OT: Internet at home without active phone line

[Jamon Camisso]

CLIFFORD ILKAY wrote:
> S P Arif Sahari Wibowo wrote:
>> Hi!
>>
>> I am currently looking at the options of getting broadband (ADSL level)
>> internet connection at home without having active phone line.
>>
>> The only methods I can see is using dry loop DSL or Cable Internet. Is
>> there any other way?
> 
> I currently have the two most expensive providers, Bell for my home line
> and Rogers for cable Internet. I've been with Rogers since they started
> offering Internet service in my neighbourhood, circa 1998. Both have
> been quite reliable but Rogers in particular has been annoying me. They
> charge a premium and have the audacity to arbitrarily change the terms
> of service by imposing bandwidth caps. To add insult to injury, after
> clicking through on their stupid "Click here to acknowledge receipt of
> this notice", as if that made it all better, when I hit the bandwidth
> cap of 60GB they imposed but to which I've never consented, I was taken
> to a page explaining that I would be charged a ridiculous and punitive
> $2/GB in excess of the quota but that Lite customers who signed up prior
> to some date in 2008 weren't subject to being capped at all. Let me see
> if I get this straight. I could pay less and not be capped with the same
> provider or be a long-time customer who has been paying for their
> high-priced Internet access for a decade and be capped. I'll take door
> number three, a new provider, thanks. While I'm at it, I figured I'd
> look at everything, phone, mobile, Internet, and TV.
> 
> So far, I've come up with:
> 
> 3Web/Cybersurf offers "CIA Home Phone Premium with FREE High Speed
> Internet", which is a VOIP and Internet access bundle for $39.95. Their
> pre-sales phone support has been fine but an email that I sent before
> Christmas remains unanswered. They are one of the very few cable
> resellers so that means you can get the same access as with Rogers but
> only cheaper with them. If you already have Rogers cable Internet, there
> is no setup fee but if you don't, you may have to pay a $50 setup fee if
> a home visit is required. If you're in the GTA, apparently, they're
> usually able to provision the service without sending a technician so
> the setup fee is waived in those cases. I was told that whatever caps
> and traffic shaping Rogers employs in my area *may* be applied. I can
> understand the traffic shaping since that despicable company Bell
> starting shaping the traffic of their resellers' customers but I don't
> understand why Rogers' stupid caps should apply here.
> <https://www.cia.com/prodUpSell.do?signUpMethod=voip#Basic>
> 
> The Cybersurf people with whom I spoke said that they just use the
> Rogers network so if Rogers is good in your area, 3Web/Cybersurf should
> also be good but like any ISP, if you search dslreports, you'll find
> lots of jeers and cheers. 3Web's tech support seems dodgy from what I've
> read about it but if the service is as reliable as Rogers, you won't
> need it very often. I've read recent posts claiming that 3Web is on the
> verge of bankruptcy but I have no idea what the basis is for those
> posts. It could be true. It could be just the usual Internet
> know-it-alls who shoot their mouths off with wild abandon. Since 3Web
> doesn't require a contract, the risk seems minimal.
> 
> Acanac offers DSL service for $227.40 for one year, including taxes,
> plus $8/month for the dry loop. They include 100GB of on-line storage.
> Again, I've read varied things about Acanac, none of which really scare
> me since people say the same things about Rogers or Bell too. The caveat
> with these guys is that if you want the best deal, you'll have to prepay
> for a year. If you just want to go month-to-month, TekSavvy, which seems
> to have quite a fan club of customers, seems like a better choice.
> 
> Primus has a bundle of home phone, long distance, and DSL Internet for
> $64.95. One of my brothers uses them and is happy with them. They're
> apparently uncapped but I have no idea if they're subject to Bell's
> traffic shaping.
> 
> My inclination is to go with cable and DSL Internet with two different
> providers to avoid the dependency on one provider and that would cost me
> only slightly more than what I'm paying now with Rogers if I hang on to
> my Bell POTS line or cheaper if I don't. I'm looking at two connections
> as RAIN (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Networks). Of course there is
> the not-so-insignificant matter of the phone and cable service coming
> into my home via overhead wires that are separated by only a few feet
> after running a gauntlet of trees with overhanging branches. One branch
> could take out both cables so that's obviously a risk but one that I
> can't do much about.

You could go with 2 DSL connections and mlppp, that circumvents any 
throttling, and gives you decent redundancy considering the tree problem 
you've noted. Perhaps acanac and teksavvy, combined it'd still be less 
than some of rogers' offerings too ;)

Jamon
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