Telus VS Shaw - new customer

[~Leah~]

Hi all,
First of all, YES I've searched for both but everything is in a bunch of different threads and some of it is old and what not... I'm just curious what is out there RIGHT NOW for opinions and deals and what not.

I am moving from Regina to Calgary (yay, I'm coming back! haha) for around January 1 and am just looking for a good deal. I personally care more about the internet - I've had Telus before (5 years ago) and it kept cutting out and pissed me off soooo bad. My boyfriend (sorry Arif lol) cares about watching sports on HD on TV as much as possible. And I may or may not play Xbox occasionally as well, not sure if that matters.

So... please tell me what has changed since I've been there and I see in the other thread that Telus has a good deal going on right now, so I'm starting to lean that way. I don't have the available funds to purchase box's and it looks like thats the only way Shaw operates now (correct me if I'm wrong?).

Thanks... I know it's somewhat of a repost but I just want the current opinions and deals!

[eblend]

Shaw still has old school standard def analogue cable if you don't care about HD, and you don't have to buy any boxes, if you want HD then boxes are needed for sure.

I used to have issues with Telus way back in the day as well, but just got it recently and it has been rock solid. DSL technology has changed greatly in the last little while, so the new Telus internet is 100% different then before. I haven't had any issues at all, and I switched from Shaw after 15 years. Telus also has this service called "Optik" which is basically all digital service and has very neat features, like a single PVR and then additional recievers for other TVs, so you can share your recording from any room, as well as remote recording and a bunch of other neat things. you can read up on it on the net. I use optik at home and I find it awesome, watch sports on it all the time in HD. The cost of recievers is much cheaper then Shaw, and you get a much better interface then Shaw. PVR is like $250 and additional recievers are $150. If you sing up for 3 years you can get the PVR as a free rental.

If you call telus and ask to talk to customer loyalty they can get you onto a 15/15/15 deal, which basically give you internet, optik tv (essentials) and phone for 15 bucks a month for each service, for 1 year, no contract, unless you want the free PVR then you need a 3 year contract on the TV portion only.

Shaw has a deal where you get a free PVR rental without contract and high speed internet and phone for 1 year for like $83 bucks, but once again only through royalty department, otherwise thats like $170. My parents have this but we are still switching to Telus for them as well as the service is unreliable for them.

I think I covered it all

[tictactoe2004]

Telus is now fantastic if you are moving into an area where they have run their new fiber optic lines, don't confuse that with their Optik service as they are different connections. I can't say how good their stuff over copper is now, it used to be horrible and I would assume it still is.

Shaw has always been (and still is) great for service and speed.

I currently have both at home and can say for the first time in probably 10-12 years that Telus internet is every bit as good as Shaws, if not better. Getting a ping of 0 or 1MS on when I do an internet speed test is pretty insane.

[rumeo]

What about Bell TV? Most HD Channels.

[Muji]

I have Shaw, loaded with HD, phone and internet (turbo or whatever it is now called). Was looking at Telus as they really seem to have stepped up their game. Like TicTacToe2004 and eBlend have mentioned. I agree with both of their experiences. With Telus it depends on your area, as I am not in a new fibre optic area this was a deal breaker IMO. If I was in a new area, I would take Telus in a heartbeat. The whole Telus experience is very modern compared to Shaw and their 1999 interface, remote, details on each show in the menu, etc.

You need to buy an HDPVR, Shaw no longer rents them out. If you get one used, be sure to call Shaw BEFORE buying it to confirm it is not stolen. All the electronic shops sell HDPVR as well as buying directly from Shaw.

You might be moving your cell phones over to Telus as well? If so they might have far better deals than Shaw. Telus also has a free XBOX deal on now with every longterm contract.

[~Leah~]

Thanks for the input guys!

The thing about Bell... my boyfriend has had nothing but issues with them. He did have Bell but then moved home for a few months and cancelled it... and they sent him to collections even after he paid the cancellation fee and everything! I also have sour feelings towards Bell because I had my cell with them for 5 years there, and moved back to Saskatchewan last Sept -- they wouldn't suspend my service nor help with the cancellation fee because they don't have cell service in Sask and no longer interchange with SaskTel. They left me high and dry and needless to say due to many poor customer service experiences, Bell will have to do something drastic to get either of our services ever again.

I know I can go find the fine print... and I will try to after I post this... but I'm unsure if I will be able to stay in Calgary for more than a year. I hope so, but my plans are up in the air. Does anyone know what the deal is to get out of a contract with Telus early?

Sounds like Telus has really stepped up their game, and I like the Xbox thing, mines 4 or 5 years old and I feel like I'm going to see the red ring of death at any time lol.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I'm looking for a place in the south. Would Evergreen/Somerset/Bridlewood be considered new enough for the new wiring? What about in Okotoks in a newer area?

Thanks again!

[~Leah~]

NVM: Found the cancellation fee


A cancellation fee of $13 per month for the remainder of the term applies to early cancellation of a service agreement.

[spikerS]

if you decide to go with telus, I think if i set up the referal for you, you get $50 off your bill or something. If you want me to look into it, let me know. Yes I work for TELUS, no I don't think I get anything for having you sign up.

[tictactoe2004]

Don't do the Xbox deal, you can go month to month without signing the contract for pretty much the same price.

From what I understand any home built less than 18 months ago should have telus fiber now. I might be a little off on the dates, it might be less than 18 months but probably around there...

If you move in and there is no fiber optic I would recommend shaw. If it's a newer place with fiber then i'd probably recommend telus if you don't already have any shaw PVRs.

The only downside if you try to deal with telus is they will have no clue what you're talking about when it comes to fiber, if you have the address for the place you are considering you can call and ask for their GPON <jee-pon> department and they can tell you if the house you are considering has fiber run to it or not. I almost cancelled my fiber internet the day after it was installed because it took over 4 hours to find a person that could help me because apparently their call centers don't know know they offer FTTH yet.

Either way make sure you talk to either companies retention department so you can get full phone/internet/cable with all the fancy options for no more than $100 per month. Some are offering plans for as low as $40 or $50 all in for all three services if you're a new customer.

[eblend]

Hum, need to clear something up in here!

There is no need for actual fiber to get Optik service, and the internet is rock solid without fiber over standard copper. I would still choose telus over copper vs shaw (15 years experience with shaw..i know). fiber is very limited, but almost all communities are now on fiber to the substation (or whatever it is called), and the last bit from there to most homes is copper (i have fiber run, but it isn't in use yet). With this config I get 2 HD and 1 SD at the same time. I am in Evergreen, my house has a fiber line, but it isn't in use yet in this area. My friend lives 800 meters away and he doesn't have fiber, so it really depends.

At any rate, actual fiber is very limited right now, but shaw VDSL will do just fine and is what drives the Optik service.


Spikers, how does the referal stuff works? I got some referal from someone else earlier, i would like to get this done for my parents as they just signed up. Someone hooked me up earlier with a $50 credit, so I would like to get that credit for my parents as well.

[spikerS]

not sure exactly how it works, but i can try and dig through my emails to figure it out.

*edit* I can't seem to find any info out about the offer anymore, so it looks like it may have expired.