telus vs shaw in 2012

[webdevin]

I'm looking into getting a good bang for my buck tv and internet package for when I move to Nanaimo, and so far it looks like the telus optik bundle(essential tv and high speed turbo 25 internet @ $40/month for first 6 months, $70/month after that) suits me best. The Samsung Galaxy tablet on a 3yr term, and is worth ~$500, is a nice bonus too.

A similar bundle through shaw, with(close to) the internet speeds I'm looking for, is $110/month from the start, has much slower internet "up to" speeds: but, it does have a much better tv package(looks like twice as good, but I dont know anything about tv).

It seems to me shaw is serving people who love their tv, and/or have lots of money for really fast internet: and, telus is serving people(like me) who want decently fast internet for cheap. I'm not really sure how the telus tv packages compare, and I'm all about getting cheaper/faster internet here, so I've pretty much decided.

I'd love to hear any musings, experiences, and/or pieces of advice you guys can share before I jump into anything. Particularly, if any of you are on a telus optik internet plan, and could share your results from speedtest.net, that would be much appreciated! I'm curious what kind of speed drops you guys get in Nanaimo?

[tailtwister]

Cheap is great as long as you are online...

I hear of more people having issues with Telus around here than Shaw. Also, don't forget the Telus Optik shares everything on your network so if someone is watching an HD movie, and someone is on the phone, your Internet slows down... Finally, if you have a hardware problem with Telus, don't expect fast resolution. Shaw has a local presence. Price isn't everything - that's for sure.

I've gone back and forth and have had both sometimes and I've finally settled on Shaw for the whole bundle.

[webdevin]

I am confident I can fix most problems people have with their home networks myself, and I'm not sharing the internet with anyone else, so I don't have to worry about the slowdowns from sharing. You're final point would be worst case scenario, and that would be a burn with Telus extra wait time, for sure.

Still, I am going for Telus this round, as I just can't justify paying $40 more a month($70 more for the first 6 months) for such slow internet that affects my job on a daily basis: even if there are a few more hiccups I have to fix here and there. I'll let you all know how it goes after a good run through.

Thanks for sharing tailtwister!

[ebusinesstutor]

It is hard to judge because of the TV component. If you look at them unbundled, Shaw has the High Speed 20 for $55 per month with 20 Mbs and 200GB bandwidth. Telus has High Speed Turbo 25 for $54 per month with 25MBps download and 500 GB of bandwidth.

So on the surface, Telus wins.

In my case though, I have had terrible service from Telus for years, so I refuse to deal with them. I only use about 60GB of data a month, so I don't need the extra bandwidth.

Shaw has given me much better service when I call them.

[Foxglove]

I just browsed over the thread so hopefully someone has not already mentioned this. It also depends on the area of the city that you live in. I know where I live I cannot get Telus. I can only get Shaw. Shaw is super helpful and I really love their service. Plus when you call their tech support line you actually get someone in Nanaimo which is awesome.

[webdevin]

Well so far it seems like everyone on the forum here is all for Shaw, but almost everyone(short 1 person) I run into on the streets has been for Telus. We'll have to see what my experience is like, maybe I'll jump over to the Shaw ship someday.

Anyone have a speedtest.net result to share in Nanaimo? Regardless of service, I am curious what speeds(download and upload) you get vs what you are paying for.

Thanks!

[fcnanaimo]

Well so far it seems like everyone on the forum here is all for Shaw, but almost everyone(short 1 person) I run into on the streets has been for Telus. We'll have to see what my experience is like, maybe I'll jump over to the Shaw ship someday.

Anyone have a speedtest.net result to share in Nanaimo? Regardless of service, I am curious what speeds(download and upload) you get vs what you are paying for.

Thanks!

If you get a chance, do me a favor and link yours with Telus - I'm nearing the end of my six month go with Shaw and it's a definite "meh" for me so far. I don't want television or phone, I don't need tech support, and really the only thing that kept me from going Telus was the fact that you have to sign a contract - but I'm highly tempted to jump ship when I go from $20 a month to $55.

[webdevin]

Will do fcnanaimo. The techs are hooking me up March 1rst, which is also looking like move in day for me: I can hardly wait! It might take me a day or 2 to get on here though.

Thanks for sharing your speedtest result: It's that upload speed that was one of my main reasons for not going with Shaw. That would be quite the bottleneck when I'm uploading a big website for a client.

[Tenspot]

Ever try to talk to a service rep at Shaw by telephone? What a pain in the arse. three times in three day I used their call back system, and it's always "We'll call you back in between 34 and 63 minutes", and they don`t call till later. One time I got someone with an Indian or Sri Lankan accent who was useless. If it always requires a call back, it says that Shaw is doing the same thing as the big box stores where they only keep enough cashes open to maintain a line of 6 people waiting (To keep cashiers working at full capacity). Got the call back, and have to wait for them to update. GRRRRRRRRRR

[tailtwister]

Well, if you got someone with an accent from Shaw, at least you can be assured that they were localish (Western Canada). I still prefer Shaw over Telus' "oh yeah, your router is dead. We'll ship a new one out to you -- should be there next week"...

The cost of technology and the demand for lower prices for more products are REALLY putting a strain on tech companies to provide the best they can with the smallest budget. The whole system is going to implode soon!