TELUS Fibre Optic

[16hypen3sp]

My area has been installed with fibre optic from TELUS. They are now running the wires to everyones home. A TELUS guy just left my place saying how great it is and what not. I'm currently with Shaw and I am not even close to getting my advertised speed.

So whats the deal? Should I sign up for the service or stay with Shaw? Upload speed currently is horrible. Download speed is alright. TV is pretty good.

Telus says they can get me 100 m/s download and 20 m/s upload.

I need to make a decision soon as there is about a 6 week waiting period as it is for an in-home install.

Are they any good? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

I'm still left with a bitter taste for TELUS from my last interaction with them which was like 8 years ago now. Trying not to let that cloud my judgement.

If what they say is true... I'd love to take the speed increase. Slow upload is killing me!

[pheoxs]

What's the $$$ comparison between the two? Have you phoned Shaw and troubleshooted why you aren't getting advertised speeds?

Also keep in mind with Shaw it may be currently bottle necked in your neighborhood's distribution box and as a bunch of your neighbors shift to Telus your speeds might rise.

[schocker]

How slow is your upload that it is that bad? I get like 5 up at home and office

[spikerS]

if you want to start up with telus, i can set you up with a referral, and then you have an "in" for getting help should something ever come up. The referral won't get you much, but I think you get the current promos and $50 off your first bill.

[16hypen3sp]

There's the numbers boys! Look at that upload speed! HORRIBLE!

The price comparison between the two are almost identical.

Current promo from TELUS is half of tv and internet for the first 6 months.

EDIT: Should be noted that I am paying for Broadband 50 with Shaw.



http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj186/manandmachinex411/ScreenShot2014-05-30at55449PM_zps1b6327a0.png

[rx7_turbo2]

We've been on Optik for 3 years, not many complaints.

[UndrgroundRider]

Telus and Shaw are priced competitively, so you'll be paying the same regardless of who you go with.

I like Telus' fiber service myself. It's low latency, and always consistent. I have never had a time when I didn't get my full speed. The big bonus of going with Telus is that you get pretty decent upload speeds too. My 50mbps package gets me roughly 13mbps upload.

The one downside to Telus is that they do not have faster packages beyond the 50mbps. Shaw on the other hand offers up to 250mbps. For most people that's not really a concern, and the 250mbps package is quite pricey.

Aside from that I simply don't like Shaw as a company in general. This is the company that brought you usage based billing. The company that prioritizes different types of traffic. The company that oversells their capacity and doesn't stop until enough customers complain. The company that pays out some of Canada's top pensions and salaries to Shaw family members. In 2011, total payout to the Shaw's was $58 million. Not including the subsequent $100 million pension Jim Shaw now collects. The board rooms and offices are dripping in lavish artwork and collectables. They take these untold fortunes all the while simultaneously gouging their customers at every turn. So yea... I'm not a fan.

[benyl]

Here is Optik 50 to a shaw server

http://www.speedtest.net/result/3533682675.png (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3533682675)

[A790]

As a point of comparison:

Shaw Broadband 100 to a Shaw-hosted server:
http://www.speedtest.net/result/3533721119.png (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3533721119)

Telus-hosted server:
http://www.speedtest.net/result/3533723527.png (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3533723527)

[blairtruck]

here is my shaw 50
http://www.speedtest.net/result/3533755872.png

when downloading with usenet its constant 64 Mb/s. more then advertised sweet

[A790]

Telus = contracts. Fuck that.

[benyl]

Originally posted by A790
Telus = contracts. Fuck that.

I don't know where you get that. You've said it in other threads before.

I have been with Telus Optik for 3.5 years now without a contract. Just don't take their free shit and you don't need to lock yourself in.

[16hypen3sp]

I'll ask about any contract catches. He didn't say there was but I didn't ask so.....
If there is, I'm probably gonna bail.

[avishal26]

No, you can sign up with Telus with NO contracts and still get 50% discount for 6 months. I have done this before and was able to cancel soon after 6 months - no issues.

I have found Telus customer service for TV / Internet has been pretty good for the past 5 years or so. Their technicians are nice and the people I speak to on the phone are really nice too and knowledgeable. (Can't say the same for Telus Mobility - but I try not to talk to them too much...)

Recently I signed up for the 3 year contract since I figured I'm going to be using their service anyway so might as well get a free TV out of it :) They've been great throughout the process and even allowed me to use the Free TV promo which is supposed to be for new customers only.

Last time I called Telus about a $5 over-billing, they promptly recognized their error and fixed it.

As for speeds, I almost get my full 25mbps throughout the day. Sometimes I notice however that it drops significantly (usually between 9 and 10pm at nights) but it seems to be over wifi only and very intermittent. I think it has more to do with something interfering with my signal (I'm in a duplex). Although I'm still skeptical about the fact that each time (twice so far) I had an issue with Wifi speed, I call in, and while I'm talking to the rep, my speed improves :guns:

[eblend]

You don't need no contract! People got to stop spreading that bull, if you take their free TV or whatever they offer then you are locked in, i did that, but i never looked back after switching to Optik, so worked out well for me since i am a customer for life (for now) and got something free out of it so that worked out.

They do have 100mbps service now for those who don't know, it isn't really advertised yet.

I am on 50mbps in Evergreen, loving the upload speed


http://www.speedtest.net/result/3533921192.png

[UndrgroundRider]

Originally posted by eblend
They do have 100mbps service now for those who don't know, it isn't really advertised yet.

I might check that out. Kind of curious to see if I will get the full 100. When they first rolled out Optik the connection was uncapped and it maxed out around 86mbps on the newsgroups.

[blairtruck]

what are you guys uploading that the speed matters.

[pheoxs]

Originally posted by blairtruck
what are you guys uploading that the speed matters.

This. Unless your torrenting I don't notice any difference between mbit and 10. Unless you're hosting something or backing up a ton of data off site who cares?

[rx7_turbo2]

When I made the switch to Optik 3 years ago so did the neighbours on either side of me. None of us have switched back. I've really got nothing bad to say. I got so pissed at Shaw I switched out of spite, figuring what do I have to loose? Shaw would have to have a serious promotion or some wild out of this world technology in order for me to even consider switching back at this point.

[16hypen3sp]

I called Shaw just to make sure that I can cancel their service without penalty. They asked me why and I told them straight up about the new fibre optik service. Holy hell, they said they can knock my current package down to 100 bucks per month and give me this and give me that. Hahaha. Fuck did I laugh. As far as I know, they still can't get their internet speeds up to the Fibre Optik. Thats the real downside for their service here. The TV is excellent tho.

[UndrgroundRider]

Originally posted by blairtruck
what are you guys uploading that the speed matters.

A little bit of everything. I have a 14TB NAS at home and quite frequently I want to access some of that data remotely. Sometimes I also run bandwidth intensive services, like x-windows applications remotely. Work wise, I sometimes need to upload 1GB+ packages.

For me, the upload is a big deal. I suppose part of the appeal is that it was so difficult to get any upload for so many years. I remember back when I was a kid, always fighting with ISP's to get upload. Once upon a time I was considering paying 1500/mo for a T1, just to get that precious upload. It's really nice to just have 10+mbps upload for free now. Kind of like getting that car you always wanted.

[eblend]

Originally posted by blairtruck
what are you guys uploading that the speed matters.

I have a VPN tunnel to my parents house...they watch my HD movie collection on their TV over the internet right from my house, I get new movie, they get new movie, it's that easy.

I also use PLEX so watching HD movies from your server anywhere you are is pretty cool, as well as being able to upload gigs and gigs of videos and pictures from all my travel. It isn't a must have, but it's solid and it works, so why not?

My 50mbps downloads a constant 6.2MB/s from torrent, which is pretty damn close to the advertised 50mbps speed.

I also run a Slingbox, it runs a lot better over 17mbps then over 2 or 3 haha, as well as remote desktop from work all the time, and sometime move large ISOs over the network as it's faster then downloading it form the internet.

When I was in Japan a few month back (before I got plex) I used to just VPN and watch my media collection directly...beats loading movies onto a table and then getting caught with illicit material or whatever since US for example can get you in shit for bringing downloaded media.

[speedog]

Spoke with my neighbor late this afternoon (TELUS I&R tech) - Capitol Hill and Crescent Heights central office areas will be getting FTTH (fiber to the home) in the next few months. All aerial overhead plant in these areas and currently some of the worst copper outside plant in Calgary.

So if someone is currently on TELUS Optik TV/internet on copper, will they be moved to the FTTH facilty once installed or left on copper?

[eblend]

Originally posted by speedog


So if someone is currently on TELUS Optik TV/internet on copper, will they be moved to the FTTH facilty once installed or left on copper?

I think they want to move people to fiber but it isn't top priority just yet, but if you call them in when you know it's there, you can request to be moved over and they move you over free of charge and will come out with all the new gear required. I was on copper for 2 years, and now on my 2nd year with fiber.

[jonsey737]

I'm on the 50mbps plan but they had screwed something up when I got rid of my Telus TV and speeds were atrocious. They got me fixed up now though and I get about 72 down 18 up 100% of the time.

[colinderksen]

Shaw
High speed 10
Download - 13.77
Upload - 0.55

Result - greased lightning internet

[nickyh]

We were on copper with Telus, we had so many issues with our Wifi they eventually upgraded up to fiber which has helped immensely.

I should add: we are on the Telus internet 15 package so we are maxing out of speeds. We should get 3-15 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload
This is also faster than what we got from Shaw.

[eblend]

Originally posted by nickyh
We were on copper with Telus, we had so many issues with our Wifi they eventually upgraded up to fiber which has helped immensely.

I should add: we are on the Telus internet 15 package so we are maxing out of speeds. We should get 3-15 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload
This is also faster than what we got from Shaw.

They must have changed something more than just switching you to fiber if you got better wifi, as they usually use the same actiontech router on copper or on fiber, just connects differently

[Sugarphreak]

...

[nickyh]

They also installed an extender (?) prior to switching us over to Fiber. We had so many issues in this house, at one point we were getting download speeds of .55 Mbps.
If anything else was done, any technical info would be over my head.

[speedog]

Originally posted by A790
Telus = contracts. Fuck that.
That's Nenshi's fault.

[speedog]

TELUS 25Mb/s service - not going to complain...

http://www.speedtest.net/result/3549166260.png

[avishal26]

Originally posted by speedog
TELUS 25Mb/s service - not going to complain...

http://www.speedtest.net/result/3549166260.png

Same here.. I got 25mpbs and this test result was on wifi from 2 floors away from the router on the otherside of the house - middle of the day on Saturday (well 6pm)

http://www.speedtest.net/result/3549867430.png

[avishal26]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
Shaw high speed 10

http://www.speedtest.net/result/3548328463.png

Starting next month they are going to charge me 55$ a month for this crap :facepalm:

Going to give Nucleus a call, they offer the same service specification as Shaw HS10 for 40$ a month.
http://www.nucleus.com/access/personal_plans.html

See my test result above... I pay $60 for that with Telus - and thats their full price. If you sign up new, 50% off for first 6 months - no contracts.

[GTS4tw]

Here is my shaw 100

http://www.speedtest.net/result/3549878119.png (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3549878119)

Pretty sure it is ~ $90 a month

[The_Penguin]

Originally posted by GTS4tw
Here is my shaw 100

http://www.speedtest.net/result/3549878119.png (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3549878119)

Pretty sure it is ~ $90 a month

Yup, looks just like my Shaw BB100 97-104 down consistently even tonight at 8:00 and 5 up which is fine by me.

[pheoxs]

Originally posted by GTS4tw
Here is my shaw 100

http://www.speedtest.net/result/3549878119.png (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/3549878119)

Pretty sure it is ~ $90 a month

1ms ping???

[16hypen3sp]

I did sign up for it... install isn't until mid July. Hopefully it blows Shaw out of the water.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[16hypen3sp]

Install is complete and loving it!

Down is about 60mb/s and up is about 25mb/s.

TV is awesome. All the wireless set top boxes work fantastic. Girlfriend thinks its great.

[raceman6135]

:thumbsup:

[Manhattan]

Recently had Telus set up installed in a fibre optic building. The TV quality blows compared to Shaw. All sorts of noticeable blurriness/pixelation which I did not experience at all on Shaw. Why is Telus still using component cables?? PVR menu is snappy I must admit but the timing of show recordings is way off. When I record something I'll catch the last few minutes of another show and miss the last few minutes of the one I'm recording. :banghead:

Going to switch back to shaw soon.

[eblend]

Originally posted by Manhattan
Recently had Telus set up installed in a fibre optic building. The TV quality blows compared to Shaw. All sorts of noticeable blurriness/pixelation which I did not experience at all on Shaw. Why is Telus still using component cables?? PVR menu is snappy I must admit but the timing of show recordings is way off. When I record something I'll catch the last few minutes of another show and miss the last few minutes of the one I'm recording. :banghead:

Going to switch back to shaw soon.

You can just use HDMI if you want, all telus boxes have hdmi on the back. I record all the time, it does start recording a few minutes early, but I never had the ending cut off ever, in 3 years I had it. The only time it has ever cut off the end is when the show is live and goes for longer than originally scheduled for. I had Shaw, Bell and Telus, to me they are all low bitrate HD streams, so they will pixilate regardless, but for the most part I think the quality is pretty good, on par with my friend who is still with Shaw.

[nzwasp]

Originally posted by Manhattan
Recently had Telus set up installed in a fibre optic building. The TV quality blows compared to Shaw. All sorts of noticeable blurriness/pixelation which I did not experience at all on Shaw. Why is Telus still using component cables?? PVR menu is snappy I must admit but the timing of show recordings is way off. When I record something I'll catch the last few minutes of another show and miss the last few minutes of the one I'm recording. :banghead:

Going to switch back to shaw soon.

I had exactly the same experience when i first got telus installed in arbour lake. Not sure if fiber there or not though, maybe someone else can chime in.

Anyway when I moved to my new neighborhood (montreux) all those issues went away. I have gone through several digital boxes for various problems like that though. The recording thing is very annoying, and even these days it still sometimes cuts off the end of a show or before they show the preview for next week. Other times we'll have the cut off 10 mins into the next show. Its not consistent.

I think if i did not work for telus I'd just get rid of the tv and just use netflix. I only keep it because i have to.

[suntan]

Apparently Telus uses less bandwidth for a stream than Shaw, but Shaw's compression was configured by a retarded monkey so Shaw looks worse.

[eblend]

Originally posted by nzwasp


I had exactly the same experience when i first got telus installed in arbour lake. Not sure if fiber there or not though, maybe someone else can chime in.

Anyway when I moved to my new neighborhood (montreux) all those issues went away. I have gone through several digital boxes for various problems like that though. The recording thing is very annoying, and even these days it still sometimes cuts off the end of a show or before they show the preview for next week. Other times we'll have the cut off 10 mins into the next show. Its not consistent.

I think if i did not work for telus I'd just get rid of the tv and just use netflix. I only keep it because i have to.

That's very interesting, two people here mention the same thing. I never had recording issues as mentioned previously, been using their service for almost 4 years now, started out with copper and now on fiber, interesting. I usually watch discovery channel, dtour, nat geo and such, as well as American got talent, ninja warrior and things like that, whichever channels those are on.

[eblend]

Just remembered, under record settings, one can set the end time for end of recording. Perhaps something changed with newer Optik installs, but mine is set to "At scheduled end time", one can set it to by later by up to 3 hours. Don't know if that's the issue for you guys or not but figure I mention it here anyways.