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Hello, and my apologies for a long-overdue response to recent issues relating our internet services.
There is a lot to talk about, and I will try to cover as much of it as I can here.
First and most importantly, I want to apologize for the issues many of you have been experiencing through the course of the last several weeks. I hope my explanation will help you better understand the circumstances, even if it will not make up for the inconveniences that you have suffered.
Both we and virtually the entire universe of subscribers whom we have been servicing through our internet resell arrangement with CIK have been looking forward to us being able finalize a direct TPIA agreement with the underlying major wholesale internet provider. Not having that direct relationship has had a significant impact on our ability to promptly and effectively troubleshoot issues and ensure adequate capacity on a consistent basis, and added to the pricing pressures we, as well as most other independent ISPs, already face because of rising bandwidth costs.
For this reason we were thrilled to finally complete the agreement with the major network provider and launch the direct relationship. It is a great step forward for all of us, and the benefits will be obvious once we get past this transitional phase.
But the transitional phase....
Please bear in mind that we did a similar large scale transfer from CIK to another underlying provider about eight months ago, and it was seamless. No one noticed a thing other than the immediate improvement in service. Technically, this is not a complicated process, transferring subscribers from an indirect relationship with the underlying provider to a direct one.
In this case however things did not go as smoothly, to say the least. The causes of the issues some have experienced arose from one or more of the following problems with the transition:
1) Extended Downtime in Processing a Transfer.
Typically, again based on previous experience with all incumbents for transfers done in the ordinary course, as well the large-scale transfer mentioned above, transfers are completed with little to no downtime, in most cases with only a modem reboot being required.
In the case of this transfer process, we have seen our customers consistently experience modem de-provisioning occurring very early in the morning, and many have not been re-provisioned correctly until well into the evening hours or even the next day. Needless to say we notify the provider as soon as issues are brought to our attention, but it has been unable to consistently and in a timely manner remedy the service problem. Unfortunately in some cases the problem remains.
2) Routing Issue.
On May 9 we noticed that several customers who had been part of the initial transfer batch were unable to achieve expected connectivity. These customers were in the Etobicoke, Toronto area. We subsequently opened trouble tickets with the provider's Support Department and were advised that there was no problem on its side.
We continued to open and escalate tickets for this issue, as stipulated in the provider's Operations Manual, but attempts to resolve the matter through the provider's Support Department were futile, with the provider consistently maintaining that there were no problems on its network. Finally the issue was further escalated to the provider's transport department on May 19, at which time the issue was acknowledged to be on its side, and was finally corrected on May 20.
3) Capacity
We acquired sufficient capacity to accommodate the transfers. However the full amount was not made available to us until yesterday night. That may remedy some of the problems.
In addition, we were unable to get additional capacity which we expected we would need by the end of this week until June 8. For this reason we are sending an email to our affected subscribers to ask them to manage their downloading and streaming until then as much as they can so that we can better provide services across the board during peak hours (7pm to midnight).
For those of you who are familiar with the landscape, there are times when we face challenges unique to our business, caused by a situation where our key suppliers are also our competitors. Seeing our subscribers - many of them exceedingly patient and generous supporters - suffer through these issues is torturous for all of us. All we care about at VMedia is providing the best, most affordable telecom and broadcasting services in the market. We are straight up people, no small print, no tricks, no desire to do anything but good by our subscribers.
I completely understand the frustration and even anger some of our subscribers may be feeling, but please take into account the circumstances, and be patient for just awhile longer. This transition is an important stage for all of us, and once we are over this hump, we will all be able to experience its benefits and advantages.
There is a lot to talk about, and I will try to cover as much of it as I can here.
First and most importantly, I want to apologize for the issues many of you have been experiencing through the course of the last several weeks. I hope my explanation will help you better understand the circumstances, even if it will not make up for the inconveniences that you have suffered.
Both we and virtually the entire universe of subscribers whom we have been servicing through our internet resell arrangement with CIK have been looking forward to us being able finalize a direct TPIA agreement with the underlying major wholesale internet provider. Not having that direct relationship has had a significant impact on our ability to promptly and effectively troubleshoot issues and ensure adequate capacity on a consistent basis, and added to the pricing pressures we, as well as most other independent ISPs, already face because of rising bandwidth costs.
For this reason we were thrilled to finally complete the agreement with the major network provider and launch the direct relationship. It is a great step forward for all of us, and the benefits will be obvious once we get past this transitional phase.
But the transitional phase....
Please bear in mind that we did a similar large scale transfer from CIK to another underlying provider about eight months ago, and it was seamless. No one noticed a thing other than the immediate improvement in service. Technically, this is not a complicated process, transferring subscribers from an indirect relationship with the underlying provider to a direct one.
In this case however things did not go as smoothly, to say the least. The causes of the issues some have experienced arose from one or more of the following problems with the transition:
1) Extended Downtime in Processing a Transfer.
Typically, again based on previous experience with all incumbents for transfers done in the ordinary course, as well the large-scale transfer mentioned above, transfers are completed with little to no downtime, in most cases with only a modem reboot being required.
In the case of this transfer process, we have seen our customers consistently experience modem de-provisioning occurring very early in the morning, and many have not been re-provisioned correctly until well into the evening hours or even the next day. Needless to say we notify the provider as soon as issues are brought to our attention, but it has been unable to consistently and in a timely manner remedy the service problem. Unfortunately in some cases the problem remains.
2) Routing Issue.
On May 9 we noticed that several customers who had been part of the initial transfer batch were unable to achieve expected connectivity. These customers were in the Etobicoke, Toronto area. We subsequently opened trouble tickets with the provider's Support Department and were advised that there was no problem on its side.
We continued to open and escalate tickets for this issue, as stipulated in the provider's Operations Manual, but attempts to resolve the matter through the provider's Support Department were futile, with the provider consistently maintaining that there were no problems on its network. Finally the issue was further escalated to the provider's transport department on May 19, at which time the issue was acknowledged to be on its side, and was finally corrected on May 20.
3) Capacity
We acquired sufficient capacity to accommodate the transfers. However the full amount was not made available to us until yesterday night. That may remedy some of the problems.
In addition, we were unable to get additional capacity which we expected we would need by the end of this week until June 8. For this reason we are sending an email to our affected subscribers to ask them to manage their downloading and streaming until then as much as they can so that we can better provide services across the board during peak hours (7pm to midnight).
For those of you who are familiar with the landscape, there are times when we face challenges unique to our business, caused by a situation where our key suppliers are also our competitors. Seeing our subscribers - many of them exceedingly patient and generous supporters - suffer through these issues is torturous for all of us. All we care about at VMedia is providing the best, most affordable telecom and broadcasting services in the market. We are straight up people, no small print, no tricks, no desire to do anything but good by our subscribers.
I completely understand the frustration and even anger some of our subscribers may be feeling, but please take into account the circumstances, and be patient for just awhile longer. This transition is an important stage for all of us, and once we are over this hump, we will all be able to experience its benefits and advantages.