS should the guy using Torrents start pulling down the rest of the network. Someone watching their Vbox shouldn't have to suffer because the guy using Torrents is sucking up everything available. This should only be a stop gap measure in this case, but all the same is required responsible network management.

Vmedia really doesn't care WHAT you download, nor should they... It's not their job to police the internet. The view that somehow a torrent user is not as important, isn't the case... but based on logical reasons, Torrent users will be slowed down over traffic that requires to be ahead of the line. There is no away around it without major price hikes for everyone... and I for one am not cool paying extra so you can scream at full speed 24/7 on something that isn't time sensitive to function correctly.

[Pixel]

I'm just calling a spade a spade here, but basically you are complaining because you can't illegally download torrents during primetime. When everyone else and their mother is using the internet, you would like special treatment, even though the demand is at it's highest. Do you go to Costco on a Saturday then complain that you're an executive member and therefore deserve the closest parking spot? That's how you sound with complaints like that.

Ah.... the haters will hate....

For one thing, I don't download illegal content.
I pay Rogers $100/mo for TV cable service, and when my wife forgets to PVR the latest episode of GRIMM,
or Survivor, I have no issues downloading the torrent of the episode we missed.
Tell me how that is illegal or different than when you store content on the VCloud to watch later...

An hour-long episode is 300Mb (at 720p) and takes about 90 seconds to download. That's all I want.
But with the throttling, it takes 4 hours. No thank-you.

---

So when you Advertise 25Mb and make a big stink that you have no restrictions, you should deliver 25Mb.
Not,"25Mb, but not during prime-time "

I'm not asking for "special" treatment, I'm asking for what I paid for.

---

Then of course, there is the technical aspect of the matter.
I'd like to think I know a little something about networking,
yet I fail to see how my down-loading anything causes YOU to have poor TV viewing.

My cable connection is owned by Rogers infra-structutre until it hits a CIKTEL POP,
at which point, it "should" get directed to wherever I'm going. At no point should this
ever interfere with Vmedia's TV streaming services.

So I fail to see how my usage affect anyone else other than those on my immediate
local-loop subnet in my neighborhood.

IF , however, the reason for the throttling is because of CRTC rate ruling (as suggested in the other post),
and Vmedia wants to control it's cost by limiting data transfers, that's an entirely different matter.

---

So please don't lecture me about matters you obviously know nothing about...

And no, I NEVER go to Costco on Saturday mornings,

[Pixel]

Although, I don't like the idea that companies like Vmedia have to resort to QoS style network management, due to how the CRTC has the system setup with billing by the incumbent using a Peak based billing model, it has become a required state to keep costs for Vmedia and us the end users in check.


If Vmedia was doing this to get around having to expand capacity on a regular basis, I would have a different view on this, but for the reason they are, I don't see the issue.

I was not aware of this fact.

So in that regard, if it a cost issue and not a bandwidth issue,
then it would likely be safe to assume that QoS throttling will occur on any platform ( Cable, DSL, FTTN, etc..) ?

Would that be accurate ?

Thanks,

[koreybray]

I was not aware of this fact.

So in that regard, if it a cost issue and not a bandwidth issue,
then it would likely be safe to assume that QoS throttling will occur on any platform ( Cable, DSL, FTTN, etc..) ?

Would that be accurate ?

Thanks,

Actually no... Cable and DSL/VDSL all are billed differently at different rates, and to my knowledge also different between end user network providers.

What ROGERS charges Vmedia would be different than Cogeco or Bell.

Peak based rates that the CRTC has moved to, are costing all independent providers more to provide service based on peak data rates. Some providers have capped their services, some have used the QoS network management, and others have set up different tier based setups, but it all = extra cost to the third party provider to provide the service to you.

Vmedia having a IPTV service as it's focus, makes more sense to have unlimited service, so they oped to go with a QoS management tool to control what is costing them more to provide in peak hours (torrents) while ensuring TV, VoIP and other time sensitive items are not affected.

The QoS approach is the best case to ensure costs are under control so you and I don't have to pay more.

I'm again saying I don't like the fact that they have to resort to this as they should only have this IF the network becomes congested as a stop gap, but to keep costs under control based on the system the CRTC is providing, this is likely the best compromise.

An ISP should be nothing more than a dumb pipe to the internet and nothing more... but in Canada, incumbents can provide unlimited without compromise, while charging competitors MORE to do the same when they only supply the link between you and your ISP.(not the internet).

I think the system is broken and needs repair.

[Chipster]

I was not aware of this fact.

So in that regard, if it a cost issue and not a bandwidth issue,
then it would likely be safe to assume that QoS throttling will occur on any platform ( Cable, DSL, FTTN, etc..) ?

Would that be accurate ?

Thanks,

Yes, I can vouch that traffic management is in-place on DSL/FTTN.

You and I are still getting the bandwidth that we pay for. You're just not getting that bandwidth from specific traffic classifications. I have no problem hitting my max bandwidth when downloading from my workplace, but at times there's obvious traffic management in place when running an Apple app update..

[koreybray]

Yes, I can vouch that traffic management is in-place on DSL/FTTN.

You and I are still getting the bandwidth that we pay for. You're just not getting that bandwidth from specific traffic classifications. I have no problem hitting my max bandwidth when downloading from my workplace, but at times there's obvious traffic management in place when running an Apple app update..

I guess I should have been more clear.. It's not a question of IF traffic management is applied, it's how much and the extent that could be different depending on the end user network involved as each end user network provider will charge different peak rates.

[Pixel]

Well, it's a moot point now ....

I just looked at the Bell website to see what level of FTTN service they offer in my area,
and my neighborhood tops out at 10 Mb on their current infrastructure...
(... I also called Bell directly to confirm this...and I live in OTTAWA ! )

So, as a tempting as the switch from CIKTEL to FTTN might have been,
there is NO way I'm dropping from my current 25Mb cable service down to FTTN 10Mb....

In fact, I'm a little surprised that VMedia does not mention that limitation in their offer
(... not even a small print disclaimer anywhere ).

Had I not done my homework, I would have blindly asked for the switch,
only to no-doubt have alot of finger-pointing problems and reduction of service.

I guess I'm stuck on cable for awhile....

[Chipster]

I'm currently on the 15/1 Mbps DSL service. I average between 10.5 and 11.2 Mbps. We have only 1 TV (by choice) but we often have other family members running a Go App on one of their handheld devices, tablets, etc. Everything in my house is internet including TV and phone (Ooma). I have 2 teens who have their friends over all the time. Occasionally they will saturate my network if their all running videos or updates, etc . Yesterday my son and I watched all 4 NBA game, I know it was a beautiful day (we headed out and shot baskets at the half-times in our driveway). All the games played flawless.I work from home probably 50-60% of the time in I.T. So, we use the internet a lot. So far, I've been very please with the DSL service. I have no problems running 1080p on NetFlix. We also rent HD movies via CinemaNow. There were some minor issues with the family getting used to a different service when we first switched, but we have been very satisfied. Will be coming up on 2 years this summer. Just sharing my honest experience with DSL 15/1.