Currently, I have all services running into the home from Shaw. (TV, Phone, and internet.) With the hockey lockout, I have turned to Netflix for an entertainment fix, because current TV offerings don't interest me much. With Shaw, I have the BB50 internet speed, but can max out at only 29Mbps on Speedtest.net at 2:30 in the afternoon. At night, I'm lucky to get 6Mbps. This affects my Netflix watching, as I can't get the signal past 2 bars, even though I have it set up for Best streaming. Another thing with Shaw is, that I've had a new drop and new lines run through the house, and they still needed to add a booster in the system, with an attenuator at the modem to get my signal up to an acceptable level. I live in the inner city of Calgary, AB, and think that it should be possible to get better signal than what I'm seeing.
Onto the consideration of switching to Telus. I have an XBox360, and would no doubt use that as my STB for the one TV in the home. I have it currently wired directly to the router for best possible signal. What I'm wondering is, will Telus lock me into a contract, if I don't take any offers from them? I'm more interested in trying it out, to see if it's any better than what I'm getting from Shaw currently. Telus offers Optik TV and internet to my area, and the phone would be a non issue. But I'm not sure about the contract thing. Or would Telus be any better? My understanding is that you don't share the same line with your neighbors, so the signal should be stronger, with less lag during peak times. Is this true?
What I'm looking for is someone who's done it, someone who's thought about it, and decided one way or another. Looking for advice really. Any help is appreciated.