Thinking of switching my isp... opinions requested

[Sokar]

Right now I'm on telus DSL high speed which I believe is a 2.0 Mbps, 60 GB max download/month at about 35$/month right now since nothing is bundled. I have access to some newsgroups, but Telus dropped binary carrying newsgroups (ie ones that carry files), and is now forcing it's customers to go through another provider for newsgroup service if they want those files.

Lately I've had nothing but horrible service from telus and I'm thinking of switching to shaw. My internet connection is unstable at best half the time and while I can fix it without much problem I'm getting sick of resetting the modem all the time. I know that it's not the equipment because telus recently changed over to new modems and sent out new ones to replace the original one I had, however the service is the same as with the old one. I've got several routers and have tried different configurations with different computers but it really seems to be the actual isp that has the problems. Trying to play 360/ps3 online is a lagfest and quite often I get dropped in the middle of a game (not kicked but dropped completely). Recent issues combined with the decision on their part to just cut out a portion of their service (ie the binary newsgroups) really has me looking around for alternatives

While I was in Saskatoon the last 4 months taking courses (my program has since been cancled at u of s since they no longer have a specialist for my degree) I was on shaw (I believe shaw extereme) and I was getting download speed of 590KB/sec as opposed to the 75 KB/Sec I get here in Calgary on telus. I also had full newsgroup servers there as well.

Since I've gotten back to Calgary I've been looking at shaw's high speed extreme-i. for 5$ more than what I pay now I can get 100GB/month transfer, 10Mbps speed (15 Mbps for files under 10 mb), and newsgroup access.

So for those who are on Shaw/Telus, any opinions on either company?

I don't tend to download a great deal of stuff. I mostly get tv shows, music, some games (xbox live downloads are getting pretty big now) and plan to play online now that I have a live subscription

[jourdo]

I'm on both (Telus at work, and Shaw at home). The ONLY reason that I am on Telus is that Shaw did not offer a phone package for business at the time I opened up. Now that they do, I will likely switch once my contract is up. I have not had many issues with internet on either, but the Shaw customer service has been better on the whole.

[Mumps]

IMO, Telus is a real pain to deal with... I am very happy with my Shaw service.

[QuadESL63]

When I was in Calgary we have Shaw high-speed internet. They are pretty reliable w/ not much traffic shaping. (Binary) Newsgroup access is a big plus

[BadJeff]

I use Telus @ work. Hate it. Problems all the time.
I use Shaw high speed extreme @ home. Love it. Could never switch. Insanely fast and reliable. I don't care how much they charge for it because it's the cat's meow.
EDIT** Only worth it if you have a good quality gigabit card & router.

[Sokar]

Wow, I'm kind of surprised how unanimous the responce has been about Shaw.

As for the router I've got one in mind and a futureshop gift card to take care of that, thought I'll have to double check the one I bought a while ago. It was fairly new to the market when I upgraded it last time so it might already be a gigabit router.

[Nocturn]

Shaw's pretty dece. However, a friend of mine is running on rogers, SO much faster.

[CobraCommander]

I was using Bell Sympatico DSL, then switched to AEI... cheaper and faster.

5 Mbps, unlimited D/L, $29.95 per month

http://web.aei.ca/english.shtml

[Sokar]

Thanks for the recomendations.

I've actually got shaw coming out friday to install extreme-i speed that morning.