Issues w/ Bell Fibe?

[$alvador]

Recently I moved into a new place and decided to go with Bell because there was a better deal available for me. So now I have some "Fibe" VDSL package, some times it's stable but other days I have a fuckload of dropped connections with literally no explanation in the router logs. Since I keep active a few SSH connections usually the whole time while I'm on the PC, it's SUPER fucking annoying to have to manually reconnect them.

My parents have old-skool ADSL in their newer development and the connection has been stable as fuck, but I'm living in an older neighbourhood now and all the phone line shit is in really fucked up shape in general. Do you think I should even try to get this resolved with Bell or just cut my losses and switch to DOCSIS?

 

[OG buckshot jr]

Bell. Enough said.
I have no idea who docsis is. I'm with teksavvy, love them.. connection ed dropped once in the years I've been with them, and that was because some bell paki cut a main line that knocked half of ontario.

And they run through TorIX

 

[AAA]

DOCSIS i believe is the method for cable internet, where as DSL is for telephone wires, so the fked up phone line might be the problem. Cable could be better, but you dont get a dedicated line and depends on how many people in your area use it.
Also, if you got bad telephone lines, chances are your cable lines arent that great either.
id say bitch to bell, maybe theyll send over a technician for free.

 

[Slawek]

You NEED to bitch to them as said above. Don't expect any resolutions till you complain. I have heard a lot of complaints from friends using Bell. I used to have their DSL service and had to reboot the router frequently

 

[MetalLobster]

I've had DSL with Distributel for a couple weeks before turning back to cable. My speed isn't constant with cable (naturally...), but running up and down the stairs to reboot my modem was getting annoying, so I've stuck with it. I never pin-pointed the problem of the random disconnects so I can't say if it was the provider or the modem or a shitty line on my end, but I don't care anymore. For reliability, go with cable.

My current provider is Acanac Inc. Nothing special, price is the same as TekSavvy.

 

[$alvador]

thanks guys, looks like things settled down so maybe it was just a hiccup at the local exchange. i've had good and bad experiences with both Bell and Rogers, overall im satisfied as long as it's a stable connection with low latency. I was looking at TekSavvy but there are all these bullshit fees that, when added to the monthly costs, add up to just barely less than going with Bell does. There was no bullshit with Bell, they sent a tech out in the same week I called to hook the line up and tossed in the latest router/switch free of charge (dis bitch does 802.11ac wireless, I'm not even ready for this)

 

[OG buckshot jr]

I understand Sal, however it's about the monthly cap, and yes, still cheaper service.

The only 'fee' for their vdsl is dry loop if you don't have a real phone line (IP phones that everyone else offers for $50/month does not count).

Either way, as long as you're happy and getting good service, congrats!

 

[$alvador]

Yea the main appeal of the resellers are that you can get more speed for cheaper and unlimited bandwidth caps, but those are specifically things that I don't care at all about. I recently had 150Mbps, 25Mbps and 6Mbps connections and I'm just as happy with 6Mbps as I am with 150Mbps. Since I do more web/server stuff than downloading media/games, the most important factors for me are stability and round-trip times. The latter is dependent on unreliable factors like local infrastructure and peering arrangements, but the former is dependent on who is willing to get off their ass and fix something for me when it's fucked, and I just don't trust resellers with that because they're not able to send technicians to access the infrastructure they use.

 

[OG buckshot jr]

All valid points, good in you for understanding your needs.

 

[$alvador]

turns out my shit is fucked up, lots of errors on the line apparently, waiting for a call from a Bell tech so someone can come out in person and hopefully fix the problem, if it's not soon then I really won't have any option but to switch to Rogers. I talked to some people apparently Bell disconnects are a really common problem. Looks like Rogers basically has a monopoly then, all the businesses I've dealt with are with Rogers too so I'm not sure who Bell even has as customers

 

[$alvador]

just an update in case anyone's interested. i was busy as shit all week long and didn't have time for waiting on hold for half an hour, fortunately found a way to leave a quick message for a Bell rep. i got a message back in just a few hours that they'd be calling me. later on got a call, after one or two simple questions about the issues i've been having the agent moved on to scheduling the tech visit. "tomorrow at 12-6pm good?" "friday would be better..." "ok we can do friday in the morning or again 12-6pm" "12-6 sounds good" "it's done". friday, tech shows up literally at the strike of noon. very friendly and knowledgeable guy, was happy to explain some more technical shit about the workings of Bell stuff. he had to fix a wiring snafu in the wall, nothing major but he also installed a new jack free of charge. haven't had any issue since, really the litmus test was last night because it was raining hard and my connection would always cut out the most during rain. smooth sailing.

all in all the issue got sorted with very little time lost on my end, except for when the tech was here but he was more timely than expected and nice to get along with (luck of the draw on that, i guess). as a bonus, i'm still really pleased with the hardware Bell provided. this modem/router would likely retail at $200-300 since it's VDSL plus 802.11ac plus built-in switch and other doodads I don't use. I did a basic pentesting attempt from my end of the network and the only thing i could get out of it was the kernel version, so security-wise it seems solid too.

long story short i was stressing over nothing, dealing with any sort of tech support has typically been such a labour for me but i guess Bell is on top of their shit quite nicely these days

 

[OG buckshot jr]

BELL's service is very good because the consumers overpay a fuckload. It's the billing (RE: India) department you have to worry about. And the bogus charges.

Pro Tip: When you call BELL, press '2' for the French service, that way you get routed to Quebec. Then ask for an English agent, they will route you to Ontario.....

 

[$alvador]

yeah i always get the legit Qc support not the "tech support" for noobs who are too derp to figure out if their device is even on or off. Right now I'm just under $50/mo. for stable 25 down 10 up and there were no additional charges for the modem. TekSavvy is offering the same speed DSL for $40/mo. so I don't really mind paying <$10 more for the peace of mind knowing that if shit is fucked Bell will prioritize sending a tech to help me over sending a tech to help a TekSavvy customer.

 

[OG buckshot jr]

yeah i always get the legit Qc support not the "tech support" for noobs who are too derp to figure out if their device is even on or off. Right now I'm just under $50/mo. for stable 25 down 10 up and there were no additional charges for the modem. TekSavvy is offering the same speed DSL for $40/mo. so I don't really mind paying <$10 more for the peace of mind knowing that if shit is fucked Bell will prioritize sending a tech to help me over sending a tech to help a TekSavvy customer.

Yes, I'm a very solid 25/10 (I actually normalize around 27/12) and have been down only once (lasted a day), and that was an Eastern-Canada-wide outage that Bell techs caused.

I pay $34.99+tax for 300GB.

 

[$alvador]

lol i have 400GB allowance now, shit is wasted on me no worries i realize that you're paying less for the exact same internet service but i've been pretty satisfied with Bell human support over the years and am not interested in finding out for myself whether or not a reseller can be as good. don't get me wrong, i'm all about being frugal, but I pay $25/mo for unlimited mobile and $90/mo for car insurance and i have yet to meet anyone who saves as much money as I do on that shit so I'm not about to stress over a few bucks more for internet.