[Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps*** Welcome to 2004 ***
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anon @ 24th Sep 01:23PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by BackInTime :
*** Welcome to 2004 ***
LoL ya really. How many years ago did P2P take the internet by storm? September this enforcement takes place. September, kids go back to school. Coincidence??? I think not! This is Cogeco being unable to serve the back to school kids as things were and everyone else on the network suffering so Cogeco can make a buck trying to support everyone! Youtube, MySpace, music downloading...... regular student internet usage and Cogeco cant support it!!*** Welcome to 2004 ***
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SuperCM @ 24th Sep 01:40PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by nydwarf1 :
It will only be easier after Oct 1 when Cogeco raises the price of internet only from 47.95/month to 52.95/month.
What?! How about for those who bundle with their TV service, will it stay at $43 a month or is that rising too?It will only be easier after Oct 1 when Cogeco raises the price of internet only from 47.95/month to 52.95/month.
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ancodia @ 24th Sep 02:01PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by SuperCM :
this can't be true, I didnt get a notice saying anything about a price increase. they need to give at least 30 days notice.said by nydwarf1 :
It will only be easier after Oct 1 when Cogeco raises the price of internet only from 47.95/month to 52.95/month.
What?! How about for those who bundle with their TV service, will it stay at $43 a month or is that rising too?It will only be easier after Oct 1 when Cogeco raises the price of internet only from 47.95/month to 52.95/month.
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anon @ 24th Sep 02:03PM:
msg deleted
deleted by a moderator
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Shamans @ 24th Sep 03:41PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by underpantsgnome :
...
You're describing an ISP that wants to provide access, but not the bandwidth capacity. All these things you're describing - world of warcraft, file sharing - they are part of the reason why people get internet access. Yes, ISPs profit from all these activities. ISPs are starting to discriminate bandwidth-intensive services, P2P or not. For example, my brother recently (last month) subscribed to a backup service called mozy where you can backup your entire computer (He paid $100 for 2 years I think). It's not P2P, it's a perfectly legal service and it requires lots of bandwidth....
Tell me, why would it be cheaper for some ISPs to provide "unlimited" capacity to a smaller customer base rather than limited capacity to a larger customer base. The law of economics says that it should be cheaper to provide "unlimited" capacity to a larger customer base.
The quality of service in my area has been constant for the past 5 years. Why would they suddenly be unable to serve me at the same capacity I have been served for the past 8 to 10 years? Why would they increase the download speeds if they were not able to keep up with the capacity? In fact, by increasing the download speeds, they were encouraging people to download more since it has no benefit in e-mails and no benefit in web browsing (except for high quality flash video).
I'm fine with paying more for capacity but their prices are already more expensive than other ISPs in Ontario for the same amount of capacity. Frankly, I don't need the speed - even if it costs them nothing to offer me better speed. Let me quote something I said on my updated review:
"DVDs cost 6 cents a gigabyte.
Harddisks cost 22 cents a gigabyte.
For $48, Cogeco Standard speed costs 80 cents a gigabyte.
For $100, Cogeco High speed costs 70 cents a gigabyte.
A $50/month - 3 mbit / 256 kbit dsl unlimited connection with 8 hours of full usage per day costs 13.8 cents a gigabyte.
From a bandwidth perspective, it would cost me less to buy a hard drive, send it to any major city in the world and back than any of their residential packages."
Now, I have to go decide on which business package I have to get because I have no other choice. My urban/suburban area (which is less than 3 kilometers from downtown oakville), for some reason, has no dsl access yet.
And for those contemplating the business package, you have to change your e-mail addresses since they use a different domain.
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anon @ 24th Sep 04:46PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
aardvvark
quote:
I know it's your job to tow the company line (in other words, to defend their position in your own way), but sorry, Krispy, your justifications are just ludicrous. So you and your roommates don't consume online video on a regular basis, great (based on your example, maybe Cogeco should go down to a 30 or 40GB cap, then?). I don't get it. It's just the way YOU guys use the internet. Others enjoy experiencing the leading edge of progress. Are we somehow below you because we consume more bandwidth? Are we weirdos in your eyes? Why bring up your own low bandwidth use if you don't see us that way?
I'm sorry that you felt offended by "Krispy" but I don't think he/she meant to offend anyone here by posting his low bandwidth usage.
As an employee of Cogeco Cable, we appreciate and value all of our customer's equally.
Customers, employees all had to have went through this page upon signing up your Cogeco HSI Internet,
»www.cogeco.ca/aup, even myself.
If you have a residential Tier Internet service and you mostly use your internet for business purposes, I urge you to look into the Commercial HSI tiers as soon as possibile.
The user who said that 100GB combined for upload/download is too little due to the fact that your work can't survive without the internet, then its time for you to seriously consider upgrading to Commercial HSI.
The following Cabs were a policy and was agreed by each and every user who signed up with cogeco HSI.
HSI Lite;Upload / Download Limitations 10GB COMBINED
Hsi Standard Upload/Download 60GB COMBINED Upload/Download
HSI Pro 100GB COMBINED Upload/Download, they have always been in place.
The company just sometime last year upgraded the CAB LIMIT for standard tier from a combined 15GB to 60GB, pro went from 60GB to 100GB, thats quite a change in my opinion.
Cogeco is always looking the best and affordable ways in serving their customers. We are in a customer service business.
For those customers that are thinking of changing or are in the process of changing, I am truly sorry you felt that you had to make a change in ISP providers due to this recent re-enforcement aka reminder, but I urge all of you valued customers to really consider one last time prior to changing, is it really worth going DSL over a rule that you knew you all agreed upon at the beginning and continued to break that law however small or big it was over the months, years and cogeco has not once charged you an additional fee for it, knowing full well you went over your cab limit, just consider that.
Some of you would be surprised to hear what former DSL users switching to COGECO say about the DLS services they get from smypatico etc. Additional charges on credit cards applied without prior warning. Elder and non so tech savvy customer's aren't educated enough about the terms of bandwidth or what bandwidth is.
We take pride in serving our customers and again, I urge all of you who have been affected by this recent "update" to consider staying with cogeco. Some of you said so yourselves, you have been with the company for many yrs, why all of a sudden have a change of heart all because a reminded was posted, isn't that a positive thing? Would you rather we cut off the service altogether? Think about it.
I was glad to have read so many positive comments from customers who have had the service for 5, 6, 7yrs without any problems and I don't see this as a problem, this is just a reminder from your ISP provider informing you not to go over anymore. Krispy informed you that we have 2 email reminders and 3 different suspension types, before you have the service suspended forever. AGain, we take every measurement to make sure that doesn't happen, but it does, we are not just an internet provider, we are a cable and phone provider as well and bandwidth usage has to be equally distributed among all the service, not just the one service aka DSL.
Believe it or not, we as a company care about our customer's and we do not want to inconvience anyone and I certainly wouldn't recommend DSL over CABLE Internet in any lifetime.
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ancodia @ 24th Sep 04:52PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
wow.
all that text and she (they) never once explain why, mid-month, out of nowhere, they decided to enforce the caps, leaving a number of their long term, loyal customers with crippled Internet service for two weeks which is the #1 reason most people are pissed off. Ironically she (they) makes reference to Sympatico doing something out of the blue with no prior notice as a reason you wouldnt want to do business with them.
stunning.
said by LayZieGirl :
Some of you would be surprised to hear what former DSL users switching to COGECO say about the DLS services they get from smypatico etc. Additional charges on credit cards applied without prior warning.
Please take the time add your review. You can always change your review if/when Cogeco changes their ways. Some of you would be surprised to hear what former DSL users switching to COGECO say about the DLS services they get from smypatico etc. Additional charges on credit cards applied without prior warning.
»User reviews - Cogeco Cable
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urbanriot @ 24th Sep 05:26PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by LayZieGirl :
a rule that you knew you all agreed upon at the beginning and continued to break that law however small or big it was over the months, years and cogeco has not once charged you an additional fee for it, knowing full well you went over your cab limit, just consider that.
And consider that many users continued to use Cogeco, and promote Cogeco, based on the fact that they weren't enforcing these ridiculous rules. Both users and Cogeco employees alike did not take these rules seriously, and I'm sure quotes from Cogeco employees can be dug up whereby Cogeco employees outline how users can stay in Cogeco's good books, and avoid being disconnected that belie these rules. a rule that you knew you all agreed upon at the beginning and continued to break that law however small or big it was over the months, years and cogeco has not once charged you an additional fee for it, knowing full well you went over your cab limit, just consider that.
It's insulting and offensive that you suggest we felt we were "getting away" with breaking the rules; we were using a service we assumed we were paying for. A few Cogeco employees had even said that these limits were "out of date".
This is more than just a light hearted "reminder", as you put it. As I've said in a previous post, over my 10 years being with this service it is a complete change of policy regardless of rules, agreed to or otherwise.
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anon @ 24th Sep 05:28PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
To Mr. Cogeco apologist (mole?) gnome:
>>I challenge you to find any Canadian ISP that offers a residential 10+MB service with bitcap over 100GB... holding a company up to a standard that doesn't exist isn't exactly fair.
Odd challenge; I have no need at the immediate moment for such an ISP. It's not my fault Cogeco kept upping the speeds and not the caps or infrastructure to keep pace. I certainly never asked for it. I'll take 5Mb-7Mb without caps any time. And I will. ;-) This little bit of math from the review section puts this situation into perspective:
"60 GB/mo at 7.5 Mbps is less than 2.6% monthly utilization. Lets think about that: The bitcap means you can use your line less than 20 hours per month at the maximum transfer rate. How absurd!"
P.S. This has been repeated to death, but Cogeco's usenet server (which many have pointed out does not cost Cogeco when we use it) is not P2P. Legal movie and TV downloads (big in the US, soon to break out in Canada) are not P2P. Revision3 (shows soon to be in HD) is not P2P. Videoplay is not P2P. Stage6 is not P2P. Google video is not P2P. Welcome to 2007, it's only going to get better. :-)
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thez0r @ 24th Sep 05:33PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by LayZieGirl :
Believe it or not, we as a company care about our customer's and we do not want to inconvience anyone and I certainly wouldn't recommend DSL over CABLE Internet in any lifetime.
What is exactly the difference beetween having slow unlimited DSL or lightning fast cable with a cap where you can't use anymore bandwidth than a grandparent, soccer mom or simpleton would?Believe it or not, we as a company care about our customer's and we do not want to inconvience anyone and I certainly wouldn't recommend DSL over CABLE Internet in any lifetime.
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anon @ 24th Sep 05:39PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
quote:
Violation of AUP
Although COGECO has no obligation to monitor the Services and/or the network, COGECO reserves the right
to monitor bandwidth, usage, and content from time to time to operate the Services; to identify violations of
this AUP; and/or to protect the network and COGECO Customers. Any correspondence that COGECO may
want to deliver to the Customer with respect to bandwidth usage, violation of this AUP, or protection of
COGECO network will be sent to the primary contact e-mail address attached to the account.
COGECO, in its sole discretion, may, at any time and without prior notice, take any actions deemed
appropriate if the Customer exceeds the prescribed bandwidth limitations set out in Schedule A or to
preserve the integrity of its network.
This is in response to ancodia. The part in bold clearly answers your question.
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anon @ 24th Sep 05:41PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I just pasted a section of the COGECO HIGH SPEED INTERNET SERVICE ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY a.k.a AUP, which was last revised on July 27, 2007.
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ancodia @ 24th Sep 05:54PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by LayZieGirl :
This is in response to ancodia. The part in bold clearly answers your question.
hmmm. I wonder if Sympatico used the same type of clause when they decided to start charging people without prior notice in your example. So what does that say about Cogeco? Are you saying its right to make changes to a level of service that people, *over a # of years*, have grown accustomed to, without any notice? Is that how Cogeco shows its customers respect? By hiding behind an AUP clause people accepted many, many years ago? And then you ask those same customers not to move to an alternative company? quote:
Violation of AUP
Although COGECO has no obligation to monitor the Services and/or the network, COGECO reserves the right
to monitor bandwidth, usage, and content from time to time to operate the Services; to identify violations of
this AUP; and/or to protect the network and COGECO Customers. Any correspondence that COGECO may
want to deliver to the Customer with respect to bandwidth usage, violation of this AUP, or protection of
COGECO network will be sent to the primary contact e-mail address attached to the account.
COGECO, in its sole discretion, may, at any time and without prior notice, take any actions deemed
appropriate if the Customer exceeds the prescribed bandwidth limitations set out in Schedule A or to
preserve the integrity of its network.
This is in response to ancodia. The part in bold clearly answers your question.
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anon @ 24th Sep 06:15PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Honestly LayZieGirl you have if anything just shown again why we should not stay. Regardless of what the company line is they pulled this stunt on many loyal long term customers.. and knowing full well that even the stipulated limits are extremely low.. and w/o even planning to offer an unlimited res option... f'ing stupid is an understatement.
I have been with Cogeco since I moved into their service area 6 yrs ago... and had no real complaints.. till this.
However I arranged for a new ISP today and am investigating satellite options so I can kill my Cogeco service completely.
Sorry but any company with management this short sighted doesn't deserve my $.
New DSL service for me starts this Friday.. which is slower but has unlimited bandwidth and costs me less than cable. In fact with the savings I am adding a premium news server as well and still saving $.
I'll be canceling my cable next week... so only way in hell you're saving me as a customer (and many others) is a 100%+ reversal on this new decision.. and changing the rules on paper as well to be more realistic.
So.. in effect you have one week.. somehow I doubt your management will grow a brain in that time however.
Oh and also of note.. I work in the industry and have sent hundreds of clients to Cogeco... you can be quite sure they are all hearing about this stupidity and will be switching away from Cogeco as well.
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Snickerdo @ 24th Sep 06:26PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Anyone here know what I'd be looking at in dry loop fees from TekSavvy? I'd like to give them a call tomorrow and see what kind of sync rate I can expect out of my new address.
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ancodia @ 24th Sep 06:35PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Snickerdo :
Anyone here know what I'd be looking at in dry loop fees from TekSavvy? I'd like to give them a call tomorrow and see what kind of sync rate I can expect out of my new address.
they can tell you the band rate based on your phone #. I believe St. Kitts is band c , so the rate would be 29.99 for the dsl line + the band rate for c (I think 10.62)Anyone here know what I'd be looking at in dry loop fees from TekSavvy? I'd like to give them a call tomorrow and see what kind of sync rate I can expect out of my new address.
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Snickerdo @ 24th Sep 06:39PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I just checked, St. Cats is actually Band B. $30+9 isn't too bad, that's what I would expect to pay anyway. My only worry is what I should expect from the sync rate. I'm hoping they can give me an idea of what I'd be looking at.
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Frozty2k @ 24th Sep 06:44PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by LayZieGirl :
For those customers that are thinking of changing or are in the process of changing, I am truly sorry you felt that you had to make a change in ISP providers due to this recent re-enforcement aka reminder, but I urge all of you valued customers to really consider one last time prior to changing, is it really worth going DSL over a rule that you knew you all agreed upon at the beginning and continued to break that law however small or big it was over the months, years and cogeco has not once charged you an additional fee for it, knowing full well you went over your cab limit, just consider that.
First of all, I remember the service being 'unlimited' when I signed up. At the time I signed up there was no way I could use this much bandwidth, but times change. I wont pretend I didn't know, I don't think anyone who understands bandwidth could not have known what the caps were; after they were added/changed. The fact is that Cogeco never charged us, and that's the reason we stuck with Cogeco; and A reason it was an excellent service.For those customers that are thinking of changing or are in the process of changing, I am truly sorry you felt that you had to make a change in ISP providers due to this recent re-enforcement aka reminder, but I urge all of you valued customers to really consider one last time prior to changing, is it really worth going DSL over a rule that you knew you all agreed upon at the beginning and continued to break that law however small or big it was over the months, years and cogeco has not once charged you an additional fee for it, knowing full well you went over your cab limit, just consider that.
said by LayZieGirl :
If you have a residential Tier Internet service and you mostly use your internet for business purposes, I urge you to look into the Commercial HSI tiers as soon as possible.
Many of us do not use our accounts for any business purposes, and yet to get a higher cap we are forced to pay for a commercial account. An account that just doesn't represent our needs. (we don't care or want to pay for priority tech support, extra e-mail addresses, more webspace or a static IP) As someone else has already said, speed is good but it means NOTHING if we have reached our cap, since we can no longer user our service.If you have a residential Tier Internet service and you mostly use your internet for business purposes, I urge you to look into the Commercial HSI tiers as soon as possible.
said by LayZieGirl :
I urge all of you who have been affected by this recent "update" to consider staying with cogeco. Some of you said so yourselves, you have been with the company for many yrs, why all of a sudden have a change of heart all because a reminded was posted, isn't that a positive thing? Would you rather we cut off the service altogether?
I think you will find most would not like to switch to DSL or something else (I don't). It's not a change of heart; it's just a fact that with these limits being enforced I can no longer user the internet as I require. If cogeco is unable to give me a suitable package for a fair price, then I will look elsewhere. Poor customer service, down times, higher ping, slower speeds, If that's what it takes for me to be able to use the internet the way I see fit then I have no choice but to take it.I urge all of you who have been affected by this recent "update" to consider staying with cogeco. Some of you said so yourselves, you have been with the company for many yrs, why all of a sudden have a change of heart all because a reminded was posted, isn't that a positive thing? Would you rather we cut off the service altogether?
said by LayZieGirl :
Krispy informed you that we have 2 email reminders and 3 different suspension types, before you have the service suspended forever.
It's a fair system, can't argue there. You can't very well do much more feasibly without high cost or just annoying people. Fact is that the warnings come very close to the cap or after. People don't check their e-mail every day (cogeco one at least, when it's not used by some people) and the fact is in this event, I heard about the cap when I called in to find out why my internet was down all day. It also came off fairly cheap when CSR's tell you that you can no longer use your internet very much for the rest of the month unless you upgrade your package right this minute. Felt like a shake down to me. Want to use your internet anymore this month? Going to cost you extra.Krispy informed you that we have 2 email reminders and 3 different suspension types, before you have the service suspended forever.
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ancodia @ 24th Sep 06:44PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Snickerdo :
I just checked, St. Cats is actually Band B. $30+9 isn't too bad, that's what I would expect to pay anyway. My only worry is what I should expect from the sync rate. I'm hoping they can give me an idea of what I'd be looking at.
i think max is 5 meg, but some people have been reportedly getting 6. over in the Teksavvy section the owner said they are expecting pricing on the 7-16 mbps services from Bell soon, and hopefully be able to offer it. Regardless, 5 meg is stil 450k/sec. and without any limits you can't go wrong. I've been thinking of putting my Cogeco account in vacation freeze for a while and waiting to see what, if anything, Cogeco will do about all this. I haven't called Cogeco to get a price/length of time on doing that.I just checked, St. Cats is actually Band B. $30+9 isn't too bad, that's what I would expect to pay anyway. My only worry is what I should expect from the sync rate. I'm hoping they can give me an idea of what I'd be looking at.
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Frozty2k @ 24th Sep 07:01PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by ancodia :
If speed is REALLY an issue I've been thinking about getting 2 lines and hook them up to a load balancing router which should give me ~10meg. With that route I could go for the premium for better pings for games etc, 200GB/mo should be enough for the future. I already have bell phone so it would be $30x2 which is about pro price for double the cap / bit lower download speed.said by Snickerdo :
I just checked, St. Cats is actually Band B. $30+9 isn't too bad, that's what I would expect to pay anyway. My only worry is what I should expect from the sync rate. I'm hoping they can give me an idea of what I'd be looking at.
i think max is 5 meg, but some people have been reportedly getting 6. over in the Teksavvy section the owner said they are expecting pricing on the 7-16 mbps services from Bell soon, and hopefully be able to offer it. Regardless, 5 meg is stil 450k/sec. and without any limits you can't go wrong. I've been thinking of putting my Cogeco account in vacation freeze for a while and waiting to see what, if anything, Cogeco will do about all this. I haven't called Cogeco to get a price/length of time on doing that.I just checked, St. Cats is actually Band B. $30+9 isn't too bad, that's what I would expect to pay anyway. My only worry is what I should expect from the sync rate. I'm hoping they can give me an idea of what I'd be looking at.
Even without load balancing, could get an unlimited and connect it to one PC for just downloading and a second that's premium for my regular usage. Or even cogeco regular for the games/web browsing, two providers should be more reliable.
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ancodia @ 24th Sep 07:04PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Frozty2k :
Even without load balancing, could get an unlimited and connect it to one PC for just downloading and a second that's premium for my regular usage. Or even cogeco regular for the games/web browsing, two providers should be more reliable.
»bonded dsl is it ever going to be an option for us?said by ancodia :
If speed is REALLY an issue I've been thinking about getting 2 lines and hook them up to a load balancing router which should give me ~10meg. With that route I could go for the premium for better pings for games etc, 200GB/mo should be enough for the future. I already have bell phone so it would be $30x2 which is about pro price for double the cap / bit lower download speed.said by Snickerdo :
I just checked, St. Cats is actually Band B. $30+9 isn't too bad, that's what I would expect to pay anyway. My only worry is what I should expect from the sync rate. I'm hoping they can give me an idea of what I'd be looking at.
i think max is 5 meg, but some people have been reportedly getting 6. over in the Teksavvy section the owner said they are expecting pricing on the 7-16 mbps services from Bell soon, and hopefully be able to offer it. Regardless, 5 meg is stil 450k/sec. and without any limits you can't go wrong. I've been thinking of putting my Cogeco account in vacation freeze for a while and waiting to see what, if anything, Cogeco will do about all this. I haven't called Cogeco to get a price/length of time on doing that.I just checked, St. Cats is actually Band B. $30+9 isn't too bad, that's what I would expect to pay anyway. My only worry is what I should expect from the sync rate. I'm hoping they can give me an idea of what I'd be looking at.
Even without load balancing, could get an unlimited and connect it to one PC for just downloading and a second that's premium for my regular usage. Or even cogeco regular for the games/web browsing, two providers should be more reliable.
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Chunky6 @ 24th Sep 07:14PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Oh lord. I just had my Cogeco account hooked up on Wednesday - the phone/TV/Net bundle. And here i am, at 45% of my monthly usage already.
What a pain the ass, I just paid hook up fees and everything and now I have to change ISPs all over again. Frankly, Cogeco is nice and fast but I refuse to mess around with caps - I honestly can't risk having my connection turned off if I'm not careful enough.
I was just enjoying how fast it is too...despite being an online gamer, not sure what good speed does me overall if I can't actually use it.
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Shamans @ 24th Sep 07:25PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by LayZieGirl :
...
To Cogeco Representatives,...
1) When I signed up, there were no limits. The AUP is forced on us and, as mentioned, can be change at will by Cogeco. There is no previous agreement, only today's. What scares me further is the part of the AUP that says, and i quote COGECO monitors the amount of traffic to and from all modems to identify usage above the bandwidth limitations. If the Customer exceeds this limit, the Customer may be charged up to an additional $1.00 per 100 Megabytes for both upstream and/or downstream traffic. When is that going to be enforced and will we be pre-notified (because bandwidth enforcement didn't have any pre-notification)?
2) TekSavvy offers a $30/month (or about $40/month if you don't have bell home phone) for 100 gigabytes or unlimited. Your plans are not competitive for customers that require more usage over faster speeds.
3) Transferring to a business package will require my family to change e-mails that they use with cogeco...
So, in summary, please offer a residential package that has slower speeds or variable speeds (like slower during peak hours), a large cap that is around 140 to 160 GB combined, ability to retain current e-mail addresses, and hopefully is not expensive.
If I have to change my e-mails, why don't I just move over to another ISP (although my family should've started to use 3rd party e-mails a long time ago).
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Snickerdo @ 24th Sep 07:30PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
If Cogeco offered a service where the bandwidth limits didn't apply or were significantly relaxed during off-peak hours, none of this would be a problem.
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urbanriot @ 24th Sep 07:34PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Snickerdo :
If Cogeco offered a service where the bandwidth limits didn't apply or were significantly relaxed during off-peak hours, none of this would be a problem.
Now there's a thought... If Cogeco offered a service where the bandwidth limits didn't apply or were significantly relaxed during off-peak hours, none of this would be a problem.
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neko @ 24th Sep 07:36PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
So, in summary, please offer a residential package that has slower speeds or variable speeds (like slower during peak hours), a large cap that is around 140 to 160 GB combined, ability to retain current e-mail addresses, and hopefully is not expensive.
I agree. They should offer a 5Mbit tier with 150Gb cap.reply
anon @ 24th Sep 08:17PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Chunky6 :
Oh lord. I just had my Cogeco account hooked up on Wednesday - the phone/TV/Net bundle. And here i am, at 45% of my monthly usage already.
What a pain the ass, I just paid hook up fees and everything and now I have to change ISPs all over again. Frankly, Cogeco is nice and fast but I refuse to mess around with caps - I honestly can't risk having my connection turned off if I'm not careful enough.
I was just enjoying how fast it is too...despite being an online gamer, not sure what good speed does me overall if I can't actually use it.
I am in the exact same boat as you. I just got Cogeco hocked up on Thursday. Found out about the caps after I was installed. I didn't have net access until I was installed. I always do my homework and read the forums and the reviews. But this time I really got burned. Cogeco really pissed me off. I am quitting them only after 1 week of being installed. Speed is great. But the caps make it useless. I feel like all I am not doing is web surfing to avoid being shut off. This cannot continue. A huge F U goes out to Cogeco for the lost of my install fee.Oh lord. I just had my Cogeco account hooked up on Wednesday - the phone/TV/Net bundle. And here i am, at 45% of my monthly usage already.
What a pain the ass, I just paid hook up fees and everything and now I have to change ISPs all over again. Frankly, Cogeco is nice and fast but I refuse to mess around with caps - I honestly can't risk having my connection turned off if I'm not careful enough.
I was just enjoying how fast it is too...despite being an online gamer, not sure what good speed does me overall if I can't actually use it.
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anon @ 24th Sep 08:22PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Snickerdo :
If Cogeco offered a service where the bandwidth limits didn't apply or were significantly relaxed during off-peak hours, none of this would be a problem.
It is not only an idea. It works very well. Magma did this. I believe it was from 11pm to 9am. Just had to set up your news reader to auto for those times. It also makes sense because ISP are charged to the 90 percentile and that never happens during offpeak hours even in the Magma situation of allowing unlimited bandwidth during those hours.If Cogeco offered a service where the bandwidth limits didn't apply or were significantly relaxed during off-peak hours, none of this would be a problem.
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anon @ 24th Sep 08:35PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Frozty2k :
I think you will find most would not like to switch to DSL or something else (I don't). It's not a change of heart; it's just a fact that with these limits being enforced I can no longer user the internet as I require. If cogeco is unable to give me a suitable package for a fair price, then I will look elsewhere. Poor customer service, down times, higher ping, slower speeds, If that's what it takes for me to be able to use the internet the way I see fit then I have no choice but to take it.
Yes, DSL has higher ping, slower speed, down times, poor customer service. The very reason I switched to Cogeco. But none of those reasons matter as much as the bandwidth cap. I would have never thought that bandwidth was more important than the above reasons. Hence the reason I will be switching back to DSL.I think you will find most would not like to switch to DSL or something else (I don't). It's not a change of heart; it's just a fact that with these limits being enforced I can no longer user the internet as I require. If cogeco is unable to give me a suitable package for a fair price, then I will look elsewhere. Poor customer service, down times, higher ping, slower speeds, If that's what it takes for me to be able to use the internet the way I see fit then I have no choice but to take it.
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Antonin @ 24th Sep 10:20PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Unfortunately, where the Cogeco marketing department DIDN'T do their job is around customer knowledge. There is nothing that will make people more nervous and upset than having to deal with unpredictability. There are so many reasons why one can exceed the caps. Some of them are easily controllable by the customer, and some of them aren't. And people who are nervous and upset tend to vocalize to their friends and colleagues. And that can make those friends and colleagues nervous also. Bottom line - this should have been really thought through and well communicated before launching things off.
Furthermore, since Cogeco has already redefined their limits once, and unilaterally decided to enforce them, what is there to stop them from changing the limits again. Or deciding to get even more draconian with how they deal with "offenders". Oh, sorry, we have their word on that.
To me (and confirmed by other posters in this forum) speed is less important than predictability. I'd rather have a slower connection than no connection at all! I am fortunate enough in my area to have DSL service available as an option (which most of my neighbours are on) and I've already set the wheels in motion. A shame - the wife and I were talking about finally going to HDTV for the NFL season. Not now!
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Shamans @ 24th Sep 11:17PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Well, I got myself suspended just to see what it would be like since it's near of the month and all and I like to know what I'm getting myself into.
They probably don't want me talking about their enforcement policy since some people may try to play against it. But hey, eventually people will know and the customer has to be educated so they know what's ahead of them.
It seems the 2 warnings followed by 3 suspensions is true. When you ask tech support, some of them may not know how the whole thing works though. From what I've gathered, it starts with 2 warnings. When the suspensions hit, you tend to have very little in terms of leeway until the next one could hit - especially if you're over a lot already. So when the first suspension hits, you have maybe 1 gig left.
First suspension you can reactivate yourself effective immediately. 2nd suspension you can reactive yourself effective 24 hours later. 3rd suspension brings you a talk with network/security staff in cogeco.
On my first suspension, I noticed that I got transferred into another "virtual" network and received a IP address starting with 10.*.*.* with a similar gateway. I assume that that's where a server sits and serves you a page telling you that you were suspended. I was unable to access the page (or any page), so I had to call them to get it reactivated.
I subscribe to VOIP with primus, so that went down as well. I had to borrow a cell phone to call them. So....I'm not looking forward to a 2nd suspension and I'll take their word for it ;) that it'll probably happen if I download more than 1 gig.
They said that the warnings and suspension reset each month but that they take a look at your history if you've been abusing month after month.
The moral of the lesson is to remind the competitors while times are good to get service into your area. Damn, now I have no choice ;(. I'm still waiting to see if I have to decide between more bandwidth and keeping my e-mails (You lose your cogeco e-mail if you upgrade to business packages).
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Snickerdo @ 24th Sep 11:31PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Shamans :
It seems the 2 warnings followed by 3 suspensions is true. When you ask tech support, some of them may not know how the whole thing works though. From what I've gathered, it starts with 2 warnings. When the suspensions hit, you tend to have very little in terms of leeway until the next one could hit - especially if you're over a lot already. So when the first suspension hits, you have maybe 1 gig left.
First suspension you can reactivate yourself effective immediately. 2nd suspension you can reactive yourself effective 24 hours later. 3rd suspension brings you a talk with network/security staff in cogeco.
... so in other words, you're fu*ked until the end of the month if you even get one notification, since you only get 1GB each time. The more and more I read this thread the more and more I want to vomit at the thought of paying this company money.It seems the 2 warnings followed by 3 suspensions is true. When you ask tech support, some of them may not know how the whole thing works though. From what I've gathered, it starts with 2 warnings. When the suspensions hit, you tend to have very little in terms of leeway until the next one could hit - especially if you're over a lot already. So when the first suspension hits, you have maybe 1 gig left.
First suspension you can reactivate yourself effective immediately. 2nd suspension you can reactive yourself effective 24 hours later. 3rd suspension brings you a talk with network/security staff in cogeco.
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alamarco @ 24th Sep 11:48PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Definitely not 1 GB between warnings. My first warning was on the 20th and I've definitely done more than 1 GB (through normal usage) and haven't got a second warning yet.
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vuarra @ 25th Sep 12:05AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Okay, after reading the document available at »www.cogeco.ca/en/res_bandwidth_tips_o.html , I have found that Cogeco are charging 1 CAD per 100 MB. Has *ANYONE* seen any evidence of this on their bill?
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Shamans @ 25th Sep 12:18AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by alamarco :
Definitely not 1 GB between warnings. My first warning was on the 20th and I've definitely done more than 1 GB (through normal usage) and haven't got a second warning yet.
I said between suspensions, not warnings. They said it depends on how much you're over. But if you're over a lot already, then it's more or less 1 GB.Definitely not 1 GB between warnings. My first warning was on the 20th and I've definitely done more than 1 GB (through normal usage) and haven't got a second warning yet.
This is just a heads up to the people who've gotten warnings already so they know what to expect.
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Snickerdo @ 25th Sep 12:30AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Okay, so then my question is how much bandwidth can I use before Cogeco makes the extortion request?
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Shamans @ 25th Sep 12:41AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Snickerdo :
Okay, so then my question is how much bandwidth can I use before Cogeco makes the extortion request?
It's hard to say when you'll get your warnings, but I'll revise my estimates to 120%, 140%, 160% for first warning, 2nd warning, 1st suspension. It might also depend on your package because maybe it does not work on a % basis, or maybe it also depends on your previous history.Okay, so then my question is how much bandwidth can I use before Cogeco makes the extortion request?
It could also change month to month depending on the month's bandwidth conditions.
Since I absolutely have no other ISP serving in my area, I have no choice but to upgrade...I'm just hoping that there's a more reasonable package for residential so that I can atleast keep the residential ".ca" e-mails. I wonder if they care more about users downloading or users uploading.
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vuarra @ 25th Sep 12:48AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Shamans :
It could also change month to month depending on the month's bandwidth conditions.
In other words, we have to guess at what they are doing, and it's possible they don't know what they're doing?It could also change month to month depending on the month's bandwidth conditions.
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Shamans @ 25th Sep 12:49AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by vuarra :
Okay, after reading the document available at »www.cogeco.ca/en/res_bandwidth_tips_o.html , I have found that Cogeco are charging 1 CAD per 100 MB. Has *ANYONE* seen any evidence of this on their bill?
I saw that last week too. I'll call their billing department tomorrow and see if anything's happening with that this month. I'm nearly 40 gigs over and I don't wanna be paying $400.Okay, after reading the document available at »www.cogeco.ca/en/res_bandwidth_tips_o.html , I have found that Cogeco are charging 1 CAD per 100 MB. Has *ANYONE* seen any evidence of this on their bill?
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urbanriot @ 25th Sep 12:54AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Shamans :
It's hard to say when you'll get your warnings, but I'll revise my estimates to 120%, 140%, 160% for first warning, 2nd warning, 1st suspension.
Maybe you haven't been paying attention, but a few of us have already posted hard numbers on warnings and disconnections. Some have received warnings at or just past 100% and I was personally suspended at 130%. It's hard to say when you'll get your warnings, but I'll revise my estimates to 120%, 140%, 160% for first warning, 2nd warning, 1st suspension.
said by Shamans :
I wonder if they care more about users downloading or users uploading.
As has been discussed, and listed on Cogeco's self care web page, it's a combined bandwidth limit. Downloading or uploading is irrelevant. I wonder if they care more about users downloading or users uploading.
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Snickerdo @ 25th Sep 12:56AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by urbanriot :
Maybe you haven't been paying attention, but a few of us have already posted hard numbers on warnings and disconnections. Some have received warnings at or just past 100% and I was personally suspended at 130%.
In other words, first suspension on a standard account at 80GB. Useless.Maybe you haven't been paying attention, but a few of us have already posted hard numbers on warnings and disconnections. Some have received warnings at or just past 100% and I was personally suspended at 130%.
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anon @ 25th Sep 12:57AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Shamans :
I wonder if they care more about users downloading or users uploading.
Since cable is limited to a low number on the upload in a neighbourhood it would really get their panties in a knot if it was done all on the upload versus download. I wonder if they care more about users downloading or users uploading.
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vuarra @ 25th Sep 12:59AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by OneTimeOnePlace :
Since cable is limited to a low number on the upload in a neighbourhood it would really get their panties in a knot if it was done all on the upload versus download.
That's an interesting point of view, since my U/L and D/L numbers are about equal, each around 12 GB or so... but that's also with a wife who thinks that a VoIP telephone should be surgically attached to her ear.Since cable is limited to a low number on the upload in a neighbourhood it would really get their panties in a knot if it was done all on the upload versus download.
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Shamans @ 25th Sep 01:02AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Snickerdo :
I believe urbanriot has the pro, I have the standard. So first suspension was around 95 GB. It's low for me but being able to hit 75 GB might be good enough for some people.said by urbanriot :
Maybe you haven't been paying attention, but a few of us have already posted hard numbers on warnings and disconnections. Some have received warnings at or just past 100% and I was personally suspended at 130%.
In other words, first suspension on a standard account at 80GB. Useless.Maybe you haven't been paying attention, but a few of us have already posted hard numbers on warnings and disconnections. Some have received warnings at or just past 100% and I was personally suspended at 130%.
Also, I almost never upload on p2p. My family just uses a lot of internet (voip, online backups, etc)....and then there's my downloading ;)
We've been with cogeco since the dawn of time (well, not literally)...so maybe they were nicer to us....that and my previous month was at around 135 gigs combined so maybe they took pity at my newfound situation.
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yupislyr @ 25th Sep 01:24AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Luckily, I had already started the process of dumping Cogeco by the time this crap hit the fan but hearing all this now tells me I might have made the right choice, and just in time.
Anyway, I was another one those guys with Cogeco since they were @Home and was overall pleased for a very long time. I was aware of the caps from the beginning, but I never had a problem, and me and everyone else sharing the connection used it as we saw fit and never had a problem, even despite increased bandwidth usage as the years went on. (I was a heavy downloader of bootleg music and DVDs in particular) That all changed up about three years ago though. Despite the fact that my usage had been cut by over 50% (due to less users sharing the connection), just the simple act of moving had us getting bandwidth warnings left and right. But, we had been with the same ISP a long time, and really, I'm reluctant to change, so we adapted to their demands as best we could by cutting down transfers and watching bandwidth. We ended up getting few to no warnings, and the ones we did get were usually on the last few days of the month anyway. Now, despite the fact my monthly bandwidth usage this month is about half what it normally is, we have already received a warning this past weekend. Horrible.
What really pissed me off into switching though is the continued blatant lies and denials on the part of Cogeco and it's staff in regards to bittorrent and bandwidth throttling. I wanted to seed a homemade concert DVD I made via bittorrent for a band message board (with the band's permission might I add, therefore a perfectly legitimate use) and guess what? It didn't work very well. It took all day just to send 100 megs. Today however, I tried it again using my newly activated DSL, and lo and behold, I can suddenly use the full connection I am paying for! What a novel concept.
As for the company shill posts above, I found this part the most amusing...
said by LayZieGirl :
is it really worth going DSL over a rule that you knew you all agreed upon at the beginning and continued to break that law however small or big it was over the months, years and cogeco has not once charged you an additional fee for it
What Cogeco says is law folks. Hah. is it really worth going DSL over a rule that you knew you all agreed upon at the beginning and continued to break that law however small or big it was over the months, years and cogeco has not once charged you an additional fee for it
As for your question, the answer is yes, it is. I've always found your bandwidth rules Draconian from the beginning (wasn't the original rollout bandwidth cap something like 5Gigs combined?), but the very fact that you were extremely lenient in their enforcement was what kept me, and I'm sure many users subscribed to your service.
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anon @ 25th Sep 04:29AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Looks like you guys are gettimg the same shaft we are.
Hopefully they lubed it for you guys.
Here in Kingston Ontario we got zero warning (although the tech was stedfast that we reciieved 3 warnings via email.
We were cut off and got the "A Sup will be contacting you page in the browser(which he never did).
We had to call to the tech telling us we were over our limit and they would reconnect us only if we used no bw(i scratched my head too).
Anyway I was also told if we abused the bw again we would be cut off for 72 hours next time.
Here in Kingston we have very few options Bell wireless(which i can't get because i'm in an apt and not allowed to have a dish(or anything attached to the building)
And Cogeco as far as I know.
Until this hurts Cogeco in the pocketbooks there will be no changes I'm guessing.
I'm calling around to see if theres anyway to get other companies in our area.
Rogers is a no since Cogeco and Rogers are pretty one in the same.
This really eerks me since I know a few people in DC who have FIOS and pay 60 a month for unlimited.
I think i'll be turning in my cogeco stuff next month(after 25+ years of being with the same cable company(even through name changes and such).
Too bad they did not at least inform the consumers of their news policy upfront.
Shame on you Cogeco
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boredguy @ 25th Sep 06:11AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I'm on standard and got my 2nd warning at about 95 gigs. So, no downloading anything for me now, just surfing the web.
--
What would Jesus do for a Klondike bar?
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anon @ 25th Sep 08:01AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
My New Neighbour.
So a few days ago I get a new neighbour. After the usual first few pleasantries he asks what the Internet situation is like on this street. They have three teenagers. If only he'd moved in a couple weeks earlier I would have said "Go COGECO!" No brainer. Guess what I told him instead. It seems timing really is everything. This morning on the way out the door to work he informs me he is going DSL, and thanks for the warning.
I don't dispute COGECO's right to police their network. Their bat. Their ball. Their rules. But changing a long-standing de facto policy in the middle of the month without prior warning is unethical. And listening to some corporate flak hiding behind AUP legalese to justify it about makes my blood boil.
Unfortunately there is a growing trend among ISPs of all stripes to treat customers like crap, or cash machines. There are probably also enough sheeple out there who will sit back and take this so that the genius who thought it up will finally get that key to the executive washroom he's been after.
No, I'm not over the limit myself. No, I haven't received a warning or suspension. But after this stunt I will never recommend COGECO to anyone ever again. Call your broker and sell your COGECO stock. I have seen the future and it's as simple as ABC. Anything But Cable.
See you on the other side.
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anon @ 25th Sep 08:45AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Scrappy, teksavvy.com serves Kingston
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urbanriot @ 25th Sep 10:15AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Snickerdo :
Second throttle at 140%. said by urbanriot :
Maybe you haven't been paying attention, but a few of us have already posted hard numbers on warnings and disconnections. Some have received warnings at or just past 100% and I was personally suspended at 130%.
In other words, first suspension on a standard account at 80GB. Useless.Maybe you haven't been paying attention, but a few of us have already posted hard numbers on warnings and disconnections. Some have received warnings at or just past 100% and I was personally suspended at 130%.
Yes, I have pro and had my first disco at 130 MB. A kindly Cogeco employee reconnected me and now 10 MB later, at 140 MB, I'm throttled again after a few days of standard internet use. I share my "pro" account with my sister, so it's possible with her MySpace use, and my RDP'ing and a little WoW'ing that we went over the limit.
To those thinking this might go away - Cogeco employees are now asking for an Email address to attach to your account, even though they obviously have your Cogeco email address on file. This is so they can ensure that you're receiving your bandwidth warnings on whatever account is your "main" email account.
To their benefit, at least they don't outright disconnect you and do give you enough bandwidth to complain online, or do minimal web browsing and email checking:
Apparently I'm supposed to see a reconnect page and be completely disconnected, but thankfully I don't see that and had a chat with a friendly Cogeco guy who reconnected me.
After your first suspension, upon second suspension you're supposed to have a 24 hour suspension and 1GB to work with for the remainder of the month. Third suspension, 1GB, a 72 hour suspension and a chat with a network security person.
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Trist @ 25th Sep 11:10AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
"In other words, first suspension on a standard account at 80GB."
That's half way to the next level, Pro service. I thought they were suspending people right at just over the 60GB limit for that package but that's pretty generous.
I've seen one person on Pro say they were suspended at 130GB. On Pro, at what percentage or in GB would you recieve a first warning (if anyone actually recieved a first warning)?
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dad_of_3 @ 25th Sep 11:43AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
[BQUOTE=Trist
I've seen one person on Pro say they were suspended at 130GB. On Pro, at what percentage or in GB would you recieve a first warning (if anyone actually recieved a first warning)?
[/BQUOTE
I'm on Pro.I recieved my only warning (which was mistakenly called the 2nd warning) at 127 gigs on tuesday the 18th. I was away last week, the wife clicked on the button that re-enabled our connection. I stopped all downloading and am still surfing normally, playing online games and emailing etc. etc. (I have 3 teenagers at home!!) I now sit at 137 gigs and no new notices....yet.....Perhaps Cogeco has eased things up till the end of the month???
also, my speeds have not been affected, still blazing fast
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Evileye @ 25th Sep 11:56AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I doubt very much that they have eased anything off at all. It sounds like you are practicing the actions that the network security representatives at Cogeco preach when you have bandwidth issues. Continue to surf the net on a casual basis, use email, some online games are probably ok, but do not download. This should help to ensure you remain w/in the 1GB buffer of bandwidth (till the end of the calendar month) that was allotted to you when you were reconnected. Keep that up for a few more days and you will be reset to zero on October first.
Cheers.
--
If necessity is the mother of invention, laziness must be the father.
--
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urbanriot @ 25th Sep 12:21PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Trist :
I've seen one person on Pro say they were suspended at 130GB. On Pro, at what percentage or in GB would you recieve a first warning (if anyone actually recieved a first warning)?
Since 100 GB is the limit, it stands to reason you'd receive your first warning at 100%. This is inline with the date of my first warning.I've seen one person on Pro say they were suspended at 130GB. On Pro, at what percentage or in GB would you recieve a first warning (if anyone actually recieved a first warning)?
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dad_of_3 @ 25th Sep 12:22PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Evileye :
This should help to ensure you remain w/in the 1GB buffer of bandwidth (till the end of the calendar month) that was allotted to you when you were reconnected. Keep that up for a few more days and you will be reset to zero on October first.
Cheers.
Intereting...I just find it odd that I've been able to rack up another 10 gigs since last tues and not receive anymore warningsThis should help to ensure you remain w/in the 1GB buffer of bandwidth (till the end of the calendar month) that was allotted to you when you were reconnected. Keep that up for a few more days and you will be reset to zero on October first.
Cheers.
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urbanriot @ 25th Sep 12:24PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Evileye :
I doubt very much that they have eased anything off at all.
I doubt very much you realize how much bandwidth is consumed by teenager oriented web sites. I doubt very much that they have eased anything off at all.
I've also eased back considerably and used up 10 GB since Friday, as I said a few posts up.
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anon @ 25th Sep 01:25PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I run an online business so the internet is extremely important to me.
I run my phone lines through my internet connection so my whole business relies on Cogeco. This usually isn't a problem until last week.
All of a sudden my internet goes down and I get this message that I went over my bandwidth limit. I got 0 warnings I always check my Cogeco email address.
I beg and plead for them to turn my connection back on, nope they won't (I don't have 911 service nothing they don't care). They say its impossible until I go through my 24 hour ban.
To quote the Cogeco ads I see on TV, I put in 110% into my business, Cogeco left my high and dry.
They basically forced me to pay for a higher service. This is just a money grab from them and its really sad. After over 12 years of having Cogeco I am looking for another service provider.
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anon @ 25th Sep 01:45PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I've been reading this conversation with rapt interest and haven't commented until now. I'm also a father of three and received one of these bandwidth warnings last week. My wife had a freakout and instead of my entire family watching every move we make we've instead opted to switch to Bell high speed internet. I'm home on my day off installing it and so far I'm quite pleased with the level of knowledge of the sales staff, the speeds and my four port router/modem combo unit.
Like Dad_of_3, our three kids are only using the web and email activities, occasionally using iTunes but nobody in this house is committing any illegal acts whatsoever. Further we had the pro account as well and it was suggested to us by a Cogeco rep after we discussed my family's usage scenarios and he stated we would never have to worry about going over any sort of limits.
It is really bothersome to me that some Cogeco employees and other users are insinuating that these limits are reached by illegal acts. Also the attitude of some of the Cogeco phone support folks was somewhat condescending with their insistance that my family was committing illegal acts. This attitude further influenced my decision to switch from Cogeco to Bell.
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Shamans @ 25th Sep 01:59PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I recently switched to the Business Starter Package.
Speeds are a bit slower (7 mbit) but I have some room to breathe. You have to switch e-mail addresses although your old ones will remaine alive for atleast 90 days they tell me. Same with webspace.
No other ISP is available in my area for some reason (I only live 3 to 4 KM away from downtown oakville). Many other areas of oakville have dsl. I was told by teksavvy that there's a house 500 meters away that has dsl.
Oh yeah, I'm on another IP space (used by their business/commercial users).
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neko @ 25th Sep 02:13PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Shamans :
I recently switched to the Business Starter Package.
Speeds are a bit slower (7 mbit) but I have some room to breathe. You have to switch e-mail addresses although your old ones will remaine alive for atleast 90 days they tell me. Same with webspace.
What sort of speeds are you getting on the 7Mbit?I recently switched to the Business Starter Package.
Speeds are a bit slower (7 mbit) but I have some room to breathe. You have to switch e-mail addresses although your old ones will remaine alive for atleast 90 days they tell me. Same with webspace.
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Shamans @ 25th Sep 02:18PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
7 mbit ;P
If I got anything less, I'd be mad bec. I had higher before that.
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anon @ 25th Sep 04:46PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by PaulP :
I beg and plead for them to turn my connection back on, nope they won't (I don't have 911 service nothing they don't care). They say its impossible until I go through my 24 hour ban.
This proves that this new enforced bitcap policy was created over a business lunch meeting. Cogeco will lose customers. But it will take time. This policy is going to piss a lot of people off. Specially the ones with Cogeco Voip. No phone access!!!I beg and plead for them to turn my connection back on, nope they won't (I don't have 911 service nothing they don't care). They say its impossible until I go through my 24 hour ban.
Somebody should get fired for this type of policy without any planning. Just imagine the liability just on the 911 issue.
WOW F-ing Clueless.
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Snickerdo @ 25th Sep 05:03PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
No phone access after a bandwidth ban?! And they claim to offer fixed-service telephone service with E911 support? Is this even allowed under CRTC regulations? What's next, cutting off your TV service due to a bandwidth ban? My god what a clusterfu*k!
I'm actually going to write a letter to the CRTC about this when I get home from work. Something smells extremely fishy about this.
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Trist @ 25th Sep 07:01PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
If you read through this whole mess of a topic again I _think_ you'll see all but one of those who have suffered phone loss are with companies outside Cogeco. I recall only the one who Cogeco gave a hard time to and removed phone service and am pretty sure Krispy took over to remedy that situation. And that she said phone and internet should exist each on it's own.
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anon @ 25th Sep 07:37PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Anyone try »www.acanac.ca/DSL.html ??
Upto 5 MBPS ADSL umlimited DL ..
Looks to be avbl in our area .. $18.95/mnth first year ..
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Snickerdo @ 25th Sep 07:53PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Trist :
I recall only the one who Cogeco gave a hard time to and removed phone service and am pretty sure Krispy took over to remedy that situation. And that she said phone and internet should exist each on it's own.
... and this just further goes to show how poorly executed this whole endeavor has been.I recall only the one who Cogeco gave a hard time to and removed phone service and am pretty sure Krispy took over to remedy that situation. And that she said phone and internet should exist each on it's own.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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Shamans @ 25th Sep 08:41PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by bullwinkle123 :
Anyone try »www.acanac.ca/DSL.html ??
Upto 5 MBPS ADSL umlimited DL ..
Looks to be avbl in our area .. $18.95/mnth first year ..
Their free online pc thing seems very tempting. I didn't know hosting this cheap existed (with canaca.com), much less in Canada.....Anyone try »www.acanac.ca/DSL.html ??
Upto 5 MBPS ADSL umlimited DL ..
Looks to be avbl in our area .. $18.95/mnth first year ..
Sounds like a fluke.................If you read the reviews for canaca (their parent company), their web hosting is very very very very bad.
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anon @ 26th Sep 03:37AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
heh heh heh you guys think you're freaking now? wait till you see the overcharges on your bill for having gone over the limit
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twizlar @ 26th Sep 09:41AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Switching to bell wont solve much as they have caps and overage charges now as well.
--
AMD Athlon64 4000+ @ 2723mhz - mountaincable.net wireless Intarweb |
Ipods SUCK
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dad_of_3 @ 26th Sep 10:13AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Krispy :
As for the changes, basically we're enforcing based on combined bitcaps now. We're still being generous with the bitcaps and we're still not charging money for overages but it's tighter than before and if you're transferring tons of traffic you should probably move to a more appropriate package
As for the changes, basically we're enforcing based on combined bitcaps now. We're still being generous with the bitcaps and we're still not charging money for overages but it's tighter than before and if you're transferring tons of traffic you should probably move to a more appropriate package
said by scaredyman4 :
heh heh heh you guys think you're freaking now? wait till you see the overcharges on your bill for having gone over the limit
Hmmm......beleive an anon poster or someone that knows what's actually going on..(Troll, methinks)heh heh heh you guys think you're freaking now? wait till you see the overcharges on your bill for having gone over the limit
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anon @ 26th Sep 10:40AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I don't see him as a troll, just someone trying to warn us about possible scenarios the future. Cogeco surprised us by suddenly enforcing something in the AUP once already, what's to stop them from enforcing overage charges in the future? Nothing.
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ancodia @ 26th Sep 10:46AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by dad_of_3 :
they have the right to charge. This is from their AUP (which, btw, was updated in July 2007 without any notice to any of their customers). Now, given how they changed the AUP without telling anyone, began enforcing the policy without telling anybody, do you think they are going to tell you that they are starting to charge for going over 60 gig? People are thinking they are safe because Cogeco lets you go over the cap by 33% before getting cut, but it's only a matter of time before they start charging you for that privilage.said by Krispy :
As for the changes, basically we're enforcing based on combined bitcaps now. We're still being generous with the bitcaps and we're still not charging money for overages but it's tighter than before and if you're transferring tons of traffic you should probably move to a more appropriate package
As for the changes, basically we're enforcing based on combined bitcaps now. We're still being generous with the bitcaps and we're still not charging money for overages but it's tighter than before and if you're transferring tons of traffic you should probably move to a more appropriate package
said by scaredyman4 :
heh heh heh you guys think you're freaking now? wait till you see the overcharges on your bill for having gone over the limit
Hmmm......beleive an anon poster or someone that knows what's actually going on..(Troll, methinks)heh heh heh you guys think you're freaking now? wait till you see the overcharges on your bill for having gone over the limit
USING THE NUMBERS FROM THE COGECO AUP, they reserve the right to charge you $10 per gig over 60 gig. So that 33% over 60 would equal $200. They could charge you AT ANYTIME and hide behind the AUP. Even Bell caps their overcharge at $25 and people think that is too much!
Their AUP also protects them in the event they cut your service and your 3rd party VOIP service doesn't work. Can't call 911? Not Cogeco's problem, you downloaded too much!
People need to realize what type of company they are supporting by continuing to use Cogeco. Is this the type of Internet service you want? is this the type of business model you want to support?
---------------
COGECO, in its sole discretion, may, at any time and without prior notice, take any actions deemed
appropriate if the Customer exceeds the prescribed bandwidth limitations set out in Schedule A or to
preserve the integrity of its network. Such actions include, but are not limited to, the imposition of the
additional charge mentioned in the attached Schedule A, temporary or permanent removal of content,
cancellation of newsgroup posts, discontinuing access to any Usenet newsgroup, filtering of Internet
transmissions, and the immediate suspension, discontinuance, limitation or termination of the Services.
COGECO will not incur any liability for any such responsive actions.
--------------
Schedule 'A'
BANDWIDTH LIMITATIONS RESIDENTIAL BUSINESS
There are Gigabytes combined upload / download limits:
Upload is traffic from the Customer’s PC to the Internet, such
as uploading files to a remote FTP site or web site.
Download is traffic from the Internet to the Customer’s
computer, such as downloading files from a remote FTP site or
web site.
COGECO monitors the amount of traffic to and from all
modems to identify usage above the bandwidth limitations. If
the Customer exceeds this limit, the Customer may be charged
up to an additional $1.00 per 100 Megabytes for both upstream
and/or downstream traffic.
For Tips on how to reduce unnecessary bandwidth usage,
please go to:
»www.cogeco.ca/en/res_bandwidth_tips_o.html
Lite Package: 10 Gigabytes
Standard Package:
60 Gigabytes
Pro Package: 100
Gigabytes
Business Starter:
120 Gigabytes
SOHO: 200 Gigabytes
Enterprise: Unlimited
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anon @ 26th Sep 10:47AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
>>Switching to bell wont solve much as they have caps and overage charges now as well.
For a lot folks, there are solutions other than Sympatico. :-) Teksavvy and others have been discussed in this thread.
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urbanriot @ 26th Sep 10:49AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by twizlar :
Switching to bell wont solve much as they have caps and overage charges now as well.
Someone mentioned previously that if you pay a set fee for going over, you now have the ability to go 'unlimited'. Switching to bell wont solve much as they have caps and overage charges now as well.
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dad_of_3 @ 26th Sep 11:18AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by ancodia :
do you think they are going to tell you that they are starting to charge for going over 60 gig?
I guess I'm just a "the glass is half full kinda guy". I was just as miffed with the recent enforcement as anyone else, more so with the non-notice aspect. Life goes on, I'm not going to give up the speeds I get with cogeco, just so I can "show them whose boss" and switch to an ISP that can't touch their speeds (tecksavvy 7 mbits max??, or Bell..arghh,gag!!Don't get me started on Bell). That being said, Ancodia does have a valid point, they can charge for overages, they can do a lot more as well if they choose to. The AUP is very broad and covers other subjects such as copyrighted material, etc..anyway, if they do charge, you are right we will all be freaking out a lot worse for sure..I personally doubt they will...my 2 cents..do you think they are going to tell you that they are starting to charge for going over 60 gig?
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anon @ 26th Sep 11:39AM:
I'll never leave now!
On Monday I went home for lunch to find that in my mail there was a small package from Cogeco.
I excitedly tore it open to find a keychain remote control that works on a TV and cable box, with buttons for volume up and down, channel up and down, mute, and setup.
I pay $225 a month to Cogeco for TV and Internet. My non-HD box is experiencing video drops on half the channels (probably have to swap it). My Internet was suspended with basically no warning and apparently they're now enforcing their bitcaps.
But I got a keychain universal remote worth about $5.
Thanks, Cogeco. Way to reward customer loyalty.
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Shamans @ 26th Sep 01:21PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by scaredyman4 :
heh heh heh you guys think you're freaking now? wait till you see the overcharges on your bill for having gone over the limit
I called last night to ask. They said that their current enforcement policy currently is to warn + suspend and not to bill for extra usage.heh heh heh you guys think you're freaking now? wait till you see the overcharges on your bill for having gone over the limit
If they decide to bill for extra usage in the future, they better have a pre-notification well ahead of time.
They should also ideally e-mail all main accounts whenever the AUP changes (and perhaps all secondary accounts too).
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Snickerdo @ 26th Sep 01:28PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I remember Krispy mentioned a while ago that if they do start to charge there would be a lot of warning beforehand. While I would like to believe her, this whole situation certainly won't make me hold my breath on that, not that it would be her fault or anything.
I have no problem with billing for overages, and would in fact prefer it over suspensions, so long as they do what Bell does and cap the maximum amount that can be billed. $30 as a maximum is a fair price for piece of mind, and far better than suddenly finding yourself without an Internet connection till the end of the month.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
reply
anon @ 26th Sep 01:57PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I'm okay with being charged for overages too, as long as I know it's going to happen beforehand.
That being said, $1.00 per 100 MB is a little much. $10/GB is simply outrageous, when most Internet providers are charging no more than a couple bucks per GB for overages.
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anon @ 26th Sep 01:58PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Well what really pisses me off about the whole thing to is they have no problem getting their Cogeco promotions email to us.
But I got NO WARNING EMAILS as they stated.
The page popped up and said that I had recieved 3 warnings through email.Which is a lie as I check all the time.
ALSo said the sup would be calling which they never did?
So if they can manage top get the prom emails to me each month why lie about the warnings?
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SuperCM @ 26th Sep 02:00PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by gobisbay :
That being said, $1.00 per 100 MB is a little much. $10/GB is simply outrageous, when most Internet providers are charging no more than a couple bucks per GB for overages.
Here's an excerpt for Rogers Extreme Plus:That being said, $1.00 per 100 MB is a little much. $10/GB is simply outrageous, when most Internet providers are charging no more than a couple bucks per GB for overages.
Speed
Enjoy our new fastest residential service available. Speeds of up to 18 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload. Speed for individual customers will vary due to several factors including computer processors, hardware and networking equipment, operating systems and other software, congestion on the internet, website traffic and other factors.
Price
$99.95 Monthly Service Fee (plus $3.00/mth modem rental or $99.95 modem purchase plus taxes)*. Save up to 15% when you bundle with Rogers Better Choice Bundles. A 90GB monthly capacity applies to Extreme Plus. The service will include a $1.25 per-gigabyte charge once monthly capacity is exceeded, up to a maximum of $200.00.
...ouch, $200. Wait, does Cogeco even have a maximum limit?
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Shamans @ 26th Sep 02:02PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by gobisbay :
I'm okay with being charged for overages too, as long as I know it's going to happen beforehand.
That being said, $1.00 per 100 MB is a little much. $10/GB is simply outrageous, when most Internet providers are charging no more than a couple bucks per GB for overages.
I disagree, charging for overusage is a bad idea. It doesn't do anything for the customer except makes it more expensive (in support costs). Fixed plans can eliminate many bandwidth disputes as well as help ISPs with bandwidth management. If cogeco has a cap for overcharging, it will probably be an expensive cap, not a cheap one - considering how sensitive they are to bandwidth usage currently.I'm okay with being charged for overages too, as long as I know it's going to happen beforehand.
That being said, $1.00 per 100 MB is a little much. $10/GB is simply outrageous, when most Internet providers are charging no more than a couple bucks per GB for overages.
said by Scrappy2 :
Well what really pisses me off about the whole thing to is they have no problem getting their Cogeco promotions email to us.
But I got NO WARNING EMAILS as they stated.
The page popped up and said that I had recieved 3 warnings through email.Which is a lie as I check all the time.
ALSo said the sup would be calling which they never did?
So if they can manage top get the prom emails to me each month why lie about the warnings?
Check your junk mail, maybe it's there lol.Well what really pisses me off about the whole thing to is they have no problem getting their Cogeco promotions email to us.
But I got NO WARNING EMAILS as they stated.
The page popped up and said that I had recieved 3 warnings through email.Which is a lie as I check all the time.
ALSo said the sup would be calling which they never did?
So if they can manage top get the prom emails to me each month why lie about the warnings?
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Asawulf @ 26th Sep 02:11PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by SuperCM...ouch, $200. Wait, does Cogeco even have a maximum limit? [/BQUOTE :
Cogeco isn't charging anything... So hard to say...
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Shamans @ 26th Sep 02:11PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Cogeco isn't charging anything... So hard to say...
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Shamans @ 26th Sep 02:11PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Asawulf :
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anon @ 26th Sep 02:15PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
All these people posting that your work and non-Cogeco VOIP is too precious to lose for even a day, what would you choose?
Personally, while I said I'd take reasonable overage charges, it probably would make financial sense for me to switch to an unlimited DSL provider if that actually happened. I never said I wouldn't cancel Cogeco, I just said I could handle the overages if they were reasonable.
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Shamans @ 26th Sep 02:20PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
And yes, I use non-Cogeco VOIP as the home phone.
Their warning/suspend policy is far better than a $10/gig policy (It's not a strict cutoff btw...you just can't download anything, you can still browse, e-mail, voip, and game). And while I would like the option to switch to some DSL provider, I don't have that luxury. If I could, I'd be trying TekSavvy now.
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ancodia @ 26th Sep 02:38PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Shalimar @ 26th Sep 02:45PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Q., If a Cogeco acct is put on "vacation hold" what is actually deactivated? I can't see them actually physically disconnecting the connection (too labor intensive). They just "turn off" the cable modem and/or cable tv box?
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Snickerdo @ 26th Sep 02:46PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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ancodia @ 26th Sep 02:48PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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anon @ 26th Sep 03:33PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Well all Cogeco managed to do was get me to get rid of my cable internet service, hd cable box and my digital phone.
And basically not recommened Cogeco to anyone that asks.
Good job indeed.
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Snickerdo @ 26th Sep 04:59PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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ancodia @ 26th Sep 05:11PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
interesting.
According to this terms of conditions for residential services here :
»www.cogeco.ca/en/terms_and_condi···s_o.html
"16. COGECO may propose to change, modify, add or remove any provision of this Agreement (including the Acceptable Use Policy referred to below, if applicable) at intervals of at least 30 days. Such changes may include, without limitation, modifications, additions to or removals from the Services, their features and charges, or the terms and conditions upon which COGECO distributes and the Customer receives the Services. COGECO will provide written notice to the Customer at least 30 days but not more than 90 days before the effective date of change, modification, addition or removal, which notice may be sent via e-mail, mail or any other means of providing written notice."
The AUP Krispy pointed us all to says it was modified in July 2007. Did anyone get a notice? Does anybody know what they changed? Appears they are changing things and not telling anyone. By doing that, in my opinion, and IANAL, they are breaking one of the conditions of the contract. So doesnt that void the contract and the AUP we all agreed to when we signed up??
edit :
forget it, they covered themselves here :
"22. The failure of COGECO to enforce this Agreement, for whatever reason, shall not be construed as a waiver of any right to do so at any time. The Customer agrees that if any portion of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect."
Why even have a lengthy contract, they just need to have :
1. We, Cogeco, can do whatever we want.
But it does show they are changing the contracts and knowingly not telling the customer, since their own contract states they are supposed to notify us all of all changes.
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diskdocx @ 26th Sep 05:18PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Now you're starting to get it :P
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ancodia @ 26th Sep 05:25PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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okoolo @ 26th Sep 05:25PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
do they reset usage counters on the 1st ..
About a week ago I switched to a business starter .. does my counter reset too?
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anon @ 26th Sep 05:26PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Cogeco Canada's version of US'S Comcast
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anon @ 26th Sep 05:29PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
" 1) Cogeco can do whatever they want and 2) I need to give 30 day notice to cancel my service"
1/Yup they are too big (they think) now.
2/Tell them you sent them three emails
kindda like how they sent me three warnings that never arrived(I checked my junk mail too).
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anon @ 26th Sep 05:54PM:
msg deleted
deleted by a moderator
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Shamans @ 26th Sep 06:10PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
and as far as i know, it resets immediately when you switched from a residential to business plan (or vice versa). I don't know if switching between residential plans or between business plans will get it reset.
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hse @ 26th Sep 06:20PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Great, now I get 2 warnings with Selfcare showing 90GB down and 5 up (although I know I used more than that).
This is simply pathetic. I do almost all downloading at night, after 10 or 11. So not only is it offpeak, I also do not upload much.
I don't understand what was wrong with the previous policy. Clearly the network is built for downloading and not uploading, so why not just go after excessive uploaders?
I've been with Cogeco for 18 months now, and to go back to 1-1.5mbit with Bell would be simply horrid, but I'm not sure what I can do.
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Shalimar @ 26th Sep 06:31PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
You can get 5mbit from teksavvy which is much better than symcraptico IMO. I'd never ever go back to Bell in my lifetime.. as for options though cogeco has really f'd the dog on this one.. 5mbit is slower.. but it is unlimited and it's cheaper as well so with the savings I can add a premium news server into the mix.. and just let it DL in the background.
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hse @ 26th Sep 06:36PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Sure, but the problem is that the lines in the area (or at least at my house) are not great, so I'm on interleave.
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ancodia @ 26th Sep 06:46PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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anon @ 26th Sep 07:40PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Mattei wheres this ?
reply to nydwarf1
I feel bad for the cogeco techs that are on the forum.
I mean I know it wasen't their idea to enforce the cap.
And kindda hard for them to respond to questions on here to since I doubt they were in the know either until the day they were told to enforce the cap.
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neko @ 26th Sep 08:24PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
.
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hse @ 26th Sep 08:48PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
One thing I'm noticing is that it seems almost as if they are throttling based on website. Currently I have received two warnings this month.
I transfer a lot of my monthly transfer to and from my personal server.
On the IP that the most of the protocols (HTTP, FTP) run on, I get pings of about 150 at peak hours.
On any of the other IPs which I don't transfer much data to, nor access much, the ping times are a normal 50-60!
I have pinged both simultaneously and to have one IP showing 150 and the other 60, while both on the same physical box is a bit disconcerting.
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anon @ 26th Sep 09:53PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
"it resets on the 1st whether residential or business"
Are you sure it's reset on the first and not on your billing date (one I'm looking at ends on the 3rd and begins on the 4th)?
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trodge @ 26th Sep 09:53PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Waaay back in May there was a discussion about us getting upgrades to our service.
I just heard that we, Pro , will be going to 32Mbps down by September and Standard will be 20Mbps. I hope this is true.
This was a quote that started that discussion. What are the chances that is still going to happen? Especially since the caps have now been enforced. And if they do upgrade us that high, they will have to seriously revisit the cap limits. Can anyone comment on this potential upgrade? Thanks.
I don't like how the roll out was done of the cap, but I can't say I disagree with it. I've had a good ride for a long time. I am a heeeeaavy downloader, I'll just have to watch what I'm downloading from now on. I'm surprised I was able to get as much as I have been getting for this long.
A couple of questions I have about the cap now.
1) Are they going to look back at our histories and try and bill us on those? I have a few months that are damn high. Like over 250 gig.
2) When do the warnings reset? Or do they go on forever? Lets say in Jan 07 I get a warning, August 07 I get another. Then let's say in April 08 I get another. Will my service then be cut? Or do you get reset back to 0 at the end of the year?
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neko @ 26th Sep 10:50PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Shamans @ 26th Sep 11:28PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
@ trodge, your questions have been answered already if you read previous posts.
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urbanriot @ 27th Sep 02:38AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Unless Cogeco arbitrarily or randomly changed their policy. :p
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anon @ 27th Sep 11:55AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I just got slammed this morning for abuse. 5 gigs uploaded, 90 gigs downloaded. I am pissed. The only downloading I do is off usenet, and my counter shows that I have only downloaded 60gb this month. thats a 30gb discrepancy! Systems back online now but does anyone know what the new bandwidth cap is until the end of the month? And what about pro, has anyone been slammed for going over on pro?
Cheers
SLOWWWWGECO
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exseven @ 27th Sep 12:39PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
it resets on the 1st
and slowgeco? you DL 90 gigs in a month a call it slow?
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urbanriot @ 27th Sep 12:42PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Probably just an anonymous troll, stirring up the pot a little, which is unfortunate because it detracts from the credence of those of us that are registered users contributing criticism.
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anon @ 27th Sep 04:56PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Just because someone didn't read all 14 pages of this post does not mean they are a troll. I find it amusing how often you people say others are trolls when you might possibly be one yourself. I switched to Cogeco recently from Sympatico at home and find the speed great.
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thez0r @ 27th Sep 05:29PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
All the idiots upgrading to pro enstead of switching ISPs are giving Cogeco a financial incentive to degrade the current services, not expand it.
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Shalimar @ 27th Sep 05:44PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Frozty2k @ 27th Sep 05:56PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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mattei @ 27th Sep 06:05PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I was curious about the type of response my post would generate. The result was unexpected but not surprising. The source of this and other super-top-secret, eyes only information is available to all registered members at the top of most DSLR site pages.
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anon @ 27th Sep 06:51PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
This is a quote from a totally different topic on Slashdot. But I do find it fits very well in regards to company arrogance towards their customers.
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thez0r @ 27th Sep 07:53PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Anyway, upgrading to "pro" gives Cogeco a monetary reason to do what they are doing. If they can replace every customer that leaves with a customer paying double for what they were already getting then they are financially ahead of the game.
I got my first high speed connection from Bell in 1998. Four years later in '02 they tried a cap at 5GB and charging $7GB per 1 GB overage with no limit. They lost big time and they have never recovered their subscribers, even to this day. Did their cap policy change? It sure as hell did.
How will Cogeco's cap policy change if everyone decides its a good idea to start paying them double for the same service?
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ancodia @ 27th Sep 09:47PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
edit : one of the owners on Teksavvy was talking about bandwidth costs and stated : "...Cogent that it costs us $10 per 300GB". Food for thought. They are nowhere near the size of Cogeco, so imagine what Cogeco gets their bandwidth for. really puts the true cost of the 60 gig cap into perspective.
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Shamans @ 27th Sep 11:53PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
yeah, bandwidth doesn't cost that much and I have no idea wtf cogeco is doing. I sure hope that they put that money into actually increasing bandwidth caps.
If anyone needs to do a lot of uploading, renting a virtual server/ server is always a good option.
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Frozty2k @ 27th Sep 11:56PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Still, any way you put it, with the bulk deal cogeco could get I'm sure the can get a deal at least as good as that if not better.
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anon @ 28th Sep 12:43AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
So about $20 for 300 GB month or per 1 Mb purchase per month on the premium.
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ancodia @ 28th Sep 07:53AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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anon @ 28th Sep 10:16AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I guess I'm going to have to watch what I download and hope that Cogeco will offer a similar service to their standard business package which gives 120Gb at 7mb's and only costs $55 on a one year contract. For those of you who switched to the standard Business Package what has it been like are the speeds ok nad DID YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOU EMAIL ADDRESS?
I'm hoping (ya I know more like dreaming) that they will offer a residential package of 130Gb for around the price of $59 or $55 with one of there package deals.
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neko @ 28th Sep 03:12PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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anon @ 28th Sep 03:58PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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anon @ 28th Sep 06:50PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I received my first notice / cut-off today. Well, it was my "third" notice. Apparently the first 2 went to my Cogeco email which I haven't used since day one (7 or 8 years ago).
I got into my email after calling them and getting my login/pword (after having to provide driver's license #) and saw the 2 emails waiting there.
I was on their 10mbps / 60GB cap, and was at about 97GB when I was shut down (sent to a redirect page).
I was told I'd have only 1GB to use until the end of the month when the bandwidth was reset.
I decided to go with the 16mbps/100GB per month at $64 bucks a month (an extra $22 from what I was paying).
Why they do this to p1ss off a few high usage users when their network is still FLYING along, I have no idea. I could see if it was to the point where there was so much extra usage that it was slowing things down, but I often get over 1100kb/sec when downloading.
I agree it's their right to do whatever they want with their own network, and run it any way they see fit. But why not just keep EVERYONE happy if the few high-usage people aren't having any negative effect? GRrrr.
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anon @ 28th Sep 06:55PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
NYDWARF1 :
That's exactly it, it's a money grab. LIke I said previously, the few high-usage people aren't degrading the network at all.
But wow.. you actually got Cogeco's phone service!? Ouch. I wouldn't touch it with a 10 mile pole. Not with how many problems we have with net/TV service.
But DOOUBLE WOW.. going over your internet usage causes your PHONE to be shut down too!? That is just absolutely incredible. The 2 should be separate services.
What's next with Cogeco? Counting talk-time towards your monthly bandwidth allowance?
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plutoz @ 29th Sep 12:01AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
My connection got cut off earlier this evening. 85GB down this month - I'd guess at least half of which came from Cogeco's own Usenet servers!
Not to mention I had my Usenet client set to throttle at 200KB/sec (1/5 of my full d/l speed) for the entire month.
I signed up with TekSavvy earlier this afternoon after receiving the 2nd bandwidth warning. Screw Cogeco, I don't need this hassle. I'll take slower speed anyday over this BS.
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anon @ 29th Sep 12:06AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
re: Upload limits
Well Cogeco doesn't say anything about upload limits being different from download limits. They're COMBINED limits from everything I've read.
So If you've uploaded 58gigs and downloaded 1 gig, you're still under your 60gb cap.
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boredguy @ 29th Sep 05:55AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Well as soon as i hit 95 gigs the internet went to crap and everything is super slow. No redirect screen telling me to call customer service though. Called customer service anyways and apparently i have to call network security and they're only there for limited hours.
--
What would Jesus do for a Klondike bar?
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anon @ 29th Sep 09:57AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
After thinking about this and trying to decide if I should go to the standard Business for $55 which is $12 more than the $42.95 I pay now I decided that I'm not going to give in to Cogeco's blatant extortion tactics.
If you stop to think about this any of Cogeco's HD customers are reaching 66Gb's worth of content in just over 8 hours or TV viewing. I bet your wondering how I got this number right? Well a High Def PVR will how approximately 20Hrs worth of HD contect on a 160Gb Hard drive, so if you break that down you end up with 8Gb=1Hr so 8Gb x 8Hrs = 64Gb of HD content. Now the really big kicker to this is what do these HD customers acutally pay well I don't want to take the time to do this math but considering HD is about $20 bucks more than regular Analogue as long as you have purchased the HD box then these customers are getting GB's worth of content for just Pennies a day, and we are being asked to pay around $45 dollars for just 66Gb's worth of content.
The long and the short of this is I guess I better see if there is a better alternative where I live and find out what they have to offer.
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ancodia @ 29th Sep 10:16AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
»www.canadianisp.com/
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Ignite @ 29th Sep 10:17AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Lovely maths but there is the minor issue that the HD content is broadcast, not unicast (google it) so it costs Cogeco the same whether an HD customer watches a channel or not, while to service your internet needs requires bandwidth dedicated to you rather than bandwidth broadcast to the entire node regardless of use.
Just as you don't get charged extra for watching more SD TV the same goes for HD, apart from Video On Demand and even then that uses frequencies dedicated to it so cost of servicing VoD requests remains constant.
I believe the acronym is RTFM.
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hse @ 29th Sep 04:59PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Just got myself the 24 hour ban.
Since I got the warnings I had made sure I didn't download anything, just regular internet surfing, yet I still get cut off a few days later. How fair.
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Scrappy2 @ 29th Sep 06:38PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
i'm excited to see how October plays out as it'll be the first full month of these BS caps.
The basic feeling I get from Cogeco is if you don't like it too bad what are you going to do?
Which is true either people will have to continue to pay a company that could care less about customers more about the bottom line.
Or move on to a different company.
Either way these caps are here to stay at least for the forseeable future.
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anon @ 29th Sep 06:41PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I think right about now and until Oct. 1 Cogeco will notice that their peak bandwidth use is up. I know I checked my bandwidth and I am now running it off. This could cost them more than no bitcap. If they are billed on the percentile like all other ISPs it is possible that the peak could occur right now. This will truly defeat the purpose of the bitcap. Could also congest the local nodes. But I am receiving my full 16 Mb no problem.
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Last Parade @ 29th Sep 08:59PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
i dunno, i've only used 10% of my bandwidth this month. you guys are pretty hardcore.
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anon @ 29th Sep 09:12PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I enjoy online video. Thanks to the caps, I can't download and watch Diggnation, iFanboy, TekZilla, NoobToob or GigaOm until next week. And no, I'm not making this up. These are all great iptv shows.
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Scrappy2 @ 29th Sep 10:02PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
reply to Pepsi
I don't know i've only used 10% of my bandwidth this month. you guys are pretty hardcore
what do you use your bandwidth on ?
Do you play online games?. do you use newsgroups, download music?.
60 gigabytes really is way below HARDCORE. There are people downloading 300 400 gigabytes a month.That is what I would consider hardcore.
Of course none of these people downloading 300 400 gigabytes a month are on Cogeco.
Better teacher?
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Last Parade @ 30th Sep 12:27AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
yes, but I also enjoy the English language
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Scrappy2 @ 30th Sep 02:00AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Seems like ever since I was told not to use my Bandwidth , my digital cable tv has been pretty crummy(meaning not good).
Anyone else having this problem now too ?
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urbanriot @ 30th Sep 03:42AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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urbanriot @ 30th Sep 03:45AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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anon @ 30th Sep 10:46AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Did we ever get an email address or snail mail address that we could write to and state our thoughts on this bitcap matter?
If Krispy is still around I would love to know who I could contact and if you have a phone number that would be even better.
Thank You
Dave
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neko @ 30th Sep 12:23PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I am cutting it really close; I am on 99% & have 170Mb left for the rest of today. The cap resets tomorrow anyway, so it looks like I have made it through this month :)
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ancodia @ 30th Sep 12:38PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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neko @ 30th Sep 12:49PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
It wouldn't surprise me, though, that they do contact me forcing me to upgrade to a more expensive package just because I am getting close to 100% every month, but as long as I am technically staying under the cap they shouldn't be able to touch me.
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anon @ 30th Sep 12:56PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Hi
Not really responding to your post in particular but just wanted to give you some food for thought. I first started service with cogeco in 1995. At that time it was like coming out of the dark ages,from a dial up connect. I am a fairly heavy bandwidth user and have the same concerns that you do with these caps being enforced. I just wonder, that when bell and other DSL providers learn that cogeco is starting to enforce their bandwidth limits, that their bean counters decide to do the same thing. I switched to bell a few years ago and just didn't like their speeds.
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anon @ 30th Sep 01:06PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Hi reno,
There are other providers besides Bell. Teksavvy (the one I'm looking to switch to) being one off the top of my head. You can also take a look at listings at www.canadianisp.com
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ancodia @ 30th Sep 01:58PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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urbanriot @ 30th Sep 02:29PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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anon @ 30th Sep 03:25PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I had the standard package and got a few warnings that I was reaching my bandwith cap , so I upgraded to the pro package. I've never had another warning , but I don't think I ever exceeded my cap. A service techie told me that a small charge could be enforced if I was to ignore a warning and continue consuming bandwidth after the warning. :)
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anon @ 30th Sep 03:47PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
>>A service techie told me that a small charge could be enforced if I was to ignore a warning and continue consuming bandwidth after the warning.
Boiling frog.
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anon @ 30th Sep 05:59PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I certainly hope that when 12:00am rolls around later this evening that my counter resets to zero and I can download again because the last thing I want to do is have to upgrade to a different package.
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anon @ 30th Sep 06:22PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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neko @ 30th Sep 06:24PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Frozty2k @ 30th Sep 06:34PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
On another note, for people who say how it's easy to cut back or not use so much. In the last week the largest thing I downloaded was like 6MB. Everything else has been just web traffic and I think someone was on youtube for a bit. Over that time selfcare say's I've used about 2gig download. Seems like an awful lot, I'm putting in a new firewall/linux box where I will be able to keep iron clad logs on usage for every computer and I will be able to see what's what for next month ;)
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Shamans @ 30th Sep 06:43PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
It's reset on the 1st of every month so far on selfcare, no reason why it wouldn't in 5 hours ;)
But the constricting limits people are experiencing this month is still gonna happen next month too heh - unless you've upgraded your package or switched to another isp.
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neko @ 30th Sep 06:43PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Frozty2k @ 30th Sep 07:21PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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urbanriot @ 30th Sep 08:43PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Like you guys, also patiently waiting for the 1st so I can start doing some work from home (need some distro ISO's and drivers).
For command line, bmon is simple to view and easy to use.
I use mrtg for some of my bsd boxes, but you might also want to check out nagois. I'd be interested if anyone has any other *nix based bandwidth monitors that generate HTML reports. (netstat + perl doesn't count).
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Trist @ 30th Sep 08:49PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
There is a Windows based programme that claims to (among other things) monitor internet usage by day and month and to warn at a user set MB/GB usage target. Name is "Bandwidth Monitor". At www.bwmonitor.com .. has a 30 day trial. Seen it on usenet too if that's easier for you.
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Frozty2k @ 30th Sep 09:05PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Someone suggested this software as having a lot of display options »www.plixer.com/products/free-netflow.php (free version) It's made to take Cisco NetFlow data, but you can use pfflowd which converts OpenBSD PF status messages to the NetFlow datagrams.
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Snickerdo @ 30th Sep 11:43PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
So they crack down on bitcaps, and I can't even download from usenet at a full 10Mbit/s, seem to be stuck at 3 for the last three days yet still seem to be pulling 10 from everywhere else? What a bunch of crap this is.
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Shamans @ 1st Oct 12:27AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
try multiple connections...if you haven't yet (and if your software allows it)
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 12:30AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Scrappy2 @ 1st Oct 12:31AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I'm going to use my 60 gigabytes limit and dump my shitty cogeco.
The stupid selfcare page says my estimated overage usage for October will be 11+ terabytes.
Seems the numbers all screwed up because didn't even get close to 300 gigabytes last month downloaded since half the month I was only allowed to use my bandwidth on was my email and web browsing(which I only browsed this page(half the time I even had the computer off).
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Shamans @ 1st Oct 12:47AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
380 gigs... on standard, dude that's wicked ;)
my counter just reset btw.
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PegLeg @ 1st Oct 12:58AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
If you think the bit-cap screwup was bad , wait until they start this - »AT&T Censors Customers' Negative Opinions?
Unannounced and retroactive , of course ! lol
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 01:04AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I'm in the process of arranging to have DSL installed at my new address to test line conditions. Bell's database says the address is only good for 1.5, but they also said that my downtown address was only good for 2 when it was good for 8. I want to be rid of this hellhole of an ISP ASAP.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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anon @ 1st Oct 01:25AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I will not be punished like this month after month. I am also going to use this months bandwidth and then switch to a honest and technical ISP. Techsavvy fits the bill.
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 02:52AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I stand corrected, they don't seem to be throttling the Usenet protocol (thank god!) but whatever routing from Peer1 to AT&T they're using absolutely sucks balls.
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anon @ 1st Oct 03:20AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
You didn't get the memo Usenet throttling starts this month oh also Cogeco gets your first born child after your last warning.
Joking
But I'm sure throttling Newsgroups is coming(although maybe not. They want as many people to go over the limit so they can pressure you into a more $ package.
I really would have gladly paid more money for unlimited through Cogeco but since they don't offer this.
I can't
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anon @ 1st Oct 06:52AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I don't know much about this, but it's October now and I'm still getting a 6kB/s bitcap with P2P downloads. My bandwidth was never great before, but this is getting annoying.
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anon @ 1st Oct 10:20AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I am a new Cogeco customer got 3 months free and currently in my second month. I am cancelling as well, never really came close to going over 60gb before for bandwidth however this kind of has me scared as if I did go up that high for some reason I would be cut off from the net and I need the internet, if I did not need it why would I even have it. DSL is not that bad in my area as I had that prior to getting Cogeco and I was doing speedtests as 5200kb down and 680 up. Cogeco, what were you thinking?
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urbanriot @ 1st Oct 11:39AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 11:57AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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Trist @ 1st Oct 11:58AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I understand what you mean. I've been with Cogeco's internet service through at least 3-names that I recall for years. Looking at the past two months I don't go over the cap (100Gig/Pro) but this morning for the first time ever I'm thinking to myself do I really need to load that web page? I'm checking how much data loads from a page here in the forums. I'm wondering about page reloads. No enjoyment in that (and I haven't even considered a real file transfer or web activity yet).
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urbanriot @ 1st Oct 12:01PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Just called in again, talked to a supervisor and they confirmed that high speed DSL is not available in my area, nor is it anywhere near my area, nor is Bell's wimax service available. So it looks as though I'm with Cogeco for the long haul...
I think I'm going to drop down to the lite service and just RDP into the office (where I don't have any silly bitcaps) and download to my heart's content, then ferry data every few days with an external hard drive. That's what I used to do in the days of olde, back when I was on dial up.
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dan991199 @ 1st Oct 01:30PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Ugh, I'm a little late getting in here, but i would also like to state my frustration with Cogeco. after being a customer of the internet service for 8 years i will no longer being utilizing their services. I move in a little less than a month, and i will be either making the switch to Teksavvy or to Sympatico 16Mbit service. i will also no longer be utilizing cogeco's Tv service as the only reason i had it was because i also used their internet service. I really hope cogeco realizes what they have done, and the amount of customers they have pissed off and corrects things for those who don't have the option to switch.
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Airwolf @ 1st Oct 02:01PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Cogeco corrected things and I do have the option to switch.
I have had DSL before, it sucked big time for my area. Bell told me that they would upgrade the area in 2 years. No Hell in chance I was going to pay for 1.5Mbps service (sync problems as well) when others in the city were getting 3Mbps+
I'm not a Cogeco fanboy. It just works for me. Plus, it's cheaper when bundled with Digital cable.
When I first got 1 Mbps DSL from Sympatico, I thought it was the most neato thing. I loved it. So at one point I did enjoy DSL. I hope others are enjoying it as well because I'm enjoying Cogeco.
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anon @ 1st Oct 02:08PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
>>Cogeco corrected things and I do have the option to switch.
What did Cogeco correct? The (low) caps and suspensions are still there, the arrogance is still there. I have yet to receive an apology in my inbox for the abrupt, without notice change from soft to hard caps. The trust is gone.
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Airwolf @ 1st Oct 02:16PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
The congestion.
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anon @ 1st Oct 02:25PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
gotcha
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Scrappy2 @ 1st Oct 03:40PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I think we will be seeing an influx of negative Cogeco posts by third week of October.
Not everyone was aware or effected by the caps last month as they took effect near the end of September.
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dan991199 @ 1st Oct 04:19PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
i think you're right scrappy
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Trist @ 1st Oct 04:27PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I think Krispy, in one of the earlier posts on this topic, said the implmentation began on the first of last month. The middle of September was when people began to post they'd been warned or banned without warning due to the then broken warning system.
ASIDE:
How much is everyone transfering today, eating it up or being cautious? So far I've stuck to light viewing of web pages only and am at 11MB (according to Bandwidth Monitor).
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Scrappy2 @ 1st Oct 04:30PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I'm using my newsgroup and eatting up a bunch of Bandwidth.
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SuperCM @ 1st Oct 04:31PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Joost went public today as well (no need to be invited), so I guess caps on all major Canadian ISPs isn't going to help them much.
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neko @ 1st Oct 04:55PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I am currently in discussion with Techsavvy about getting DSL service at my apartment. Initially I will need to buy a modem from them but after 6 months my monthly bill will be $46 (includes tax) for unlimited use, dry line, static IP & newsgroup access.
I am pretty much sold on it as I will save $6 a month compared to my Cogeco service & with no caps.
So it looks like I will be leaving Cogeco sometime this month. I am gonna blow my cap first, though & grab what I can from their news server.
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ancodia @ 1st Oct 05:01PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
edit : yep, 6 months : '1 This is a limited time offer. Offer is for Cogeco High Speed Internet Standard service and is limited to new customers or those who have disconnected for more than six months'
So you get to give a big FU to Cogeco and cancel and either way things go you win out (either Cogeco wakes up to their mistake and you sign back up at a discount or you stick with Teksavvy and get unlimited Internet and Cogeco doesnt get any of your money).
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neko @ 1st Oct 05:20PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Is this the correct one:
»www.canadacomputers.com/index.ph···d=NT.541
Looks great for $20!
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ancodia @ 1st Oct 05:31PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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neko @ 1st Oct 05:38PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
So how is the Techsavvy service? How long from initial inquiry to actual service started?
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ancodia @ 1st Oct 05:52PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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urbanriot @ 1st Oct 06:10PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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dan991199 @ 1st Oct 06:14PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
if you are a heavy newgroup user you might wanna checkout a seperate provider such as newshosting for better speed, but also better rentention
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neko @ 1st Oct 06:14PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I ordered the 2wire a few minutes ago from Canada Computers so I should have it in a few days, then I will look at cancelling my Cogeco service.
Thanks for the info.
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diskdocx @ 1st Oct 06:18PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Does Techsavvy provide a 'free' news server? If so, how is the completion/retention.
Personally, I'd be more likely to switch to the 200gig Business account, with Cogeco's own news server, than to switch to a slower ISP, and pay for an add-on news service, esp if the traffic is that restricted.
I managed to avoid any warning last month, but was 2.5 gig over the pro cap by the end of yesterday.
This month I'm already 4 gigs into my bandwidth, and getting more paranoid by the moment.
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neko @ 1st Oct 06:24PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 06:25PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
The 200GB business account is 16Mbit/s for $89.99? I've never gone over 200GB, so this may be an absolute last resort alternative if DSL doesn't work out due to distance.
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ancodia @ 1st Oct 06:45PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
If Cogeco was smart they would do they same thing. For an extra $10 month you get unlimited local NNTP access. but then, that would be progressive thinking... They even own the server! It's like Cogeco has a modern state of the art network and it's being controlled by management still stuck in 2001.
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urbanriot @ 1st Oct 07:02PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Ah, you said nntp, as in all nntp traffic is limited to that speed. I don't care about their news server, I have my own.
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Scrappy2 @ 1st Oct 07:26PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Wow been using my newsgroup and speeds are all over the place started good 700 800 kb/s
now levelled off at 150 kb/s.
Guess everyone was waiting for the month rollover.
before THE BITCAP I had no problem pulling a steady 900 to 1000 kb/s off newsgroups.
Anyone else getting slower than usual speeds?
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 07:56PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Scrappy2 @ 1st Oct 08:51PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
See what above ???
I've been reading all 19 pages?
throughout the last week.
I'm still with Cogeco not teksavy yet.
Cogeco newsgroup sucks. I pay for one (newshosting).
Are you telling me cogeco is capping usenet speed now????
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 08:53PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Read a little more closely next time.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 10:04PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
As much as this pains me, I think I may just end up getting the standard SOHO account from Cogeco. It's not much more than Pro but has more bandwidth which I doubt I'll ever exceed. My hope is also that they may be more lienent on the business customers - not that I ever plan on using 200GB in a month, but you never know. The whole idea of uncertainty is what bothers me.
I've got a lot of stuff to think about, bleh.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
reply
diskdocx @ 1st Oct 10:11PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I'm in the same boat, some months I will probably need just more than 100gigs, but others less. In the past it was fine, and over the year I average less than 100gig/mo.
But I know certain months, typically Sept-Nov tend to be higher usage.
Still, I can't see that usage will not increase slowly over time. 2 or 3 years ago, I couldn't have imagined needing 100gigs/mo. Also never thought I'd have 3Tb of hard drive space :P
For me the make or break issue is going to be the email. If I can't keep .ca or forward the .ca to .net then its a no-go.
I'll probably end up downgrading to lite, so my wife can keep her business email, and add a second isp like Techsavvy.
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anon @ 1st Oct 10:14PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 10:15PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
My Cogeco email addresses are of no consequence. I just want to know if there is any way I can get around the whole idea of being cut off. There's nothing anywhere in the realm of affordability above the SOHO package.
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 10:16PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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diskdocx @ 1st Oct 10:26PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Don't see any reason why they wouldn't. If you're a business that relies on the internet, and you need more than 200 gigs/mo, then you best be paying for the unlimited tier.
I have seen no indication that Cogeco really cares who's on the other end.
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roxx @ 1st Oct 11:41PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
The constant watching of transfer totals just would not work for me so I had to upgrade to the Enterprise acct. So far so good. Although it does say my bandwidth limit is 500 gigs.
None of the phone techs can tell me why it still says I have a cap in my selfcare page. I am waiting to hear back from Krispy to see if she can find out why.
Good luck and watch your totals, you will get the cut off notices. I did.
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 11:48PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Well, this absolutely sucks, but at least with SOHO I don't need to worry about getting cut off until 260GB, which is more than I have ever used.
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anon @ 1st Oct 11:56PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
But once one starts paying the business class pricing one would be better with Teksavvy and a 2 line or 3 line dry dsl with mlppp.
Approx $80 to $120 and true unlimited. Speed up to 10 Mb/sec with 2 line and 15 Mb/sec with 3 line.
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Snickerdo @ 2nd Oct 12:09AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Snickerdo @ 2nd Oct 01:40AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I wonder what we need to do to get this posted on the front page of DSLR as a news item, especially since the network staff at Cogeco aren't exactly happy with this either. The whole screwup with users being cut off without any notification is certainly newsworthy as far as I'm concerned. It might actually do some good to get the word out beyond the forum.
Oh, and nice, Selfcare is down too. So much for being able to check up on the estimated cutoff date.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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anon @ 2nd Oct 01:51AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Snickerdo @ 2nd Oct 01:54AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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Shamans @ 2nd Oct 08:10AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
If you're doing pro and need more bandwidth, you should switch to atleast the business starter package. it's 7 mbit but you could probably stretch your limit to 145 to 150 gigs before you get cut off. Even heavy downloaders usually only need around 140 to 150 gigs.
It's too bad that some of us are in the same boat: dsl isn't available ;(
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anon @ 2nd Oct 09:00AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
All the while completely oblivious to Cogeco's change in enforcement all of a sudden... I was cut the other night. for 24 hours. The thing Cogeco does not understand is that we are not it's kids. We simply choose them as the ISP because we think they are greater. Loyalty can change as they will find out soon enough. Their treason has lead their followers to believe that they are being lead by some other system. They are now only a pawn of a bigger system. Why else would they be doing this? Regardless of them wussing out... It's still their decision whether or not they enforce this. There are many loyal customers that would be willing to back up Cogeco if some a**h**e government system threatens to shut them down. I came to cogeco for 3 things. Great speeds, Unl. Bandwidth and anonymity. But slowly everything is being taken away. 2 out of 3 to be exact. The speeds will most likely keep going up and up. But who uses those kinds of speeds that doesn't go over their "cap". Thus it comes down to this. A showdown between Cogeco and it's rebels. Will they step down to make their clients happy (which is what all companies are 'supposed' to do) or will they go down a different hole and start losing valuable customers. The outcome is up to them.
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Last Parade @ 2nd Oct 09:08AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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anon @ 2nd Oct 09:16AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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anon @ 2nd Oct 10:04AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
>>Put two and two together buddy. If this was their doing, they would be here defending the policy. Simple as that. The fact that they're remaining silent shows that they are not happy about the way this is going down. Not a single Cogeco tech - and there are a LOT of them here in these forums - has said a single word about this whole issue.
Krispy replied and defended the policy. Page 2.
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mattei @ 2nd Oct 10:45AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
It also sounds like someone is still reading this thread.
Before you try, you might want to browse some background information. Her posts in this thread:
»Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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urbanriot @ 2nd Oct 11:34AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Did you mess up some end quote tags? That's incredibly hard to read.
Oh, nevermind, I see what you're doing
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Evileye @ 2nd Oct 02:07PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Thanks to mattei for the summary. Yes aardvvark you could say that Krispy "replied and defended the policy" by essentially saying that if it is in the company's AUP, the company has the right to provide the service accordingly. However, if you read between the lines here it comes off as more of an explanation than a defense. I think the most telling point is where Krispy says:
As the head honcho for the Cogeco network, if Krispy didn't make this decision, then this was clearly not done for technical reasons and if that's the case then you can bet that the other techs can't be happy about it either.
Cheers.
--
If necessity is the mother of invention, laziness must be the father.
--
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Krispy @ 2nd Oct 02:12PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Anyway, I just popped in the thread to let everyone know where they can send their comments as per the request of several posters. So....
Goto »www.cogeco.ca and click the Contact Us link across the top menu then select Contact Us By Email then select Use this form for any questions or comments related to residential services (Cable TV, High Speed Internet, Digital Phone) - the recipients will forward this onto the applicable body.
--
you can lead a horse to the water but you cannot make him drink...you can put a man through school but you cannot make him think --ben harper
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dan991199 @ 2nd Oct 02:13PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
thanks krispy.
i actually used that this morning because i didnt know if you were comming back in here or not.
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Evileye @ 2nd Oct 02:33PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Sorry to misrepresent you Krispy. I took another look at your profile and it states:
"I'm the Network Security Administrator for Cogeco".
As such I still stand by the point I was trying to make. Based on how poorly this change was rolled out it reeks of someone w/little technical knowledge/background going behind the back or above the head of people who should normally be making these types of changes.
Best Regards,
--
If necessity is the mother of invention, laziness must be the father.
--
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anon @ 2nd Oct 04:06PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I know this isn't the forum for this issue, but so many Cogeco customers are here. Can someone confirm or deny that Cogeco has eliminated HD games from the Super Sports Pack? Cogeco won't answer my question which pretty much answers my question, but I have no confirmation. They've been gone for a week and channels 464-466 are labeled NBA League Pass. The NBA season doesn't start for almost a month. 466 was showing a NASCAR Hot Pass channel on Sunday afternoon in SD, but my TV just freezes when I switch to the other two. I'm expecting a tech at my house any minute for an unrelated issue, but I'm sure he either won't know or won't tell me either.
There's a lot of secrecy going on at Cogeco right now, it seems.
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Krispy @ 2nd Oct 04:24PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
--
you can lead a horse to the water but you cannot make him drink...you can put a man through school but you cannot make him think --ben harper
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Spine @ 2nd Oct 08:28PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
hmmm - nevermind....
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anon @ 2nd Oct 10:02PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I received a warning letter mid Sept. I was 80GBs collectively on a standard package. After letting my usage reset for October, I am at 1GB and it appears my bandwidth is being throttle. I have no qualms with over usage, but what I do with 60GBS is my issue. Has anyone else notice any throttling.
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Shamans @ 2nd Oct 10:20PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Eitherway, if you're sure you're not getting the speeds advertised, go call them.
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anon @ 2nd Oct 10:45PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Thanks Shamans, you where right it seems to be working better now. I did call tech support earlier and I asked that question and his initial answer was 'Yes' but he couldn't confirm this was the case and then he wasn't sure and then suggest I download utilities and so on and so forth. Any way it seems to clear up for now.
Thx.
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Shamans @ 3rd Oct 03:00AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
And if you've tested properly and it shows that you're not getting your speed - then you have to go bug them because...
if it is congested - then it is their fault
if it is throttled - then it should not be since that is not how they do things (and therefore is their fault).
If I remember right, cable is shared within your neighbourhood (unlike dsl). Cogeco is supposed to upgrade the infrastructure of your neighbourhood if there are bottlenecks. Enforcing bitcaps is one way to battle congestion. Don't be afraid to demand that the terms of the service be fulfilled if they're doing the same thing by enforcing bitcaps.
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anon @ 3rd Oct 03:46AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I, too, got disconnected last month by Cogeco. I was very surprised by the move because I thought they had solved their bandwidth problems with aggressive throttling of peer-to-peer protocols.
I didn't complain about the traffic shaping because I thought the trade-off between having several protocols virtually unusable and not having to worry about the ridiculous bandwidth caps was worth it. I won't complain now either because I know Cogeco doesn't care, but I will be switching my ISP. I don't much like the idea of having a slower DSL connection because I like cable speeds but it will be nice to be able to use my connection for whatever I want again. Will Cogeco decide to let people use their connection however they please now that it is so severely limited in capacity? I won't hold my breath.
This move probably has nothing to do with clearing up network congestion (of which I noticed none). A large part of Cogeco's business is selling TV services. By strictly enforcing very low bandwidth limits they prevent access to high-quality internet television providers and force people to purchase their shows locally (hopefully from one of their own bundled packages, no doubt). This is a very dishonest and anti-competetive tactic which is similar to the way some cellphone carriers block instant messengers so they can charge you for text messages.
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Snickerdo @ 3rd Oct 04:01AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Well, I for one will say that the first thing I did when I heard about this was cancel the cable TV install at my new home. Cogeco will be not getting a dime from me for TV.
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anon @ 3rd Oct 04:24AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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anon @ 3rd Oct 05:50AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Better yet just forward them the threads of discontent.
Save a tree or 6.
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neko @ 3rd Oct 07:46AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I called in to see how long it would take to cancel my service; apparently it can be canceled on any day I request, so once my DSL is installed I will cut off Cogeco & be done with them.
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slade @ 3rd Oct 09:12AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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DrDog @ 3rd Oct 09:22AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I am a part of Cogeco, and I have feelings on the matter
I hate to hear that anyone is having issues with their service. I am also a customer as well, and I would hate to be in the same boat.
But most decisions are made for the betterment of the entire community, not just a few.
I am sure that policies are constantly changing as the environment changes, and unfortunately there will be upset people every time there is a policy change
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ancodia @ 3rd Oct 09:41AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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anon @ 3rd Oct 10:22AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
"But most decisions are made for the betterment of the entire community, not just a few."
Is that some sort of slang term for your wallet that kids are using these days? I don't mean any offense, but to suggest that a company makes decisions for the betterment of anyone other than themselves is preposterous. It seems more like an attempt to appeal to other customers who are not affected by this so that they will shun people who are having difficulties with Cogeco and then be left with very few options once they have these same problems themselves.
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urbanriot @ 3rd Oct 11:09AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
However, as has been discussed by users and Cogeco employees in the past, dslreports posters represent an extremely small minority of real world users, so that number should logically be more. I personally know another person evaluating Teksavvy, and another who just signed up with Bell's free Xbox 360 Premium deal.
Mind you, I agree that Cogeco execs probably don't care about those that are leaving due to this new cap and in fact it's probably allowed them to increase their quality of service, and they probably don't care about word of mouth advertising (or detracting) which is far cheaper and works better than paid advertising, since it's not a hard number that can be reported on a statement.
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dan991199 @ 3rd Oct 11:38AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Here is the email i received after sending customer service an email describing my thoughts on the bitcap:
Thank you for contacting Cogeco Technical Support. We appreciate the opportunity to help you resolve any Cogeco issues you may be having.
While we do realize the change in our enforcement was very sudden, there are a variety of reasons we felt it necessary to put them in place. Cogeco has always has bandwidth limitations as outlined in our acceptable use policy located at www.cogeco.ca/aup . Our apologies for any interruptions you may have encountered.
Should you have any further questions or concerns, please call 1-866-774-8888, and select the appropriate menu option for Cable Television or Internet Technical Support. Our representatives are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week for your convenience. You can also contact us through email via our website at www.cogeco.ca and clicking on the "Contact Us" link at the top right side of the page.
Regards,
Cogeco Technical Support
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Trist @ 3rd Oct 12:34PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Cogeco did and does well for themselves by responding to anyone who complains about the recent policy change with that canned response. The voice here is a minority. Yes they've lost some of you as customers in the ISP and/or VOIP and/or television markets over this but again in the minority.
If Cogeco had mass mailed all customers and informed them of the policy change in advance it would have assisted some people in that they would have known to manage data transfers and not have been suspended .. and perhaps would have saved some of those customers from leaving the company. (And the losses will trickle on for a while as more customers learn of the change by way of warnings or service interruptions, but always in the minority.)
If Cogeco had mass mailed all customers and informed them of the policy change in advance then a larger group of people would have been frightened by the 'what if I go over the cap?' unknown. More customers would have moved to an ISP that ensured both the speed they required (for the majority less than those here prefer) and the greater or unlimited data transfer freedom almost everyone wants as a safety blanket.
The Cogeco decision to keep everyone in the dark was (intended or not) a great fear of the unknown damage control move.
NOTE: I am not defending Cogeco. I am not defending consumers. I am making an observation.
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ancodia @ 3rd Oct 12:35PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Now we know that external bandwidth costs about .03/gig, or about $10.00/300g over Cogent. Assume those 2% use an average of 100g, add in about $22/user for overhead (which I think is high) equals total cost per user @ $25. take $50/month/average from each person (some on standard, some on pro) equals about $25 profit/per user = 1,500,000+/year of lost revenue (again, not including other services). That's alot of money. Of course Cogeco is gambling that most users won't/can't leave and they'll either cut back on usuage (which really doesn't save on bandwidth costs but does save on upgrade costs - which also shows they've overloaded their network) or they'll upgrade (which going from $50/month to $75/month (average; some go pro;some go higher) equals almost 100% increase in profit on the customer on a successful threat - Cogeco is only really giving them an extra $1.50 in bandwidth) = ONE BIG CASH GRAB :) and big Christmas Bonuses!
This also explains why other companies (i.e Bell) can cap the over charge at $30. $30= almost 1 terabyte of additional external data and nobody downloads that much! (At least I hope not!) So Bell probably even makes money on that $30 overcharge.
I won't even comment on how 5200 people can saturate Cogecos network.
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anon @ 3rd Oct 01:05PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Does anyone really believe Cogeco's network is saturated after they are already traffic shaping?
I keep saying this, but it bears repeating: they want to limit your access to online digital distribution services in order to keep you locked into their own in-house television service. Digital distribution of everything from television, music, and movies to video games is the way of the future and Cogeco is digging in their heels and starting to fight it.
This is why they are not offering a lower bandwidth/higher bitcap residential plan.
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anon @ 3rd Oct 02:18PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Well personally since starting this thread I am going the way of switching service providers. I will probably get Teksavvy as they come highly recommended, they are cheaper and they have no caps. Right now I have Cogeco HSI, Digital Cable with TMN and I'm paying around 125 with the tax. After all is said and done I will just have the digital Cable which is just over 50/month. This is the only way we have to retaliate against a company when you are disatisfied with their service hit them in the pocketbook.
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vuarra @ 4th Oct 06:37PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I'm giving them to the end of November.... if they don't have more appropriate packages for consumers (other than the one they are asking me to suck), then I'll be looking into Teksavvy as well, and going back to OTA for TV.
I'm taking a bit of time so that -- just in case the petunia brain transplants have a change of heart -- Cogeco can look into a better capping system. I'm also not holding my breath.
The day that cable internet became available, I signed up. Ditto for HDTV. Now, my wife is afraid to pick up the phone for VoIP and going over the combined cap.
What kind of company keeps its customers in fear?
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Last Parade @ 4th Oct 10:28PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
i would become concerned if it was near the end of the month and i had to call 911 on voip.
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Snickerdo @ 4th Oct 10:42PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Has anyone in Niagara thought of switching to cable from a reseller? There are resellers in the Niagara Region, though I'm not sure of their policies regarding bandwidth and the like.
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Shamans @ 4th Oct 10:44PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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InFloW @ 4th Oct 11:03PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
So using some tools
»fixedorbit.com/AS/7/AS7992.htm
»www.lerfjhax.com/as/7992
»www.cidr-report.org/cgi-bin/as-r···s=AS7992
»netconfigs.com/tools/as.htm?as=7992
So based on those they have transit from several providers some being more expensive than others. Also a few peering relationships with some other providers.
Then you factor in the costs of hardware if you now need to push more through routers and switches and things start to add up.
So to me it's not surprising that a small % make up the majority of the costs. This happens with a lot of industries relating to bandwidth. Colocation providers sell cheaper than they used to and the majority of their costs come from the few using their resources. Same with dedicated servers which are extremely cheap now. If the people don't use the resources they make profit if they do then there are problems. So if they were to drop the 5% or whatever it is their profits go way up. But doing so looks bad image wise.
--
»www.hawkhost.com/
»www.esportsea.com/
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Phorkster @ 8th Oct 08:47PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I was an original customer way back when, I left for a bit because I had a disagreement with customer service. At any rate I signed back up with them probably 7 years ago or so. I have to say that this was pretty under handed and shady coming from a service that I have grown to respect.
Now mind you, I don't think it was a mid-month issue, I think it was probably a Sept bill period issue, but most of you were just hitting your caps mid month.
Either way, it was wrong to do it without notice.
Unfortunately for me, I really do not want to do away with the service. I get a rock steady 1MB to 1.2MB DL rate from my usenet provider, and I cant tell you the last time I approached my cap. So while this may affect me later, it doesn't now and I am sticking to it. DSL for me in my area is garbage at best.
Then there is the whole changing email addresses and stuff like that. At any rate if it stays like this I will be happy, if they start lowering cap rates and introducing higher tiers, I'm outta here.
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ancodia @ 8th Oct 09:50PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Cogeco/Bell/Rogers are imposing limits not due to traffic abuse but to protect other business units. Bell charges $30 for an overcharge not because you are using $30 of bandwidth, but because they are assuming you are download illegal content and depriving their other BUs revenue. That $30 is to subsidize the other department. Rogers/Bell/Cogeco management are all thinking this way.
Ultimately Cogeco doesnt want us to leave. They want us to either cut back on use (which helps #1) and/or subscribe to other services (which helps #2). Cogeco management feels FUD is better than dealing with the issue (maybe we'll impose an overcharge, maybe we won't, maybe we'll let you go over 60g, maybe we won't). If Cogeco gives you concrete numbers, you'll be more inclined to make the decision to leave. With uncertainty, you are more likely to stick it out, see what happens and eventually you'll just accept it and continue to subscribe, maybe even bump up your package (and I think the margin increase on the standard->pro is fairly accurate). It's the same formula Bell/Rogers uses. Sure, some of us will say screw that, I'm outta here and switch, but we are a small minority. Most will stick it out because a) it's a pain in the ass to move b) you have no guarantee on what speed you'll get from DSL, so why risk it c) you can't switch (Cogeco market monopoly)
This is a problem growing problem with Internet providers that needs to be addressed. Do you think that if Rogers/Cogeco/Bell ONLY provided Internet service any of this would be happening? I don't. Rogers/Bell/Cogeco are controlling/limiting what you can do on the Internet because they are protecting their traditional services. And that is wrong.
Alot of us are/were long time Cogeco subscribers (I still have the @home t-shirt from their launch St. Kitts). for me, this entire episode ticks me off even more because for 10 years I supported this company and look what it has turned into. I will gladly pay whatever to have Internet access, but it will be to a company like Teksavvy, a true ISP. Otherwise the Internet as we know it will grind to halt (at least in Canada), dominated by bitcaps created solely to protect legacy BUs with outdated technology/business models.
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Candoo3 @ 8th Oct 10:15PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
How much does it cost?:The startup kit is $90.00 plus taxes. This includes a cable modem that you own and installation. The monthly fee is $39.99 plus taxes. Order Now. If you have more questions please Email us
How fast is it?: Speeds have been reported up to 5Mbps in some areas. We have been advising users that the speed is around 5 - 6Mbps download and 640kbps upload.
SOUND FAMILIAR ?? I'm sure that their caps suck.They don't state the caps, but their DSL caps are ridiculous.
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neko @ 8th Oct 10:58PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
You make a lot of good points, ancodia. I too am switching to teksavvy (my 2wire should be coming tomorrow).
I think cogeco are all about protecting their PPV/TV market with this move. They don't want users downloading torrents & forgoing their services.
I get 9.5Mbit all the time. it's a great connection for torrents & newsgroups, but with a puny 60Gb cap, it's worthless.
Most of the users on this forum don't like the new caps, but I am not sure that all of them will leave. Most of the users here are very savvy, but are in the minority compared to the overall user population; if even all the users of this forum left cogeco, it would do nothing to their bottom line.
I think cogeco knows this. No matter what is said on this forum , it will have no affect on cogeco management. We are sadly in the minority & I reckon we will be subject to more restrictions in our service & increasing prices.
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Candoo3 @ 8th Oct 11:28PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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neko @ 8th Oct 11:56PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Candoo3 @ 9th Oct 01:13AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Lucky you :(
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anon @ 9th Oct 01:30AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
can anyone say how much we can go over our limit by?
perhaps even a hint of it?
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Frozty2k @ 9th Oct 07:06AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
It doesn't seem like they even send out warnings until you are 110-130% over the limit. Im at 105% now and got nothing.
Seems it would be smarter to send the warning before you go over, not before you get suspended. (If you are downloading fast the difference im sure could be an couple hours.) i.e. It detect how much you are going to go over the cap that month, use that info to email a warning while it still makes sense (assuming the person checks their cogeco email at all).
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urbanriot @ 9th Oct 12:01PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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anon @ 9th Oct 12:58PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I've only read through so many pages.
Frozty2k says he's at 105% and hasnt recieved anything yet.
What are other members sitting at? perhaps we can estimate what they're capping users at.
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Frozty2k @ 9th Oct 03:03PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Shalimar @ 10th Oct 08:36PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
To answer your questions
Just got my 1st bandwidth warning:
Upstream1: 4626
Downstream2: 74528
Current month's percentage of combined limit used: 128 %
and 2nd bandwidth warning:
Upstream1: 5056
Downstream2: 84571
Current month's percentage of combined limit used: 145 %
I decided to push it to it's limit since I now have DSL installed and running from teksavvy and have placed my cogeco acct in Vacation mode for 3 months (to give them a chance to pull their heads out of their asses.. and if not it gets canceled.. and yes I explained this explicitly to the cogeco supervisor and had a note put in the acct about WHY this has been done).
Sorry Cogeco but I will not tolerate such pathetic limits.. esp when 95% of what I download is via the cogeco usenet server.. which is LOCAL network for you only and costs virtually nothing (ie: no bw charges from their upstream carriers).
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anon @ 11th Oct 09:50PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
thanks so much for the info Shalimar.
glad your putting your account on the experimentation table for us who are interested in their caps.
much appreciated!
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metalman0 @ 12th Oct 10:32PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
My my my, this is just plain amazing. I had to sign up to say something. I've been a lurker of this forum for a few years now. However, I'm having deja-vu from the mid 90's when dial-up providers added caps and limited usage.
After many chats with other internet users I knew at the time, cable was the way to go. The first three years were torturous and yet pleasant at the same time. A few customer care calls, a few free months granted, and all that good stuff. There were limits and caps, but no one human could reach them because the speeds fluctuated from person to person. But when DOCSIS 2.0 came around. Big trouble, the speed arrived and folks signed up overloading nodes, to the happiness of the providers. People had issues all over the place. I was lucky. My speeds were always about 30% less than the given stated speeds, but all was well, no downtime, all downloads and surfing worked accordingly, so no complaints.
Well, not having read an AUP in about 10 years and still assuming this service was unlimited that I signed up for... I see now that it is not. Fair is fair, and sometimes I use nothing in a month and sometimes I could use 10 times as much. First off, I never asked for a speed increase so you should drop my speeds to 5MB or less so you don't freak out and cut off my service because I'm actually using it. Secondly, you never cared how much I used the internet before, so why do you care now? You are placing too much responsibility into my hands to manage my usage accordingly.
It's like, as someone said, speeding, yet you always let me go go go, and then you decide to bust me when it suits you. However, in this case, the "officer" was obviously negligent. I cannot imagine any police officer(s) that ignore the laws of the land and let speeders drive by and then, one day, decide to "go get em" after watching them for years. That is the most insane thing I've ever heard of.
This rant is almost over. I feel the same LOL. I hope that some sanity replaces this crazy change of heart. In the end, the alienation would be worse than that of BELL, whom I thought I'd never have to return to, but it's a crazy planet and poop happens.
Last thought, since this will hopefully get on a corporates desk. Add a lesser tier speed wise. Something in the 4 to 6 MB range with unlimited usage. Meaning unlimited use in any manner at any time. It makes no sense when no human uses the internet the same way at the same time (at different intervals) and some will use more time and some will use less.
Now I feel I need to consume close to or over my max til I get kicked off. What the heck? Some months I used less than 3 GigaBytes, and others close to or over 100. Now it's time to stay near 80 GB me thinks ;) It used to be almost fun! Don't they care the stress that they cause? LOL
I'm curious, does anyone know if there is a petition available that one could sign up on? I think the "6 people" here would like to voice there opinions in a broader forum, plus one of course :)
metalman
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anon @ 13th Oct 12:02AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
i am on pro and got 2 warnings that i never got on sept 28 then got cut off i called cogeco and there said they sent out 2 warnings and there was nothing there
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Frozty2k @ 14th Oct 07:59PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Upstream1: 26035
Downstream2: 57030
Current month's percentage of combined limit used: 135 %
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anon @ 15th Oct 02:21AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Yes I to have just had my first ever Bandwidth warning sent to me, I have been with them for about 8 years and this is the first one I have ever received, I know a friend of mine was suspended for the remainder of the month once but that was years ago, I myself was at 92868 GB down and 21639 up so I was over about 10 GB, but I can understand that they are just enforcing there limits, I think in a case like that they should give you an option to buy more bandwidth, It does not take long to hit the 100 GB mark with today's computers, a few movies and songs and some on-line TV shows and bang your at the limit. I myself would not mind if they say "Hey your at your limit, We can offer more bandwidth at reasonable rates." That would be a nice way to go, or even more plans for us to choose from like a Pro 1, or Pro 2 with higher bandwidth per plan. Time will tell, I myself love Cogeco Internet I have to say that they have been a great ISP, I have had a few issues over the years but still it is worth it for the service and the convenience.
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anon @ 15th Oct 11:55AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Anyway, I'm in the 4-6 range (well, usually 4-5 actually) and I would have no problems hitting 100 Gb this month. I'm on pro which is supposed to give me faster speed (which it didn't, but since I'm going to have to watch my usage anyway, who cares). When I used to pay for webhosting the host used to drop one high day a month and give you a three-month average before getting into overage charges. I'm not suggesting that Cogego should drop your high day (cause you can download a hell of a lot in a day), but average usage might be a better idea. It wouldn't penalize those who have an occasional bad month, but would still capture consistent heavy use users.
(I'm a consistent heavy use user, but there was almost no use at all Jan-May as I was out of the country. The sad thing is I should have been asked to upgrade to Pro years ago, which would have provided more income to Cogeco and given me warning that I needed to check my usage. Being cut off gave me a negative feeling about a company I used to be okay with and now I'm looking into Satellite for the TV.)
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Shalimar @ 17th Oct 11:52AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Well in the last week or so after being DSL only I can say I miss the added speed of Cogeco... (I was getting 1.2M). However I am getting a steady 5M+ via DSL for just over half the cost.
With the savings I have a premium news server instead of the crappy excuse Cogeco has and it's still slightly cheaper.
For anyone wanting such I have tested some out and found usenetserver.com to be reliable with included SSL and much cheaper than giganews etc. Anyone going there feel free to use me as a referral. Just input my acct# 220866 on the signup page or use this link: »www.usenetserver.com?refer=220866
I have leeched over 135GB in the last week + more the week before. (aprox 250gb so far total since DSL was up and running) and my total upload is only 12gb in the same time frame.
Sorry Cogeco but you're f'd the dog big time on this one since I had been a customer for many many years and was happy with the service. Now to get me back (and a ton of my clients as well whom I have taken with me) you'd have to do more than a simple reversal of your incredibly stupid cap enforcement decision. (especially given 95% of what I download was via your usenet server which has virtually no cost for the bandwidth on your local network only. And for anyone griping about the BW used.. think of how much BW is used for even one On Demand movie in HD...(avg 20-30GB)
Now I'm investigating satellite as a replacement for the cable TV as well and will probably have that up and running before the beginning of Nov. and I'll be taking a bunch of my clients with me for that as well.
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manderson4 @ 17th Oct 12:07PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I just got my first warning today I am now on the pro package so I get 100 gigs
Upstream1: 3956
Downstream2: 109126
Current month's percentage of combined limit used: 110 %
And it was sent to all my email addresses
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anon @ 17th Oct 12:22PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
SERIOUSLY go to the teksavvy forum and post on how good they are. All companies will follow suite one of these days with caps. Get use to it because when a company like teksavvy starts getting charged more so will the customer
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dan991199 @ 17th Oct 12:26PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
this is true, ROCKY has even stated that they dont make any money form heavy users and if things get too out of control they may also implement a cap system, but with lots of warning in advance
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Shalimar @ 17th Oct 12:39PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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ancodia @ 17th Oct 01:45PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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aardvvark @ 17th Oct 03:36PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Keep in mind that there are other issues besides simple bandwidth costs that Cogeco is likely considering. Unlike Cogeco, TekSavvy does not offer TV and other competing services, so such considerations do not enter their consciousness.
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ancodia @ 17th Oct 03:52PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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dad_of_3 @ 18th Oct 02:04PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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ancodia @ 18th Oct 02:14PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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anon @ 24th Oct 01:50PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Just to round out this thread I got my Teksavvy installed, it's fast and stable i'm happy with the service. This week I finally get to call Cogeco and give them and their stupid cap the boot! End Transmission....
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neko @ 24th Oct 02:21PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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theninjasqua @ 24th Oct 02:38PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Just so you know, Bell has an option for an additional $25 a month on top of any plan, to get unlimited bandwidth. And this is pretty unlimited, they won't start bugging you until you get up into the mid-high hundreds of gigs. You can probably talk them down on that price even and work a deal.
I would love to switch to Cogeco from Bell because of that speed, but that speed eats up your bandwidth so quickly! If you are going to increase speed, you need to up the bandwidth cap. ISP's do not offer enough options nowadays for service. I mean 2 internet packages is not enough, not everyone uses the internet the same. They need more tailored solutions. I would take a speed cut if it meant having more bandwidth a month.
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anon @ 24th Oct 06:26PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
All these weeks later and still no comment from anyone at Cogeco about any possible new residential packages?
I remember reading that Cogeco's managment were discussing the situation but you would think that after this amount of time we would have heard something if they were actually going to change things.
Oh well I wasn't expecting anything to be done so in the end the only thing I'm disappointed about is I have no one else other than Bell or as I like to call them "HELL" to turn to so I guess I'm stuck at the moment.
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Shalimar @ 26th Oct 02:23PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
In the meantime I have DSL via teksavvy at 5M and it's working nicely.. I miss the added speed of cogeco but this DSL is unlimited and is cheaper as well by a considerable ammount.
As for Symcraptico.. not a chance I'd go near them ever again.. Teksavvy is infintely better!
Ohh and I'm also investigating satelite for TV as well... eliminating my acct with cogeco completely.
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Phorkster @ 26th Oct 05:06PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
[BQUOTE=Shalimar
Ohh and I'm also investigating satelite for TV as well... eliminating my acct with cogeco completely.
[/BQUOTE
Free To Air, would be the way to go as far as TV is concerned. I'm one step closer to hitting up Tekksavvy for internet, getting a few FTA Dishes. I do however love my Cogeco Digital Phone.
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irishlotus @ 26th Oct 05:18PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
There is no talk that I've heard of for new resident packages. Now this isn't to say there isn't something working on the upper levels but nothing has been said so far. So, if there is new tiers coming out it will be quite a while that's for sure. Wish I had some better news for those that need the extra bandwidth! =/
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Shalimar @ 26th Oct 06:24PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by SuperCM...ouch, $200. Wait, does Cogeco even have a maximum limit? [/BQUOTE :
Cogeco isn't charging anything... So hard to say...
That would make it a limit of 0 wouldn't it ;)Cogeco isn't charging anything... So hard to say...
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anon @ 26th Sep 02:15PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Shamans :
I disagree, charging for overusage is a bad idea. It doesn't do anything for the customer except makes it more expensive (in support costs). If cogeco has a cap for overcharging, it will probably be an expensive cap, not a cheap one - considering how sensitive they are to bandwidth usage currently.
So you'd rather just get cut off the moment you hit the cap? I disagree, charging for overusage is a bad idea. It doesn't do anything for the customer except makes it more expensive (in support costs). If cogeco has a cap for overcharging, it will probably be an expensive cap, not a cheap one - considering how sensitive they are to bandwidth usage currently.
All these people posting that your work and non-Cogeco VOIP is too precious to lose for even a day, what would you choose?
Personally, while I said I'd take reasonable overage charges, it probably would make financial sense for me to switch to an unlimited DSL provider if that actually happened. I never said I wouldn't cancel Cogeco, I just said I could handle the overages if they were reasonable.
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Shamans @ 26th Sep 02:20PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by gobisbay :
All these people posting that your work and non-Cogeco VOIP is too precious to lose for even a day, what would you choose?
Personally, while I said I'd take reasonable overage charges, it probably would make financial sense for me to switch to an unlimited DSL provider if that actually happened. I never said I wouldn't cancel Cogeco, I just said I could handle the overages if they were reasonable.
Yeah, I'd rather be cut off at some cap rather than be charged $10/gig....I mean that's what it says in their AUP so far.said by Shamans :
I disagree, charging for overusage is a bad idea. It doesn't do anything for the customer except makes it more expensive (in support costs). If cogeco has a cap for overcharging, it will probably be an expensive cap, not a cheap one - considering how sensitive they are to bandwidth usage currently.
So you'd rather just get cut off the moment you hit the cap? I disagree, charging for overusage is a bad idea. It doesn't do anything for the customer except makes it more expensive (in support costs). If cogeco has a cap for overcharging, it will probably be an expensive cap, not a cheap one - considering how sensitive they are to bandwidth usage currently.
All these people posting that your work and non-Cogeco VOIP is too precious to lose for even a day, what would you choose?
Personally, while I said I'd take reasonable overage charges, it probably would make financial sense for me to switch to an unlimited DSL provider if that actually happened. I never said I wouldn't cancel Cogeco, I just said I could handle the overages if they were reasonable.
And yes, I use non-Cogeco VOIP as the home phone.
Their warning/suspend policy is far better than a $10/gig policy (It's not a strict cutoff btw...you just can't download anything, you can still browse, e-mail, voip, and game). And while I would like the option to switch to some DSL provider, I don't have that luxury. If I could, I'd be trying TekSavvy now.
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ancodia @ 26th Sep 02:38PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by SuperCM :
...ouch, $200. Wait, does Cogeco even have a maximum limit?
their AUP doesnt state one. So the only limit would be at whatever point they decide to cut you off your service for going over your account limit, which, according to Krispy, can change (currently around 20-25 gig on the 60 gig plan). I would guess that if you repeatedly go over your limit they would start charging you, otherwise whats to stop you from pushing the envelope and seeing how much over 60 you can get every month for free. Since it looks like the bean counters are now running Cogeco, giving you a 20 gig allowance every month is basically $200/month of lost potential revenue, or $25/month if they can successfully threaten you into an upgrade. So I can't see them being that generous for much longer. Bell charges. Rogers is also in the final steps of enforcing overcharges. So it would seem that Cogeco is now putting the final pieces in place. I could also see them simply using the threat of an overcharge to force you to upgrade your package. Pay us $200 or upgrade to Pro. What would you take?...ouch, $200. Wait, does Cogeco even have a maximum limit?
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Shalimar @ 26th Sep 02:45PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Q., If a Cogeco acct is put on "vacation hold" what is actually deactivated? I can't see them actually physically disconnecting the connection (too labor intensive). They just "turn off" the cable modem and/or cable tv box?
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Snickerdo @ 26th Sep 02:46PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Shalimar :
Q., If a Cogeco acct is put on "vacation hold" what is actually deactivated? I can't see them actually physically disconnecting the connection (too labor intensive). They just "turn off" the cable modem and/or cable tv box?
They'll put a filter on your line and deactivate the MAC of the modem. Email addresses keep working, though.Q., If a Cogeco acct is put on "vacation hold" what is actually deactivated? I can't see them actually physically disconnecting the connection (too labor intensive). They just "turn off" the cable modem and/or cable tv box?
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ancodia @ 26th Sep 02:48PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Snickerdo :
do you know how much they charge and what the min/max time allowed?said by Shalimar :
Q., If a Cogeco acct is put on "vacation hold" what is actually deactivated? I can't see them actually physically disconnecting the connection (too labor intensive). They just "turn off" the cable modem and/or cable tv box?
They'll put a filter on your line and deactivate the MAC of the modem. Email addresses keep working, though.Q., If a Cogeco acct is put on "vacation hold" what is actually deactivated? I can't see them actually physically disconnecting the connection (too labor intensive). They just "turn off" the cable modem and/or cable tv box?
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anon @ 26th Sep 03:33PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Well all Cogeco managed to do was get me to get rid of my cable internet service, hd cable box and my digital phone.
And basically not recommened Cogeco to anyone that asks.
Good job indeed.
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Snickerdo @ 26th Sep 04:59PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by ancodia :
do you know how much they charge and what the min/max time allowed?
No charge. Minimum is two months, maximum is 12 months if I recall. Ask for a "Seasonal Disconnect" when you call and tell them you'll be out of the area for a while.do you know how much they charge and what the min/max time allowed?
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ancodia @ 26th Sep 05:11PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
interesting.
According to this terms of conditions for residential services here :
»www.cogeco.ca/en/terms_and_condi···s_o.html
"16. COGECO may propose to change, modify, add or remove any provision of this Agreement (including the Acceptable Use Policy referred to below, if applicable) at intervals of at least 30 days. Such changes may include, without limitation, modifications, additions to or removals from the Services, their features and charges, or the terms and conditions upon which COGECO distributes and the Customer receives the Services. COGECO will provide written notice to the Customer at least 30 days but not more than 90 days before the effective date of change, modification, addition or removal, which notice may be sent via e-mail, mail or any other means of providing written notice."
The AUP Krispy pointed us all to says it was modified in July 2007. Did anyone get a notice? Does anybody know what they changed? Appears they are changing things and not telling anyone. By doing that, in my opinion, and IANAL, they are breaking one of the conditions of the contract. So doesnt that void the contract and the AUP we all agreed to when we signed up??
edit :
forget it, they covered themselves here :
"22. The failure of COGECO to enforce this Agreement, for whatever reason, shall not be construed as a waiver of any right to do so at any time. The Customer agrees that if any portion of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect."
Why even have a lengthy contract, they just need to have :
1. We, Cogeco, can do whatever we want.
But it does show they are changing the contracts and knowingly not telling the customer, since their own contract states they are supposed to notify us all of all changes.
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diskdocx @ 26th Sep 05:18PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Now you're starting to get it :P
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ancodia @ 26th Sep 05:25PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by diskdocx :
Now you're starting to get it :P
The problem is I can't download anything cause I'm over my limit and the DSL doesn't get installed until tomorrow. So I figured I'd actually take the time to read the contract and I learned two things 1) Cogeco can do whatever they want whenever they want and 2) I need to give 30 day notice to cancel my service :(Now you're starting to get it :P
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okoolo @ 26th Sep 05:25PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
do they reset usage counters on the 1st ..
About a week ago I switched to a business starter .. does my counter reset too?
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anon @ 26th Sep 05:26PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Cogeco Canada's version of US'S Comcast
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anon @ 26th Sep 05:29PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
" 1) Cogeco can do whatever they want and 2) I need to give 30 day notice to cancel my service"
1/Yup they are too big (they think) now.
2/Tell them you sent them three emails
kindda like how they sent me three warnings that never arrived(I checked my junk mail too).
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anon @ 26th Sep 05:54PM:
msg deleted
deleted by a moderator
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Shamans @ 26th Sep 06:10PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by okoolo :
do they reset usage counters on the 1st ..
About a week ago I switched to a business starter .. does my counter reset too?
it resets on the 1st whether residential or business.do they reset usage counters on the 1st ..
About a week ago I switched to a business starter .. does my counter reset too?
and as far as i know, it resets immediately when you switched from a residential to business plan (or vice versa). I don't know if switching between residential plans or between business plans will get it reset.
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hse @ 26th Sep 06:20PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Great, now I get 2 warnings with Selfcare showing 90GB down and 5 up (although I know I used more than that).
This is simply pathetic. I do almost all downloading at night, after 10 or 11. So not only is it offpeak, I also do not upload much.
I don't understand what was wrong with the previous policy. Clearly the network is built for downloading and not uploading, so why not just go after excessive uploaders?
I've been with Cogeco for 18 months now, and to go back to 1-1.5mbit with Bell would be simply horrid, but I'm not sure what I can do.
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Shalimar @ 26th Sep 06:31PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
You can get 5mbit from teksavvy which is much better than symcraptico IMO. I'd never ever go back to Bell in my lifetime.. as for options though cogeco has really f'd the dog on this one.. 5mbit is slower.. but it is unlimited and it's cheaper as well so with the savings I can add a premium news server into the mix.. and just let it DL in the background.
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hse @ 26th Sep 06:36PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Sure, but the problem is that the lines in the area (or at least at my house) are not great, so I'm on interleave.
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ancodia @ 26th Sep 06:46PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by hse :
Sure, but the problem is that the lines in the area (or at least at my house) are not great, so I'm on interleave.
you should still check with Teksavvy. Supposedly Bell has been doing upgrades over the last year installing remote dslams to get ready for adsl2+ they might have done your area which means improved lines. doesnt hurt to ask.Sure, but the problem is that the lines in the area (or at least at my house) are not great, so I'm on interleave.
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anon @ 26th Sep 07:40PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Mattei wheres this ?
reply to nydwarf1
I feel bad for the cogeco techs that are on the forum.
I mean I know it wasen't their idea to enforce the cap.
And kindda hard for them to respond to questions on here to since I doubt they were in the know either until the day they were told to enforce the cap.
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neko @ 26th Sep 08:24PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
.
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hse @ 26th Sep 08:48PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
One thing I'm noticing is that it seems almost as if they are throttling based on website. Currently I have received two warnings this month.
I transfer a lot of my monthly transfer to and from my personal server.
On the IP that the most of the protocols (HTTP, FTP) run on, I get pings of about 150 at peak hours.
On any of the other IPs which I don't transfer much data to, nor access much, the ping times are a normal 50-60!
I have pinged both simultaneously and to have one IP showing 150 and the other 60, while both on the same physical box is a bit disconcerting.
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anon @ 26th Sep 09:53PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
"it resets on the 1st whether residential or business"
Are you sure it's reset on the first and not on your billing date (one I'm looking at ends on the 3rd and begins on the 4th)?
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trodge @ 26th Sep 09:53PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Waaay back in May there was a discussion about us getting upgrades to our service.
I just heard that we, Pro , will be going to 32Mbps down by September and Standard will be 20Mbps. I hope this is true.
This was a quote that started that discussion. What are the chances that is still going to happen? Especially since the caps have now been enforced. And if they do upgrade us that high, they will have to seriously revisit the cap limits. Can anyone comment on this potential upgrade? Thanks.
I don't like how the roll out was done of the cap, but I can't say I disagree with it. I've had a good ride for a long time. I am a heeeeaavy downloader, I'll just have to watch what I'm downloading from now on. I'm surprised I was able to get as much as I have been getting for this long.
A couple of questions I have about the cap now.
1) Are they going to look back at our histories and try and bill us on those? I have a few months that are damn high. Like over 250 gig.
2) When do the warnings reset? Or do they go on forever? Lets say in Jan 07 I get a warning, August 07 I get another. Then let's say in April 08 I get another. Will my service then be cut? Or do you get reset back to 0 at the end of the year?
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neko @ 26th Sep 10:50PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
2) When do the warnings reset? Or do they go on forever? Lets say in Jan 07 I get a warning, August 07 I get another. Then let's say in April 08 I get another. Will my service then be cut? Or do you get reset back to 0 at the end of the year?
If you get multiple warnings they, Cogeco, will look at your account & may decide you are abusing their service & through multiple infringements they may cut you off completely.reply
Shamans @ 26th Sep 11:28PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Lazy2Login :
"it resets on the 1st whether residential or business"
Are you sure it's reset on the first and not on your billing date (one I'm looking at ends on the 3rd and begins on the 4th)?
That's what they said..."it resets on the 1st whether residential or business"
Are you sure it's reset on the first and not on your billing date (one I'm looking at ends on the 3rd and begins on the 4th)?
@ trodge, your questions have been answered already if you read previous posts.
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urbanriot @ 27th Sep 02:38AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Lazy2Login :
Are you sure it's reset on the first and not on your billing date (one I'm looking at ends on the 3rd and begins on the 4th)?
Yes, it resets on the first. Are you sure it's reset on the first and not on your billing date (one I'm looking at ends on the 3rd and begins on the 4th)?
Unless Cogeco arbitrarily or randomly changed their policy. :p
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anon @ 27th Sep 11:55AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I just got slammed this morning for abuse. 5 gigs uploaded, 90 gigs downloaded. I am pissed. The only downloading I do is off usenet, and my counter shows that I have only downloaded 60gb this month. thats a 30gb discrepancy! Systems back online now but does anyone know what the new bandwidth cap is until the end of the month? And what about pro, has anyone been slammed for going over on pro?
Cheers
SLOWWWWGECO
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exseven @ 27th Sep 12:39PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
it resets on the 1st
and slowgeco? you DL 90 gigs in a month a call it slow?
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urbanriot @ 27th Sep 12:42PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by slowgeco :
And what about pro, has anyone been slammed for going over on pro?
It's proper etiquette to read a thread before contributing to it, or asking questions that have already been answered in depth. And what about pro, has anyone been slammed for going over on pro?
Probably just an anonymous troll, stirring up the pot a little, which is unfortunate because it detracts from the credence of those of us that are registered users contributing criticism.
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anon @ 27th Sep 04:56PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Just because someone didn't read all 14 pages of this post does not mean they are a troll. I find it amusing how often you people say others are trolls when you might possibly be one yourself. I switched to Cogeco recently from Sympatico at home and find the speed great.
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thez0r @ 27th Sep 05:29PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by trodge :
Waaay back in May there was a discussion about us getting upgrades to our service.
I just heard that we, Pro , will be going to 32Mbps down by September and Standard will be 20Mbps. I hope this is true.
Well, September is almost over so its not bloody likely. Waaay back in May there was a discussion about us getting upgrades to our service.
I just heard that we, Pro , will be going to 32Mbps down by September and Standard will be 20Mbps. I hope this is true.
All the idiots upgrading to pro enstead of switching ISPs are giving Cogeco a financial incentive to degrade the current services, not expand it.
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Shalimar @ 27th Sep 05:44PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
just heard that we, Pro , will be going to 32Mbps down by September and Standard will be 20Mbps. I hope this is true.
This was a quote that started that discussion. What are the chances that is still going to happen? Especially since the caps have now been enforced. And if they do upgrade us that high, they will have to seriously revisit the cap limits. Can anyone comment on this potential upgrade? Thanks.
Great!!! More speed... which is even more useless with the bitcaps... once again showing Cogeco's marketing dept is so far out of touch with reality it truly is sad. (Even Symcraptico is doing better... and that is sad indeed!)This was a quote that started that discussion. What are the chances that is still going to happen? Especially since the caps have now been enforced. And if they do upgrade us that high, they will have to seriously revisit the cap limits. Can anyone comment on this potential upgrade? Thanks.
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Frozty2k @ 27th Sep 05:56PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by thez0r :
All the idiots upgrading to pro enstead of switching ISPs are giving Cogeco a financial incentive to degrade the current services, not expand it.
Don't throw everyone together with that statement. Switching takes some time, DSL is at least 5 days usually. People were cut off then told on the phone, upgrade now or don't use the internet for the rest of the month. Wasn't much of a choice for some people. (Myself I'm trying to let the rest of the week play out using very little until the cap get's reset :p)said by trodge :
Waaay back in May there was a discussion about us getting upgrades to our service.
September and Standard will be 20Mbps. I hope this is true.
Well, September is almost over so its not bloody likely. Waaay back in May there was a discussion about us getting upgrades to our service.
September and Standard will be 20Mbps. I hope this is true.
All the idiots upgrading to pro enstead of switching ISPs are giving Cogeco a financial incentive to degrade the current services, not expand it.
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mattei @ 27th Sep 06:05PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Scrappy2 :
Mattei wheres this ?
Right where I said it was.Mattei wheres this ?
said by mattei :
So, how's this playing out on the Cogeco employee forum at rabble.cogeco.net? Thread 2585 looks popular...
So, how's this playing out on the Cogeco employee forum at rabble.cogeco.net? Thread 2585 looks popular...
said by neko :
I would *love* to know this as well...
Don't get your hopes up. The thread is likely used for tracking Internet or just DSLReports "exposure." If you or one of your employees answers a question on a public forum, it's generally a good idea to keep track of it and any responses. It could also be a news, commentary, or policy thread - I don't see 25+ posts being made in a single-topic discussion before someone posts this URL. Heck, it could also be a simple ranting area, similar to the "No, I Will Not Fix Your #@$!! Computer" administrative whining club here (complete with your last angry support call available as an MP3) :D.I would *love* to know this as well...
I was curious about the type of response my post would generate. The result was unexpected but not surprising. The source of this and other super-top-secret, eyes only information is available to all registered members at the top of most DSLR site pages.
said by Scrappy2 :
And kindda hard for them to respond to questions on here to since I doubt they were in the know either until the day they were told to enforce the cap.
That's probably true for some here, definitely not all.And kindda hard for them to respond to questions on here to since I doubt they were in the know either until the day they were told to enforce the cap.
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anon @ 27th Sep 06:51PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
This is a quote from a totally different topic on Slashdot. But I do find it fits very well in regards to company arrogance towards their customers.
said by KingSkippus (799657) :
Companies kill me, it's a corporate lifecycle that we see again and again, and very few seem to learn from it. Once a company gets so big, it gets it in its head that it's invulnerable. It thinks that it can do anything it wants, and people will flock to it because it's the latest and greatest offering from the King of the (Whatever).
We see it now with Microsoft and Vista. We're also seeing it from Sony on its Playstation 3. Sony thought, "Of course people will buy the Playstation 3. It's a Playstation, for crying out loud!" Anyone remember when Hayes thought that they had the modem market locked up tight? Or when IBM didn't treat clones as serious competitors?
Usually, companies like this end up either going out of business, or at least eventually become relegated back down into the fray because they stop asking themselves, "What do our customers want?" and become totally focused on "What do we want?
Companies kill me, it's a corporate lifecycle that we see again and again, and very few seem to learn from it. Once a company gets so big, it gets it in its head that it's invulnerable. It thinks that it can do anything it wants, and people will flock to it because it's the latest and greatest offering from the King of the (Whatever).
We see it now with Microsoft and Vista. We're also seeing it from Sony on its Playstation 3. Sony thought, "Of course people will buy the Playstation 3. It's a Playstation, for crying out loud!" Anyone remember when Hayes thought that they had the modem market locked up tight? Or when IBM didn't treat clones as serious competitors?
Usually, companies like this end up either going out of business, or at least eventually become relegated back down into the fray because they stop asking themselves, "What do our customers want?" and become totally focused on "What do we want?
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thez0r @ 27th Sep 07:53PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Frozty2k :
Don't throw everyone together with that statement. Switching takes some time, DSL is at least 5 days usually. People were cut off then told on the phone, upgrade now or don't use the internet for the rest of the month. Wasn't much of a choice for some people. (Myself I'm trying to let the rest of the week play out using very little until the cap get's reset :p)
Its extortion, no doubt about that. Anyone with a brain that has non-Cogeco VOIP service that was interputed by Cogeco should be writing the CRTC and documenting it as predatory behaviour to Cogeco VOIP competitors (something the CRTC would be interested in). Don't throw everyone together with that statement. Switching takes some time, DSL is at least 5 days usually. People were cut off then told on the phone, upgrade now or don't use the internet for the rest of the month. Wasn't much of a choice for some people. (Myself I'm trying to let the rest of the week play out using very little until the cap get's reset :p)
Anyway, upgrading to "pro" gives Cogeco a monetary reason to do what they are doing. If they can replace every customer that leaves with a customer paying double for what they were already getting then they are financially ahead of the game.
I got my first high speed connection from Bell in 1998. Four years later in '02 they tried a cap at 5GB and charging $7GB per 1 GB overage with no limit. They lost big time and they have never recovered their subscribers, even to this day. Did their cap policy change? It sure as hell did.
How will Cogeco's cap policy change if everyone decides its a good idea to start paying them double for the same service?
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ancodia @ 27th Sep 09:47PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by ancodia :
I got my DSL installed today. 5 days, exactly like Teksavvy promised. I cancelled my Cogeco. They don't require 30 days notice as stated in their agreement. I told them I was cancelling because of the caps and suggested they create another tier that is slower but with unlimited downloads. If they do that I'd be first in line for their service. She said she would send my comments to the marketing department and record my reason for cancelling. Very friendly. I've always liked Cogeco, such a shame it's being ruined by someone in management who is too busy worrying about the pennies not realizing its costing them dollars.said by diskdocx :
Now you're starting to get it :P
The problem is I can't download anything cause I'm over my limit and the DSL doesn't get installed until tomorrow. So I figured I'd actually take the time to read the contract and I learned two things 1) Cogeco can do whatever they want whenever they want and 2) I need to give 30 day notice to cancel my service :(Now you're starting to get it :P
edit : one of the owners on Teksavvy was talking about bandwidth costs and stated : "...Cogent that it costs us $10 per 300GB". Food for thought. They are nowhere near the size of Cogeco, so imagine what Cogeco gets their bandwidth for. really puts the true cost of the 60 gig cap into perspective.
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Shamans @ 27th Sep 11:53PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
yeah, bandwidth doesn't cost that much and I have no idea wtf cogeco is doing. I sure hope that they put that money into actually increasing bandwidth caps.
If anyone needs to do a lot of uploading, renting a virtual server/ server is always a good option.
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Frozty2k @ 27th Sep 11:56PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by ancodia :
edit : one of the owners on Teksavvy was talking about bandwidth costs and stated : "...Cogent that it costs us $10 per 300GB". Food for thought. They are nowhere near the size of Cogeco, so imagine what Cogeco gets their bandwidth for. really puts the true cost of the 60 gig cap into perspective.
I just read that, really is interesting as you never can get any straight numbers on that stuff. I'm sure there is lots to take into account, I think cogent is a cheaper peer, higher ping etc. And I'm sure they are billed in much large chunks, so they have to average it out.edit : one of the owners on Teksavvy was talking about bandwidth costs and stated : "...Cogent that it costs us $10 per 300GB". Food for thought. They are nowhere near the size of Cogeco, so imagine what Cogeco gets their bandwidth for. really puts the true cost of the 60 gig cap into perspective.
Still, any way you put it, with the bulk deal cogeco could get I'm sure the can get a deal at least as good as that if not better.
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anon @ 28th Sep 12:43AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by R0CKY :
Right now the average is 55GB on the unlimited side.... So it costs us $1.75 per user in Transit right now over top the Bell fees. On the flip side, the premium's average is at 17GB or $1.06ish/user. Now, $0.70 doesn't look like much, but multiply it over a few thousand connections and it adds up in a hurry. When we scratch the 100GB average we're going to need to start looking at it a little more seriously. There's a reason unlimited is being eliminated from many of the ISPs... Transit prices aren't coming down proportionately to the increase of speeds.
That was posted in the Teksavvy forum by ROCKY a VIP. A lot of interesting infomation in that quote. It looks like premium peering cost is double to Cogent. Right now the average is 55GB on the unlimited side.... So it costs us $1.75 per user in Transit right now over top the Bell fees. On the flip side, the premium's average is at 17GB or $1.06ish/user. Now, $0.70 doesn't look like much, but multiply it over a few thousand connections and it adds up in a hurry. When we scratch the 100GB average we're going to need to start looking at it a little more seriously. There's a reason unlimited is being eliminated from many of the ISPs... Transit prices aren't coming down proportionately to the increase of speeds.
So about $20 for 300 GB month or per 1 Mb purchase per month on the premium.
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ancodia @ 28th Sep 07:53AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by OneTimeOnePlace :
So about $20 for 300 GB month or per 1 Mb purchase per month on the premium.
I think Teksavvy has around 20k users. Cogeco, according to their 2006 year end report, has 260k+ Internet subscribers, so the pricing to Cogeco would be alot less than what Teksavvy pays. It probably costs Cogeco more to have a csr call you about going 20 gig over your cap than it would for them to just pay the transit cost (unless with that call they can sucessfully threaten you into an upgrade!) Again, everything points to someone in management thinking this would be a quick and easy cash grab for Cogeco. Year-end for Cogeco was August. So starting in September they figure we'll threathen 'high-bandwidth' people to either upgrade or leave. They'll have one year to replace the lost customers so it still looks good on the numbers sheet come Aug 2008, and they've increased the income without increasing the prices (which in a round-about way they did, bean counters are sneaky that way). So the investors are happy, bean counters are happy and the marketing department is happy. Only people not happy are the customers who are paying more and getting less (but as all marketing departments know, customers will complain for a couple weeks, but eventually most of them suck it up and pay).said by R0CKY :
Right now the average is 55GB on the unlimited side.... So it costs us $1.75 per user in Transit right now over top the Bell fees. On the flip side, the premium's average is at 17GB or $1.06ish/user. Now, $0.70 doesn't look like much, but multiply it over a few thousand connections and it adds up in a hurry. When we scratch the 100GB average we're going to need to start looking at it a little more seriously. There's a reason unlimited is being eliminated from many of the ISPs... Transit prices aren't coming down proportionately to the increase of speeds.
That was posted in the Teksavvy forum by ROCKY a VIP. A lot of interesting infomation in that quote. It looks like premium peering cost is double to Cogent. Right now the average is 55GB on the unlimited side.... So it costs us $1.75 per user in Transit right now over top the Bell fees. On the flip side, the premium's average is at 17GB or $1.06ish/user. Now, $0.70 doesn't look like much, but multiply it over a few thousand connections and it adds up in a hurry. When we scratch the 100GB average we're going to need to start looking at it a little more seriously. There's a reason unlimited is being eliminated from many of the ISPs... Transit prices aren't coming down proportionately to the increase of speeds.
So about $20 for 300 GB month or per 1 Mb purchase per month on the premium.
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anon @ 28th Sep 10:16AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I guess I'm going to have to watch what I download and hope that Cogeco will offer a similar service to their standard business package which gives 120Gb at 7mb's and only costs $55 on a one year contract. For those of you who switched to the standard Business Package what has it been like are the speeds ok nad DID YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOU EMAIL ADDRESS?
I'm hoping (ya I know more like dreaming) that they will offer a residential package of 130Gb for around the price of $59 or $55 with one of there package deals.
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neko @ 28th Sep 03:12PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Hamilton1 :
I guess I'm going to have to watch what I download and hope that Cogeco will offer a similar service to their standard business package which gives 120Gb at 7mb's and only costs $55 on a one year contract. For those of you who switched to the standard Business Package what has it been like are the speeds ok nad DID YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOU EMAIL ADDRESS?
I'm hoping (ya I know more like dreaming) that they will offer a residential package of 130Gb for around the price of $59 or $55 with one of there package deals.
This is what I am holding out for too. I really hope they offer a package like this...I guess I'm going to have to watch what I download and hope that Cogeco will offer a similar service to their standard business package which gives 120Gb at 7mb's and only costs $55 on a one year contract. For those of you who switched to the standard Business Package what has it been like are the speeds ok nad DID YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOU EMAIL ADDRESS?
I'm hoping (ya I know more like dreaming) that they will offer a residential package of 130Gb for around the price of $59 or $55 with one of there package deals.
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anon @ 28th Sep 03:58PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by neko :
This is what I am holding out for too. I really hope they offer a package like this...
You might be holding out for quite sometime. I don't expect a company to change its packages so rapidly after this newly enforced bitcap. They are going to sit and wait for the results before making another move. Best case for you is in 3 months. Worst case is 1 year.This is what I am holding out for too. I really hope they offer a package like this...
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anon @ 28th Sep 06:50PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I received my first notice / cut-off today. Well, it was my "third" notice. Apparently the first 2 went to my Cogeco email which I haven't used since day one (7 or 8 years ago).
I got into my email after calling them and getting my login/pword (after having to provide driver's license #) and saw the 2 emails waiting there.
I was on their 10mbps / 60GB cap, and was at about 97GB when I was shut down (sent to a redirect page).
I was told I'd have only 1GB to use until the end of the month when the bandwidth was reset.
I decided to go with the 16mbps/100GB per month at $64 bucks a month (an extra $22 from what I was paying).
Why they do this to p1ss off a few high usage users when their network is still FLYING along, I have no idea. I could see if it was to the point where there was so much extra usage that it was slowing things down, but I often get over 1100kb/sec when downloading.
I agree it's their right to do whatever they want with their own network, and run it any way they see fit. But why not just keep EVERYONE happy if the few high-usage people aren't having any negative effect? GRrrr.
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anon @ 28th Sep 06:55PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
NYDWARF1 :
That's exactly it, it's a money grab. LIke I said previously, the few high-usage people aren't degrading the network at all.
But wow.. you actually got Cogeco's phone service!? Ouch. I wouldn't touch it with a 10 mile pole. Not with how many problems we have with net/TV service.
But DOOUBLE WOW.. going over your internet usage causes your PHONE to be shut down too!? That is just absolutely incredible. The 2 should be separate services.
What's next with Cogeco? Counting talk-time towards your monthly bandwidth allowance?
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plutoz @ 29th Sep 12:01AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
My connection got cut off earlier this evening. 85GB down this month - I'd guess at least half of which came from Cogeco's own Usenet servers!
Not to mention I had my Usenet client set to throttle at 200KB/sec (1/5 of my full d/l speed) for the entire month.
I signed up with TekSavvy earlier this afternoon after receiving the 2nd bandwidth warning. Screw Cogeco, I don't need this hassle. I'll take slower speed anyday over this BS.
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anon @ 29th Sep 12:06AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
re: Upload limits
Well Cogeco doesn't say anything about upload limits being different from download limits. They're COMBINED limits from everything I've read.
So If you've uploaded 58gigs and downloaded 1 gig, you're still under your 60gb cap.
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boredguy @ 29th Sep 05:55AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Well as soon as i hit 95 gigs the internet went to crap and everything is super slow. No redirect screen telling me to call customer service though. Called customer service anyways and apparently i have to call network security and they're only there for limited hours.
--
What would Jesus do for a Klondike bar?
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anon @ 29th Sep 09:57AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
After thinking about this and trying to decide if I should go to the standard Business for $55 which is $12 more than the $42.95 I pay now I decided that I'm not going to give in to Cogeco's blatant extortion tactics.
If you stop to think about this any of Cogeco's HD customers are reaching 66Gb's worth of content in just over 8 hours or TV viewing. I bet your wondering how I got this number right? Well a High Def PVR will how approximately 20Hrs worth of HD contect on a 160Gb Hard drive, so if you break that down you end up with 8Gb=1Hr so 8Gb x 8Hrs = 64Gb of HD content. Now the really big kicker to this is what do these HD customers acutally pay well I don't want to take the time to do this math but considering HD is about $20 bucks more than regular Analogue as long as you have purchased the HD box then these customers are getting GB's worth of content for just Pennies a day, and we are being asked to pay around $45 dollars for just 66Gb's worth of content.
The long and the short of this is I guess I better see if there is a better alternative where I live and find out what they have to offer.
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ancodia @ 29th Sep 10:16AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
»www.canadianisp.com/
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Ignite @ 29th Sep 10:17AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Lovely maths but there is the minor issue that the HD content is broadcast, not unicast (google it) so it costs Cogeco the same whether an HD customer watches a channel or not, while to service your internet needs requires bandwidth dedicated to you rather than bandwidth broadcast to the entire node regardless of use.
Just as you don't get charged extra for watching more SD TV the same goes for HD, apart from Video On Demand and even then that uses frequencies dedicated to it so cost of servicing VoD requests remains constant.
I believe the acronym is RTFM.
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hse @ 29th Sep 04:59PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Just got myself the 24 hour ban.
Since I got the warnings I had made sure I didn't download anything, just regular internet surfing, yet I still get cut off a few days later. How fair.
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Scrappy2 @ 29th Sep 06:38PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
i'm excited to see how October plays out as it'll be the first full month of these BS caps.
The basic feeling I get from Cogeco is if you don't like it too bad what are you going to do?
Which is true either people will have to continue to pay a company that could care less about customers more about the bottom line.
Or move on to a different company.
Either way these caps are here to stay at least for the forseeable future.
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anon @ 29th Sep 06:41PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I think right about now and until Oct. 1 Cogeco will notice that their peak bandwidth use is up. I know I checked my bandwidth and I am now running it off. This could cost them more than no bitcap. If they are billed on the percentile like all other ISPs it is possible that the peak could occur right now. This will truly defeat the purpose of the bitcap. Could also congest the local nodes. But I am receiving my full 16 Mb no problem.
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Last Parade @ 29th Sep 08:59PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
i dunno, i've only used 10% of my bandwidth this month. you guys are pretty hardcore.
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anon @ 29th Sep 09:12PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I enjoy online video. Thanks to the caps, I can't download and watch Diggnation, iFanboy, TekZilla, NoobToob or GigaOm until next week. And no, I'm not making this up. These are all great iptv shows.
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Scrappy2 @ 29th Sep 10:02PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
reply to Pepsi
I don't know i've only used 10% of my bandwidth this month. you guys are pretty hardcore
what do you use your bandwidth on ?
Do you play online games?. do you use newsgroups, download music?.
60 gigabytes really is way below HARDCORE. There are people downloading 300 400 gigabytes a month.That is what I would consider hardcore.
Of course none of these people downloading 300 400 gigabytes a month are on Cogeco.
Better teacher?
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Last Parade @ 30th Sep 12:27AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
quote:
what do you use your bw one ?
do you play online games use newsgroups dnld music
yes, but I also enjoy the English language
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Scrappy2 @ 30th Sep 02:00AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Seems like ever since I was told not to use my Bandwidth , my digital cable tv has been pretty crummy(meaning not good).
Anyone else having this problem now too ?
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urbanriot @ 30th Sep 03:42AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Last Parade :
yes, but I also enjoy the English language
hahah... some of my best posts were done Saturday nights while under the influence.quote:
what do you use your bw one ?
do you play online games use newsgroups dnld music
yes, but I also enjoy the English language
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urbanriot @ 30th Sep 03:45AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Scrappy2 :
Seems like ever since I was told not to use my Bandwidth , my digital cable tv has been pretty crummy(meaning not good).
Anyone else having this problem now too ?
The two issues are unrelated. Seems like ever since I was told not to use my Bandwidth , my digital cable tv has been pretty crummy(meaning not good).
Anyone else having this problem now too ?
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anon @ 30th Sep 10:46AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Did we ever get an email address or snail mail address that we could write to and state our thoughts on this bitcap matter?
If Krispy is still around I would love to know who I could contact and if you have a phone number that would be even better.
Thank You
Dave
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neko @ 30th Sep 12:23PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I am cutting it really close; I am on 99% & have 170Mb left for the rest of today. The cap resets tomorrow anyway, so it looks like I have made it through this month :)
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ancodia @ 30th Sep 12:38PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by neko :
I am cutting it really close; I am on 99% & have 170Mb left for the rest of today. The cap resets tomorrow anyway, so it looks like I have made it through this month :)
the question now is, how many more months will they let you get away with that?I am cutting it really close; I am on 99% & have 170Mb left for the rest of today. The cap resets tomorrow anyway, so it looks like I have made it through this month :)
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neko @ 30th Sep 12:49PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by ancodia :
Yeah, I know what you are saying. Technically I *am* staying under there cap, so there shouldn't be any problems.said by neko :
I am cutting it really close; I am on 99% & have 170Mb left for the rest of today. The cap resets tomorrow anyway, so it looks like I have made it through this month :)
the question now is, how many more months will they let you get away with that?I am cutting it really close; I am on 99% & have 170Mb left for the rest of today. The cap resets tomorrow anyway, so it looks like I have made it through this month :)
It wouldn't surprise me, though, that they do contact me forcing me to upgrade to a more expensive package just because I am getting close to 100% every month, but as long as I am technically staying under the cap they shouldn't be able to touch me.
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anon @ 30th Sep 12:56PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Hi
Not really responding to your post in particular but just wanted to give you some food for thought. I first started service with cogeco in 1995. At that time it was like coming out of the dark ages,from a dial up connect. I am a fairly heavy bandwidth user and have the same concerns that you do with these caps being enforced. I just wonder, that when bell and other DSL providers learn that cogeco is starting to enforce their bandwidth limits, that their bean counters decide to do the same thing. I switched to bell a few years ago and just didn't like their speeds.
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anon @ 30th Sep 01:06PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Hi reno,
There are other providers besides Bell. Teksavvy (the one I'm looking to switch to) being one off the top of my head. You can also take a look at listings at www.canadianisp.com
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ancodia @ 30th Sep 01:58PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by reno :
Hi
Not really responding to your post in particular but just wanted to give you some food for thought. I first started service with cogeco in 1995. At that time it was like coming out of the dark ages,from a dial up connect. I am a fairly heavy bandwidth user and have the same concerns that you do with these caps being enforced. I just wonder, that when bell and other DSL providers learn that cogeco is starting to enforce their bandwidth limits, that their bean counters decide to do the same thing. I switched to bell a few years ago and just didn't like their speeds.
Bell has caps, but they tell you up front what they are and what happens when you go over them. Cogeco decided one day to just start enforcing caps without prior notice which is what upset everyone. For YEARS Cogeco staff told us, in this very forum, that the caps were 'softcaps'. That said, Bell caps the overcharge at either $25 or $30. Though Cogeco doesnt currently overcharge, they have the power to do so *at anytime*, and there is *no limit* to the amount they can charge you. This should concern people who plan to regulary go over the 60gig cap. Cogeco can easily turn around to those people and charge them (for instance, they tell you to upgrade, you say no I'm cancelling, they turn around and charge you an overcharge). You agreed to that in the AUP. One has to wonder why Cogeco would go through the trouble to outline the overcharges if they never plan to use them. The Cogeco reps told us many times they never planned to enforce caps and look what happened.Hi
Not really responding to your post in particular but just wanted to give you some food for thought. I first started service with cogeco in 1995. At that time it was like coming out of the dark ages,from a dial up connect. I am a fairly heavy bandwidth user and have the same concerns that you do with these caps being enforced. I just wonder, that when bell and other DSL providers learn that cogeco is starting to enforce their bandwidth limits, that their bean counters decide to do the same thing. I switched to bell a few years ago and just didn't like their speeds.
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urbanriot @ 30th Sep 02:29PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by ancodia :
This should concern people who plan to regulary go over the 60gig cap.
That won't be possible with the enforced disconnects.This should concern people who plan to regulary go over the 60gig cap.
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anon @ 30th Sep 03:25PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I had the standard package and got a few warnings that I was reaching my bandwith cap , so I upgraded to the pro package. I've never had another warning , but I don't think I ever exceeded my cap. A service techie told me that a small charge could be enforced if I was to ignore a warning and continue consuming bandwidth after the warning. :)
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anon @ 30th Sep 03:47PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
>>A service techie told me that a small charge could be enforced if I was to ignore a warning and continue consuming bandwidth after the warning.
Boiling frog.
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anon @ 30th Sep 05:59PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I certainly hope that when 12:00am rolls around later this evening that my counter resets to zero and I can download again because the last thing I want to do is have to upgrade to a different package.
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anon @ 30th Sep 06:22PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Hamilton1 :
I certainly hope that when 12:00am rolls around later this evening that my counter resets to zero and I can download again because the last thing I want to do is have to upgrade to a different package.
I hope it is true also. We are only guessing and hoping since Cogeco still has not released any formal information. They just love keeping their customers in the dark.I certainly hope that when 12:00am rolls around later this evening that my counter resets to zero and I can download again because the last thing I want to do is have to upgrade to a different package.
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neko @ 30th Sep 06:24PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Hamilton1 :
I certainly hope that when 12:00am rolls around later this evening that my counter resets to zero and I can download again because the last thing I want to do is have to upgrade to a different package.
I hope so too, as I only have 150Mb left on my account.I certainly hope that when 12:00am rolls around later this evening that my counter resets to zero and I can download again because the last thing I want to do is have to upgrade to a different package.
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Frozty2k @ 30th Sep 06:34PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Hamilton1 :
I certainly hope that when 12:00am rolls around later this evening that my counter resets to zero and I can download again because the last thing I want to do is have to upgrade to a different package.
Yes I certainly hope so. For over a week since I got back online I haven't been able to download anything :( It's going to end up me using more than usual to get caught up then having to cut back for the rest of the 3 weeks of the month.I certainly hope that when 12:00am rolls around later this evening that my counter resets to zero and I can download again because the last thing I want to do is have to upgrade to a different package.
On another note, for people who say how it's easy to cut back or not use so much. In the last week the largest thing I downloaded was like 6MB. Everything else has been just web traffic and I think someone was on youtube for a bit. Over that time selfcare say's I've used about 2gig download. Seems like an awful lot, I'm putting in a new firewall/linux box where I will be able to keep iron clad logs on usage for every computer and I will be able to see what's what for next month ;)
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Shamans @ 30th Sep 06:43PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
It's reset on the 1st of every month so far on selfcare, no reason why it wouldn't in 5 hours ;)
But the constricting limits people are experiencing this month is still gonna happen next month too heh - unless you've upgraded your package or switched to another isp.
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neko @ 30th Sep 06:43PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Frozty2k :
What distro are you using & what are you using to log the bandwidth?said by Hamilton1 :
I'm putting in a new firewall/linux box where I will be able to keep iron clad logs on usage for every computer and I will be able to see what's what for next month ;)
I'm putting in a new firewall/linux box where I will be able to keep iron clad logs on usage for every computer and I will be able to see what's what for next month ;)
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Frozty2k @ 30th Sep 07:21PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by neko :
I haven't had one of these box's setup for a few years, used IP Cop back then. I looked around and am going to try a firewall called pfSense that has a lot of features and should be able to do what I want. It runs off FreeBSD and has a lot of addons/modules that can be added to do the trick.said by Frozty2k :
What distro are you using & what are you using to log the bandwidth?said by Hamilton1 :
I'm putting in a new firewall/linux box where I will be able to keep iron clad logs on usage for every computer and I will be able to see what's what for next month ;)
I'm putting in a new firewall/linux box where I will be able to keep iron clad logs on usage for every computer and I will be able to see what's what for next month ;)
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urbanriot @ 30th Sep 08:43PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Like you guys, also patiently waiting for the 1st so I can start doing some work from home (need some distro ISO's and drivers).
For command line, bmon is simple to view and easy to use.
I use mrtg for some of my bsd boxes, but you might also want to check out nagois. I'd be interested if anyone has any other *nix based bandwidth monitors that generate HTML reports. (netstat + perl doesn't count).
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Trist @ 30th Sep 08:49PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
There is a Windows based programme that claims to (among other things) monitor internet usage by day and month and to warn at a user set MB/GB usage target. Name is "Bandwidth Monitor". At www.bwmonitor.com .. has a 30 day trial. Seen it on usenet too if that's easier for you.
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Frozty2k @ 30th Sep 09:05PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Someone suggested this software as having a lot of display options »www.plixer.com/products/free-netflow.php (free version) It's made to take Cisco NetFlow data, but you can use pfflowd which converts OpenBSD PF status messages to the NetFlow datagrams.
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Snickerdo @ 30th Sep 11:43PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
So they crack down on bitcaps, and I can't even download from usenet at a full 10Mbit/s, seem to be stuck at 3 for the last three days yet still seem to be pulling 10 from everywhere else? What a bunch of crap this is.
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Shamans @ 1st Oct 12:27AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
try multiple connections...if you haven't yet (and if your software allows it)
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 12:30AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Shamans :
try multiple connections...if you haven't yet (and if your software allows it)
Haha dude, while I appreciate your offer for assistance I am not a noob when it comes to this. I have also ruled out the server as the cause as I'm downloading something at ~850KB/s on my Mothers' Rogers connection. The only conclusion I can come to is that Cogeco has gone from the best to the absolute worst in the country.try multiple connections...if you haven't yet (and if your software allows it)
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Scrappy2 @ 1st Oct 12:31AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I'm going to use my 60 gigabytes limit and dump my shitty cogeco.
The stupid selfcare page says my estimated overage usage for October will be 11+ terabytes.
Seems the numbers all screwed up because didn't even get close to 300 gigabytes last month downloaded since half the month I was only allowed to use my bandwidth on was my email and web browsing(which I only browsed this page(half the time I even had the computer off).
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Shamans @ 1st Oct 12:47AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
380 gigs... on standard, dude that's wicked ;)
my counter just reset btw.
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PegLeg @ 1st Oct 12:58AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
If you think the bit-cap screwup was bad , wait until they start this - »AT&T Censors Customers' Negative Opinions?
Unannounced and retroactive , of course ! lol
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 01:04AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by PegLeg :
If you think the bit-cap screwup was bad , wait until they start this - »AT&T Censors Customers' Negative Opinions?
Unannounced and retroactive , of course ! lol
Thankfully, our Charter and the current interpretation of Freedom of Expression has been applied in a much more broad sense, including situations like ours.If you think the bit-cap screwup was bad , wait until they start this - »AT&T Censors Customers' Negative Opinions?
Unannounced and retroactive , of course ! lol
I'm in the process of arranging to have DSL installed at my new address to test line conditions. Bell's database says the address is only good for 1.5, but they also said that my downtown address was only good for 2 when it was good for 8. I want to be rid of this hellhole of an ISP ASAP.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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anon @ 1st Oct 01:25AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Scrappy2 :
I'm going to use my 60 gigabytes limit and dump my shitty cogeco.
My bandwidth counter has reset, yet I have an almost useless internet connection. I hope that resets soon also.I'm going to use my 60 gigabytes limit and dump my shitty cogeco.
I will not be punished like this month after month. I am also going to use this months bandwidth and then switch to a honest and technical ISP. Techsavvy fits the bill.
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 02:52AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I stand corrected, they don't seem to be throttling the Usenet protocol (thank god!) but whatever routing from Peer1 to AT&T they're using absolutely sucks balls.
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anon @ 1st Oct 03:20AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
You didn't get the memo Usenet throttling starts this month oh also Cogeco gets your first born child after your last warning.
Joking
But I'm sure throttling Newsgroups is coming(although maybe not. They want as many people to go over the limit so they can pressure you into a more $ package.
I really would have gladly paid more money for unlimited through Cogeco but since they don't offer this.
I can't
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anon @ 1st Oct 06:52AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I don't know much about this, but it's October now and I'm still getting a 6kB/s bitcap with P2P downloads. My bandwidth was never great before, but this is getting annoying.
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anon @ 1st Oct 10:20AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I am a new Cogeco customer got 3 months free and currently in my second month. I am cancelling as well, never really came close to going over 60gb before for bandwidth however this kind of has me scared as if I did go up that high for some reason I would be cut off from the net and I need the internet, if I did not need it why would I even have it. DSL is not that bad in my area as I had that prior to getting Cogeco and I was doing speedtests as 5200kb down and 680 up. Cogeco, what were you thinking?
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urbanriot @ 1st Oct 11:39AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Snickerdo :
Bell's database says the address is only good for 1.5, but they also said that my downtown address was only good for 2 when it was good for 8.
I was also told my address was rated for 1.5, and I couldn't get the better packages. Should I try it anyhow, and see if they're wrong? I live in a rural area so this wouldn't surprise me if it's only rated for 1.5. Bell's database says the address is only good for 1.5, but they also said that my downtown address was only good for 2 when it was good for 8.
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 11:57AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by urbanriot :
]I was also told my address was rated for 1.5, and I couldn't get the better packages. Should I try it anyhow, and see if they're wrong? I live in a rural area so this wouldn't surprise me if it's only rated for 1.5.
A crapload of RSLAMs have been installed in rural Niagara over the last 18 months. It might be worth a try. I know I'm going to try with DSL as my personal experience with Bell's estimates has been sketchy.]I was also told my address was rated for 1.5, and I couldn't get the better packages. Should I try it anyhow, and see if they're wrong? I live in a rural area so this wouldn't surprise me if it's only rated for 1.5.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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Trist @ 1st Oct 11:58AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
second month. I am cancelling as well, never really came close to going over 60gb before for bandwidth however this kind of has me scared as if I did go up that high for some reason I would be cut off
I understand what you mean. I've been with Cogeco's internet service through at least 3-names that I recall for years. Looking at the past two months I don't go over the cap (100Gig/Pro) but this morning for the first time ever I'm thinking to myself do I really need to load that web page? I'm checking how much data loads from a page here in the forums. I'm wondering about page reloads. No enjoyment in that (and I haven't even considered a real file transfer or web activity yet).
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urbanriot @ 1st Oct 12:01PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Just called in again, talked to a supervisor and they confirmed that high speed DSL is not available in my area, nor is it anywhere near my area, nor is Bell's wimax service available. So it looks as though I'm with Cogeco for the long haul...
I think I'm going to drop down to the lite service and just RDP into the office (where I don't have any silly bitcaps) and download to my heart's content, then ferry data every few days with an external hard drive. That's what I used to do in the days of olde, back when I was on dial up.
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dan991199 @ 1st Oct 01:30PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Ugh, I'm a little late getting in here, but i would also like to state my frustration with Cogeco. after being a customer of the internet service for 8 years i will no longer being utilizing their services. I move in a little less than a month, and i will be either making the switch to Teksavvy or to Sympatico 16Mbit service. i will also no longer be utilizing cogeco's Tv service as the only reason i had it was because i also used their internet service. I really hope cogeco realizes what they have done, and the amount of customers they have pissed off and corrects things for those who don't have the option to switch.
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Airwolf @ 1st Oct 02:01PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Cogeco corrected things and I do have the option to switch.
I have had DSL before, it sucked big time for my area. Bell told me that they would upgrade the area in 2 years. No Hell in chance I was going to pay for 1.5Mbps service (sync problems as well) when others in the city were getting 3Mbps+
I'm not a Cogeco fanboy. It just works for me. Plus, it's cheaper when bundled with Digital cable.
When I first got 1 Mbps DSL from Sympatico, I thought it was the most neato thing. I loved it. So at one point I did enjoy DSL. I hope others are enjoying it as well because I'm enjoying Cogeco.
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anon @ 1st Oct 02:08PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
>>Cogeco corrected things and I do have the option to switch.
What did Cogeco correct? The (low) caps and suspensions are still there, the arrogance is still there. I have yet to receive an apology in my inbox for the abrupt, without notice change from soft to hard caps. The trust is gone.
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Airwolf @ 1st Oct 02:16PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
The congestion.
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anon @ 1st Oct 02:25PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
gotcha
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Scrappy2 @ 1st Oct 03:40PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I think we will be seeing an influx of negative Cogeco posts by third week of October.
Not everyone was aware or effected by the caps last month as they took effect near the end of September.
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dan991199 @ 1st Oct 04:19PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
i think you're right scrappy
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Trist @ 1st Oct 04:27PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I think Krispy, in one of the earlier posts on this topic, said the implmentation began on the first of last month. The middle of September was when people began to post they'd been warned or banned without warning due to the then broken warning system.
ASIDE:
How much is everyone transfering today, eating it up or being cautious? So far I've stuck to light viewing of web pages only and am at 11MB (according to Bandwidth Monitor).
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Scrappy2 @ 1st Oct 04:30PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I'm using my newsgroup and eatting up a bunch of Bandwidth.
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SuperCM @ 1st Oct 04:31PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Joost went public today as well (no need to be invited), so I guess caps on all major Canadian ISPs isn't going to help them much.
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neko @ 1st Oct 04:55PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I am currently in discussion with Techsavvy about getting DSL service at my apartment. Initially I will need to buy a modem from them but after 6 months my monthly bill will be $46 (includes tax) for unlimited use, dry line, static IP & newsgroup access.
I am pretty much sold on it as I will save $6 a month compared to my Cogeco service & with no caps.
So it looks like I will be leaving Cogeco sometime this month. I am gonna blow my cap first, though & grab what I can from their news server.
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ancodia @ 1st Oct 05:01PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by neko :
I am currently in discussion with Techsavvy about getting DSL service at my apartment. Initially I will need to buy a modem from them but after 6 months my monthly bill will be $46 (includes tax) for unlimited use, dry line, static IP & newsgroup access.
I am pretty much sold on it as I will save $6 a month compared to my Cogeco service & with no caps.
So it looks like I will be leaving Cogeco sometime this month. I am gonna blow my cap first, though & grab what I can from their news server.
You should pickup the 2wire modem from Canada computers. $20. I'm using it and it works fine. I think after 6 months away from Cogeco you become elegible for their promos again, so if in the future they raise/remove their caps, you can signup with Cogeco again and get a good price.I am currently in discussion with Techsavvy about getting DSL service at my apartment. Initially I will need to buy a modem from them but after 6 months my monthly bill will be $46 (includes tax) for unlimited use, dry line, static IP & newsgroup access.
I am pretty much sold on it as I will save $6 a month compared to my Cogeco service & with no caps.
So it looks like I will be leaving Cogeco sometime this month. I am gonna blow my cap first, though & grab what I can from their news server.
edit : yep, 6 months : '1 This is a limited time offer. Offer is for Cogeco High Speed Internet Standard service and is limited to new customers or those who have disconnected for more than six months'
So you get to give a big FU to Cogeco and cancel and either way things go you win out (either Cogeco wakes up to their mistake and you sign back up at a discount or you stick with Teksavvy and get unlimited Internet and Cogeco doesnt get any of your money).
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neko @ 1st Oct 05:20PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Is this the correct one:
»www.canadacomputers.com/index.ph···d=NT.541
Looks great for $20!
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ancodia @ 1st Oct 05:31PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by neko :
Is this the correct one:
»www.canadacomputers.com/index.ph···d=NT.541
Looks great for $20!
yep, that's the one. Some people are reporting that some of them are defective, but my first one worked fine. If it is defective, they won't charge to swap.Is this the correct one:
»www.canadacomputers.com/index.ph···d=NT.541
Looks great for $20!
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neko @ 1st Oct 05:38PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
So how is the Techsavvy service? How long from initial inquiry to actual service started?
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ancodia @ 1st Oct 05:52PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by neko2 :
So how is the Techsavvy service? How long from initial inquiry to actual service started?
took five days to get dry-dsl installed. I get the full 5-meg service which works out to about 525k/sec downloading. nntp is capped at 125KB/sec, but that's ok with me (works out to about 10gig/day). I have an Easynews account which I'll use for stuff I need to get right away. One thing I did notice when I switched over from Cogeco to dsl is that my Primus VOIP service dramatically improved. I used to get weird echoes and sometimes only one person at a time could speak. Works great now (finally got the stamp of approval from the wife)So how is the Techsavvy service? How long from initial inquiry to actual service started?
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urbanriot @ 1st Oct 06:10PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by ancodia :
nntp is capped at 125KB/sec
Whoa, whoa, whoa... per connection or as a whole your nntp traffic is shaped?nntp is capped at 125KB/sec
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dan991199 @ 1st Oct 06:14PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
if you are a heavy newgroup user you might wanna checkout a seperate provider such as newshosting for better speed, but also better rentention
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neko @ 1st Oct 06:14PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by ancodia :
That sounds great. I don't mind the 1Mbit download cap on the news server, as you say that's 10Gb a day which is far more than I use on a daily basis anyway. It would suit me fine :)said by neko2 :
So how is the Techsavvy service? How long from initial inquiry to actual service started?
took five days to get dry-dsl installed. I get the full 5-meg service which works out to about 525k/sec downloading. nntp is capped at 125KB/sec, but that's ok with me (works out to about 10gig/day). I have an Easynews account which I'll use for stuff I need to get right away. One thing I did notice when I switched over from Cogeco to dsl is that my Primus VOIP service dramatically improved. I used to get weird echoes and sometimes only one person at a time could speak. Works great now (finally got the stamp of approval from the wife)So how is the Techsavvy service? How long from initial inquiry to actual service started?
I ordered the 2wire a few minutes ago from Canada Computers so I should have it in a few days, then I will look at cancelling my Cogeco service.
Thanks for the info.
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diskdocx @ 1st Oct 06:18PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Does Techsavvy provide a 'free' news server? If so, how is the completion/retention.
Personally, I'd be more likely to switch to the 200gig Business account, with Cogeco's own news server, than to switch to a slower ISP, and pay for an add-on news service, esp if the traffic is that restricted.
I managed to avoid any warning last month, but was 2.5 gig over the pro cap by the end of yesterday.
This month I'm already 4 gigs into my bandwidth, and getting more paranoid by the moment.
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neko @ 1st Oct 06:24PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by diskdocx :
Does Techsavvy provide a 'free' news server? If so, how is the completion/retention.
Personally, I'd be more likely to switch to the 200gig Business account, with Cogeco's own news server, than to switch to a slower ISP, and pay for an add-on news service, esp if the traffic is that restricted.
I managed to avoid any warning last month, but was 2.5 gig over the pro cap by the end of yesterday.
This month I'm already 4 gigs into my bandwidth, and getting more paranoid by the moment.
I believe they do offer the news server as part of their service included within the monthly price. I *think* it's usenetserver that provides it for them, with 120 day retention.Does Techsavvy provide a 'free' news server? If so, how is the completion/retention.
Personally, I'd be more likely to switch to the 200gig Business account, with Cogeco's own news server, than to switch to a slower ISP, and pay for an add-on news service, esp if the traffic is that restricted.
I managed to avoid any warning last month, but was 2.5 gig over the pro cap by the end of yesterday.
This month I'm already 4 gigs into my bandwidth, and getting more paranoid by the moment.
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 06:25PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
The 200GB business account is 16Mbit/s for $89.99? I've never gone over 200GB, so this may be an absolute last resort alternative if DSL doesn't work out due to distance.
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ancodia @ 1st Oct 06:45PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by urbanriot :
by default Teksavvy only supplies you with text newsggroup access. for $4/month they will give you a static ip and binary access (binaries from www.usenetserver.com - which I think is around 100 days retention). catch is that $4 only gets you a 1mbit unlimited nntp connection (125 KB). if you want faster you need to buy it yourself from somewhere else. astraweb or newshosting is a good choice for unlimited. Personally, I like Easynews because its got a great search engine, loyalty gigs and whatever you dont use rolls over to the next month. Mind you, you could also p2p since they don't shape the traffic.said by ancodia :
nntp is capped at 125KB/sec
Whoa, whoa, whoa... per connection or as a whole your nntp traffic is shaped?nntp is capped at 125KB/sec
If Cogeco was smart they would do they same thing. For an extra $10 month you get unlimited local NNTP access. but then, that would be progressive thinking... They even own the server! It's like Cogeco has a modern state of the art network and it's being controlled by management still stuck in 2001.
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urbanriot @ 1st Oct 07:02PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Ah, you said nntp, as in all nntp traffic is limited to that speed. I don't care about their news server, I have my own.
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Scrappy2 @ 1st Oct 07:26PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Wow been using my newsgroup and speeds are all over the place started good 700 800 kb/s
now levelled off at 150 kb/s.
Guess everyone was waiting for the month rollover.
before THE BITCAP I had no problem pulling a steady 900 to 1000 kb/s off newsgroups.
Anyone else getting slower than usual speeds?
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 07:56PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Scrappy2 :
Anyone else getting slower than usual speeds?
See above.Anyone else getting slower than usual speeds?
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Scrappy2 @ 1st Oct 08:51PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
See what above ???
I've been reading all 19 pages?
throughout the last week.
I'm still with Cogeco not teksavy yet.
Cogeco newsgroup sucks. I pay for one (newshosting).
Are you telling me cogeco is capping usenet speed now????
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 08:53PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Read a little more closely next time.
said by Snickerdo :
So they crack down on bitcaps, and I can't even download from usenet at a full 10Mbit/s, seem to be stuck at 3 for the last three days yet still seem to be pulling 10 from everywhere else? What a bunch of crap this is.
So they crack down on bitcaps, and I can't even download from usenet at a full 10Mbit/s, seem to be stuck at 3 for the last three days yet still seem to be pulling 10 from everywhere else? What a bunch of crap this is.
said by Snickerdo :
I stand corrected, they don't seem to be throttling the Usenet protocol (thank god!) but whatever routing from Peer1 to AT&T they're using absolutely sucks balls.
I stand corrected, they don't seem to be throttling the Usenet protocol (thank god!) but whatever routing from Peer1 to AT&T they're using absolutely sucks balls.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 10:04PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
As much as this pains me, I think I may just end up getting the standard SOHO account from Cogeco. It's not much more than Pro but has more bandwidth which I doubt I'll ever exceed. My hope is also that they may be more lienent on the business customers - not that I ever plan on using 200GB in a month, but you never know. The whole idea of uncertainty is what bothers me.
I've got a lot of stuff to think about, bleh.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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diskdocx @ 1st Oct 10:11PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I'm in the same boat, some months I will probably need just more than 100gigs, but others less. In the past it was fine, and over the year I average less than 100gig/mo.
But I know certain months, typically Sept-Nov tend to be higher usage.
Still, I can't see that usage will not increase slowly over time. 2 or 3 years ago, I couldn't have imagined needing 100gigs/mo. Also never thought I'd have 3Tb of hard drive space :P
For me the make or break issue is going to be the email. If I can't keep .ca or forward the .ca to .net then its a no-go.
I'll probably end up downgrading to lite, so my wife can keep her business email, and add a second isp like Techsavvy.
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anon @ 1st Oct 10:14PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Snickerdo :
As much as this pains me, I think I may just end up getting the standard SOHO account from Cogeco. It's not much more than Pro but has more bandwidth which I doubt I'll ever exceed. My hope is also that they may be more lienent on the business customers
We do know that ones connection is disconnected when over cap by 30% in the standard and pro consumer line. We also were hoping the pro would have more bandwidth since it was an upscale product. But that was not the case. I could just see the business line also being disconnected at %30 over except the Enterprise which is unlimited. But it is very wallet intensive.As much as this pains me, I think I may just end up getting the standard SOHO account from Cogeco. It's not much more than Pro but has more bandwidth which I doubt I'll ever exceed. My hope is also that they may be more lienent on the business customers
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 10:15PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
My Cogeco email addresses are of no consequence. I just want to know if there is any way I can get around the whole idea of being cut off. There's nothing anywhere in the realm of affordability above the SOHO package.
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 10:16PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by OneTimeOnePlace :
We do know that ones connection is disconnected when over cap by 30% in the standard and pro consumer line. We also were hoping the pro would have more bandwidth since it was an upscale product. But that was not the case. I could just see the business line also being disconnected at %30 over except the Enterprise which is unlimited. But it is very wallet intensive.
Would Cogeco pull the plug on a business customer? I'm not going outright ask a Cogeco tech to tell me, but if they can hint at this they might be able to keep me as a customer, one that even pays more than they do now.We do know that ones connection is disconnected when over cap by 30% in the standard and pro consumer line. We also were hoping the pro would have more bandwidth since it was an upscale product. But that was not the case. I could just see the business line also being disconnected at %30 over except the Enterprise which is unlimited. But it is very wallet intensive.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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diskdocx @ 1st Oct 10:26PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Don't see any reason why they wouldn't. If you're a business that relies on the internet, and you need more than 200 gigs/mo, then you best be paying for the unlimited tier.
I have seen no indication that Cogeco really cares who's on the other end.
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roxx @ 1st Oct 11:41PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Snickerdo :
As much as this pains me, I think I may just end up getting the standard SOHO account from Cogeco. It's not much more than Pro but has more bandwidth which I doubt I'll ever exceed. My hope is also that they may be more lienent on the business customers - not that I ever plan on using 200GB in a month, but you never know. The whole idea of uncertainty is what bothers me.
I've got a lot of stuff to think about, bleh.
Just so you know, they will not be any different just because you are in the business tier. Read my posts on the first and second or third pages. As much as this pains me, I think I may just end up getting the standard SOHO account from Cogeco. It's not much more than Pro but has more bandwidth which I doubt I'll ever exceed. My hope is also that they may be more lienent on the business customers - not that I ever plan on using 200GB in a month, but you never know. The whole idea of uncertainty is what bothers me.
I've got a lot of stuff to think about, bleh.
The constant watching of transfer totals just would not work for me so I had to upgrade to the Enterprise acct. So far so good. Although it does say my bandwidth limit is 500 gigs.
None of the phone techs can tell me why it still says I have a cap in my selfcare page. I am waiting to hear back from Krispy to see if she can find out why.
Good luck and watch your totals, you will get the cut off notices. I did.
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Snickerdo @ 1st Oct 11:48PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Well, this absolutely sucks, but at least with SOHO I don't need to worry about getting cut off until 260GB, which is more than I have ever used.
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anon @ 1st Oct 11:56PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
But once one starts paying the business class pricing one would be better with Teksavvy and a 2 line or 3 line dry dsl with mlppp.
Approx $80 to $120 and true unlimited. Speed up to 10 Mb/sec with 2 line and 15 Mb/sec with 3 line.
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Snickerdo @ 2nd Oct 12:09AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by OneTimeOnePlace :
But once one starts paying the business class pricing one would be better with Teksavvy and a 2 line or 3 line dry dsl with mlppp.
Approx $80 to $120 and true unlimited. Speed up to 10 Mb/sec with 2 line and 15 Mb/sec with 3 line.
... not if your loop is only good for a megabit at best.But once one starts paying the business class pricing one would be better with Teksavvy and a 2 line or 3 line dry dsl with mlppp.
Approx $80 to $120 and true unlimited. Speed up to 10 Mb/sec with 2 line and 15 Mb/sec with 3 line.
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Snickerdo @ 2nd Oct 01:40AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I wonder what we need to do to get this posted on the front page of DSLR as a news item, especially since the network staff at Cogeco aren't exactly happy with this either. The whole screwup with users being cut off without any notification is certainly newsworthy as far as I'm concerned. It might actually do some good to get the word out beyond the forum.
Oh, and nice, Selfcare is down too. So much for being able to check up on the estimated cutoff date.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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anon @ 2nd Oct 01:51AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Snickerdo :
I wonder what we need to do to get this posted on the front page of DSLR as a news item, especially since the network staff at Cogeco aren't exactly happy with this either.
How do you know the network staff at Cogeco is not happy about this? I have not seen any postings from the staff of Cogeco pointing this out. Even in an anonymous fashion.I wonder what we need to do to get this posted on the front page of DSLR as a news item, especially since the network staff at Cogeco aren't exactly happy with this either.
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Snickerdo @ 2nd Oct 01:54AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by OneTimeOnePlace :
How do you know the network staff at Cogeco is not happy about this? I have not seen any postings from the staff of Cogeco pointing this out. Even in an anonymous fashion.
Put two and two together buddy. If this was their doing, they would be here defending the policy. Simple as that. The fact that they're remaining silent shows that they are not happy about the way this is going down. Not a single Cogeco tech - and there are a LOT of them here in these forums - has said a single word about this whole issue.How do you know the network staff at Cogeco is not happy about this? I have not seen any postings from the staff of Cogeco pointing this out. Even in an anonymous fashion.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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Shamans @ 2nd Oct 08:10AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
If you're doing pro and need more bandwidth, you should switch to atleast the business starter package. it's 7 mbit but you could probably stretch your limit to 145 to 150 gigs before you get cut off. Even heavy downloaders usually only need around 140 to 150 gigs.
It's too bad that some of us are in the same boat: dsl isn't available ;(
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anon @ 2nd Oct 09:00AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
All the while completely oblivious to Cogeco's change in enforcement all of a sudden... I was cut the other night. for 24 hours. The thing Cogeco does not understand is that we are not it's kids. We simply choose them as the ISP because we think they are greater. Loyalty can change as they will find out soon enough. Their treason has lead their followers to believe that they are being lead by some other system. They are now only a pawn of a bigger system. Why else would they be doing this? Regardless of them wussing out... It's still their decision whether or not they enforce this. There are many loyal customers that would be willing to back up Cogeco if some a**h**e government system threatens to shut them down. I came to cogeco for 3 things. Great speeds, Unl. Bandwidth and anonymity. But slowly everything is being taken away. 2 out of 3 to be exact. The speeds will most likely keep going up and up. But who uses those kinds of speeds that doesn't go over their "cap". Thus it comes down to this. A showdown between Cogeco and it's rebels. Will they step down to make their clients happy (which is what all companies are 'supposed' to do) or will they go down a different hole and start losing valuable customers. The outcome is up to them.
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Last Parade @ 2nd Oct 09:08AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by urbanriot :
Just called in again, talked to a supervisor and they confirmed that high speed DSL is not available in my area, nor is it anywhere near my area, nor is Bell's wimax service available. So it looks as though I'm with Cogeco for the long haul...
I think I'm going to drop down to the lite service and just RDP into the office (where I don't have any silly bitcaps) and download to my heart's content, then ferry data every few days with an external hard drive. That's what I used to do in the days of olde, back when I was on dial up.
where are you that you can get cogeco but not anything else? that's a bit oddball.Just called in again, talked to a supervisor and they confirmed that high speed DSL is not available in my area, nor is it anywhere near my area, nor is Bell's wimax service available. So it looks as though I'm with Cogeco for the long haul...
I think I'm going to drop down to the lite service and just RDP into the office (where I don't have any silly bitcaps) and download to my heart's content, then ferry data every few days with an external hard drive. That's what I used to do in the days of olde, back when I was on dial up.
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anon @ 2nd Oct 09:16AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by urbanriot :
where are you that you can get cogeco but not anything else? that's a bit oddball.
Depends on the quality of their phone lines. Some places still haven't upgraded.where are you that you can get cogeco but not anything else? that's a bit oddball.
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anon @ 2nd Oct 10:04AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
>>Put two and two together buddy. If this was their doing, they would be here defending the policy. Simple as that. The fact that they're remaining silent shows that they are not happy about the way this is going down. Not a single Cogeco tech - and there are a LOT of them here in these forums - has said a single word about this whole issue.
Krispy replied and defended the policy. Page 2.
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mattei @ 2nd Oct 10:45AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by aardvvark :
Krispy replied and defended the policy. Page 2.
Krispy replied and defended the policy. Page 2.
said by boredguy :
Well as soon as i hit 95 gigs the internet went to crap and everything is super slow. No redirect screen telling me to call customer service though.
Sounds like 95GB-100GB is the new hard limit. Maybe, on the weekend, they throttle a connection instead of cutting it off? Just guessing, as the others posting in this thread have said they were cut off.Well as soon as i hit 95 gigs the internet went to crap and everything is super slow. No redirect screen telling me to call customer service though.
It also sounds like someone is still reading this thread.
said by boredguy :
Called customer service anyways and apparently i have to call network security and they're only there for limited hours.
Why not have a chat with the VIP member in Cogeco Engineering who holds the title of Network Security Administrator?Called customer service anyways and apparently i have to call network security and they're only there for limited hours.
said by Krispy :
Well I can see that this thread has turned into venting so I'll leave you to it, if anyone has an actual question about this you can PM me.
DSLR profile: »/profile/536788Well I can see that this thread has turned into venting so I'll leave you to it, if anyone has an actual question about this you can PM me.
Before you try, you might want to browse some background information. Her posts in this thread:
»Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Krispy :
Ok, things got changed on Monday as most of you noticed. Things also went wrong, as things sometimes do, and some people didn't get the warnings they should have. The problem has been identified and hopefully won't happen again, it wasn't planned to go that way and lots of discussions have/are occurring to ensure it doesn't happen again. I also worked on a bunch of changes over the past few days to quickly alleviate the issue for those affected...probably didn't come fast enough for some of you which kinda sucks but we did what we could as fast as possible.
As for the changes, basically we're enforcing based on combined bitcaps now. We're still being generous with the bitcaps and we're still not charging money for overages but it's tighter than before and if you're transferring tons of traffic you should probably move to a more appropriate package (ie: doing 100GB/mo on a Lite package).
So that's deal.
»Re: [Niagara] Cogeco BitcapsOk, things got changed on Monday as most of you noticed. Things also went wrong, as things sometimes do, and some people didn't get the warnings they should have. The problem has been identified and hopefully won't happen again, it wasn't planned to go that way and lots of discussions have/are occurring to ensure it doesn't happen again. I also worked on a bunch of changes over the past few days to quickly alleviate the issue for those affected...probably didn't come fast enough for some of you which kinda sucks but we did what we could as fast as possible.
As for the changes, basically we're enforcing based on combined bitcaps now. We're still being generous with the bitcaps and we're still not charging money for overages but it's tighter than before and if you're transferring tons of traffic you should probably move to a more appropriate package (ie: doing 100GB/mo on a Lite package).
So that's deal.
said by Krispy :
»Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcapssaid by anonguy2 :
What's generous? looking at the posts seems that > 80 gig combined is enough to get a warning. Is Cogeco going to start nickel and diming its customers like Rogers?
Generous is not being cut off at EXACTLY your bitcap limit. If you don't want to have problems then plan to stay around your bitcap for your plan.What's generous? looking at the posts seems that > 80 gig combined is enough to get a warning. Is Cogeco going to start nickel and diming its customers like Rogers?
said by manderson4 :
Can you maybe help us out with a little clarification on "We're still being generous with the bitcaps and we're still not charging money for overages but it's tighter than before." I realize I need to upgrade but I am wondering if just the Pro will do it or do I need to look at a small business package.
As I said above, if you're not really in the area of your cap then you should probably upgrade. I can't really say much outside of see »www.cogeco.ca/en/high-speed-internet-_o.html and »www.cogeco.ca/en/commercial_serv···s_o.html for more info on bitcapsCan you maybe help us out with a little clarification on "We're still being generous with the bitcaps and we're still not charging money for overages but it's tighter than before." I realize I need to upgrade but I am wondering if just the Pro will do it or do I need to look at a small business package.
said by Snickerdo :
I'm not going to change the way I browse the Internet just because Cogeco is financially troubled and trying to find ways to not upgrade their network, since this is the only reason they would ever pull a stunt like this after 10-13 years of offering high speed service.
I understand you're upset and your need to find the best provider for your usage and online needs. I don't expect you to believe me and I'm not going to debate it but bitcap enforcement is not an alternative to upgrading capacity, we have a full team dedicated to capacity planning and there are continual upgrades going on network wide. I'm not going to change the way I browse the Internet just because Cogeco is financially troubled and trying to find ways to not upgrade their network, since this is the only reason they would ever pull a stunt like this after 10-13 years of offering high speed service.
said by urbanriot :
However, I do think it's a little severe if they're disabling users with no warning, since this enforcement is new.
We're not disabling users with no warning on purpose, there was a problem this month that caused some people to get no warning and it shouldn't happen again. Also, the enforcement process isn't new, we just changed what we're monitoring.However, I do think it's a little severe if they're disabling users with no warning, since this enforcement is new.
said by PegLeg :
What I find strange is why drop the hammer NOW , IF they are going to raise the 'caps' as stated above by ' DrDog'.
I think it would cause less problems to raise the limits first and THEN announce the hard cap !
To my knowledge (which could well be limited) there are no immediate plans to raise any bitcaps.What I find strange is why drop the hammer NOW , IF they are going to raise the 'caps' as stated above by ' DrDog'.
I think it would cause less problems to raise the limits first and THEN announce the hard cap !
said by Forbin :
In my case I got two bandwidth warnings in quick succession a couple of days ago. Now my download speed is ~200kbps. Not as bad as being disconnected but it's next to worthless.
We do not limit speed...if we take action they you are simply redirected to our suspension page, we DO NOT alter speeds so if you're having speed problems it's unrelated and should be investigated accordinglyIn my case I got two bandwidth warnings in quick succession a couple of days ago. Now my download speed is ~200kbps. Not as bad as being disconnected but it's next to worthless.
said by Forbin :
After 8 years with cogeco (all the while recommending their service to friends) I find this abrupt change of policy disappointing. I too will be investigating DSL options asap.
Sad to hear that but I understand that you need to find the best service for your needs, I wish I could offer more but I'm just the messenger here.After 8 years with cogeco (all the while recommending their service to friends) I find this abrupt change of policy disappointing. I too will be investigating DSL options asap.
said by Krispy :
As for what is being enforced, I can't give out exact thresholds but AT THE MOMENT we're not turfing you at exactly 100GB. But again, they can change this at any time so if you go into withdrawal when internet is not available I'd suggest monitoring your @cogeco.ca email account for warnings and checking your usage on the SelfCare site to avoid such as travesty.
»Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcapssaid by urbanriot :
You're now doing something you weren't doing before. Maybe it's not "new" if you want to argue semantics, but it's different and completely unexpected since people have been doing things the way they've been doing them for a while without consequence, whether there are rules or not.
I turned on my Cogeco email for the first time in months and noticed I'm now receiving bandwidth warnings... on Pro! And I'm hardly using my connection this month, to the extent I've used it in the past and was hoping to use in the future.
However, maybe I'm jumping the gun on my frustration.. Is Cogeco now enforcing their posted bitcaps? Is 100 Gb combined for Pro account being strictly enforced?
Previously we were monitoring upstream bitcap only, now we're monitoring on combined bitcap which falls in line with our change to combined bitcaps a while back. Things change...not saying it's good or bad but companies change their policies or actions sometimes and considering the bitcaps have been in place for sometime it's not totally unexpected. We've been more generous in the past but I've always said that people should stick to their bitcap to avoid interruption - it's kinda like speeding, alot of us do it from time to time and get away with it mostly but sometimes we get caught and sometimes law enforcement decides to crack down more then usual which sucks but we still have to pay the ticket in the end. A few months ago I got a ticket for doing 17km over on a rural road I have driven no less then 5000 times at that speed...extremely annoying but they don't care about my arguments that I've done it 5000 times safely as the posted speed limit is the posted speed limit that's been there all along.You're now doing something you weren't doing before. Maybe it's not "new" if you want to argue semantics, but it's different and completely unexpected since people have been doing things the way they've been doing them for a while without consequence, whether there are rules or not.
I turned on my Cogeco email for the first time in months and noticed I'm now receiving bandwidth warnings... on Pro! And I'm hardly using my connection this month, to the extent I've used it in the past and was hoping to use in the future.
However, maybe I'm jumping the gun on my frustration.. Is Cogeco now enforcing their posted bitcaps? Is 100 Gb combined for Pro account being strictly enforced?
As for what is being enforced, I can't give out exact thresholds but AT THE MOMENT we're not turfing you at exactly 100GB. But again, they can change this at any time so if you go into withdrawal when internet is not available I'd suggest monitoring your @cogeco.ca email account for warnings and checking your usage on the SelfCare site to avoid such as travesty.
said by Krispy :
»Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcapssaid by aardvvark :
I know you have to tow the company line, Krispy, but LOL @ the speeding analogy. Oh lord. We're not putting anyone's life in danger and we can't change law enforcement companies. Nice try, though.
You are entitled to your opinion but just to clarify something...I'm not towing a company line with the speeding analogy, I honestly see no difference between getting upset over sudden enforcement of longtime posted bitcaps and sudden enforcement of longtime posted speedlimits. I'm not saying that exceeding bitcaps is akin to a speeding car, I'm just trying to illustrate that it's hard to get legally upset over exceeding a posted limit. As always, I strongly encourage you or anyone to try and change things you don't agree with.I know you have to tow the company line, Krispy, but LOL @ the speeding analogy. Oh lord. We're not putting anyone's life in danger and we can't change law enforcement companies. Nice try, though.
said by aardvvark :
As for "internet withdrawal". Please. It's about being able to use a service that we pay for. FYI, the internet is used for a LOT more than mere "entertainment" (VOIP, business transactions anyone? Even a commercial account won't prevent cutoff) these days, so being cut off is definitely a big deal.
I'm not saying everyone has the same usage requirements, I'm just giving you my personal perspective here - I spend ALOT of time on the internet, have roommates that do so as well (both spend time transferring audio files for their work), XBOX is online (download demos from time to time), work from home occasionally, VOIP, friends stop by and connect their laptops or IPAQs or whatever to my network and my honest-to-goodness usage as of this hour for this month is 1.13GB upstream and 3.34GB downstream, last month it was 5.82GB upstream and 10.18GB downstream. I'm not suggesting anyone is doing anything wrong by using more, I'm just giving my perspective that not everyone using small amounts of bandwidth is just casually using email or not getting their money's worth.As for "internet withdrawal". Please. It's about being able to use a service that we pay for. FYI, the internet is used for a LOT more than mere "entertainment" (VOIP, business transactions anyone? Even a commercial account won't prevent cutoff) these days, so being cut off is definitely a big deal.
said by Krispy :
»Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcapssaid by okoolo :
Disconnecting someone without any warning is totally unacceptable as many of us need internet for school/work
Absolutely agree 110%. There were issues this time around that resulted in some people being suspended without warning and all I can say is that I've done my best to ensure that won't happen again.Disconnecting someone without any warning is totally unacceptable as many of us need internet for school/work
said by okoolo :
Again I ask why hasn't this "change" been announced/implemented on the 1st of the month so we would have time to adjust ?
Honestly I don't know and it's a lame answer for me to give you but it's the only one I have which is "wasn't my decision".Again I ask why hasn't this "change" been announced/implemented on the 1st of the month so we would have time to adjust ?
said by okoolo :
I'm curious, is Cogeco still advertising their service as "unlimited"?
Bitcaps are plainly viewable on TOS/AUP and »www.cogeco.ca/en/high-speed-internet-_o.html and »www.cogeco.ca/en/commercial_serv···s_o.html but I notice the residential package pages does also indicated 'Unlimited' Time LimitsI'm curious, is Cogeco still advertising their service as "unlimited"?
said by Krispy :
There are longterm plans that might satisfy some of what you're asking for but I hope you can appreciate that there are a variety of reasons why I can't go into detail on a public forum.
My personal opinion on bitcaps and bandwidth in general is that the industry is moving towards a sorta cellphone billing model wherein you pay an X dollar access fee and then select a package from there -- for example my friend just got a Blackberry from Rogers so pays a monthly network access fee (I believe it's $10 or less) and then he selected a package that gave him X minutes of talktime and Y SMS allotment, etc. I envision multiple tiers of service provided by ISPs and not just bandwidth specific tiers but also platform (for lack of a better word) specific tiers, ie: a gaming tier, a streaming tier, etc where you pick what traffic you want prioritized on your package.
The one thing I've learned about the internet and this industry is how rapidly things can change based on technology. In 1999 P2P was just a sparkle in someone's eye, by 2002 it was pretty much taking over HTTP and NNTP as most prolific traffic, no one saw that coming and ISPs, in particular, got blindsided by it and have learned from that. Some new technologies such as the emerging DOCSIS 3 spec offers a whole world of new opportunities and I've learned from Mr Gates' infamous comment "Nobody will ever need more than 640k RAM!" in 1981 that predicting the future in technology while likely come back to bite you somewhere :)
»Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcapssaid by diskdocx :
I would love to hear from Krispy on this. Right now, this doesn't overly affect me, but I expect that bandwidth requirements won't be going down any time soon. As you can see, a lot of users here are upset, so there clearly is demand.
I'm not entirely clear on what you're asking me but first off let me say that the final decision is not mine so all I can do is recommend and pass on your comments (which I always do), you guys should also write to Cogeco and tell them what you want as that information does make it's way to the product development and marketing teams.I would love to hear from Krispy on this. Right now, this doesn't overly affect me, but I expect that bandwidth requirements won't be going down any time soon. As you can see, a lot of users here are upset, so there clearly is demand.
There are longterm plans that might satisfy some of what you're asking for but I hope you can appreciate that there are a variety of reasons why I can't go into detail on a public forum.
My personal opinion on bitcaps and bandwidth in general is that the industry is moving towards a sorta cellphone billing model wherein you pay an X dollar access fee and then select a package from there -- for example my friend just got a Blackberry from Rogers so pays a monthly network access fee (I believe it's $10 or less) and then he selected a package that gave him X minutes of talktime and Y SMS allotment, etc. I envision multiple tiers of service provided by ISPs and not just bandwidth specific tiers but also platform (for lack of a better word) specific tiers, ie: a gaming tier, a streaming tier, etc where you pick what traffic you want prioritized on your package.
The one thing I've learned about the internet and this industry is how rapidly things can change based on technology. In 1999 P2P was just a sparkle in someone's eye, by 2002 it was pretty much taking over HTTP and NNTP as most prolific traffic, no one saw that coming and ISPs, in particular, got blindsided by it and have learned from that. Some new technologies such as the emerging DOCSIS 3 spec offers a whole world of new opportunities and I've learned from Mr Gates' infamous comment "Nobody will ever need more than 640k RAM!" in 1981 that predicting the future in technology while likely come back to bite you somewhere :)
said by Krispy :
SOHO STANDARD
Speed Download* Up to 16 Mbps
Speed Upload Up to 1 Mbps
Data transfer/month (bitcap) 200 Gbytes
$90-100/mo depending on contract stuff
And for those of you that never want to worry,
ENTERPRISE
Speed Download* Up to 16 Mbps
Speed Upload Up to 1.5 Mbps
Data transfer/month (bitcap) Unlimited
$190-210/mo depending on contract stuff
As for making something a bit cheaper without the priority, server and static bells and whistles and making knocking the price down a bit...I'll suggest it and suggest you write to them suggesting it also and maybe they'll get something in gear depending on demand.
»Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcapssaid by diskdocx :
Again, while not directly affected ATM, what option is there if I want 200gigs/mo, at 16MBPs?
Well it is a business package but that just means you get priority tech support and service calls along with ability to run servers and static ip IF you wanted to utilize those things but if you don't it doesn't matter. Again, while not directly affected ATM, what option is there if I want 200gigs/mo, at 16MBPs?
SOHO STANDARD
Speed Download* Up to 16 Mbps
Speed Upload Up to 1 Mbps
Data transfer/month (bitcap) 200 Gbytes
$90-100/mo depending on contract stuff
And for those of you that never want to worry,
ENTERPRISE
Speed Download* Up to 16 Mbps
Speed Upload Up to 1.5 Mbps
Data transfer/month (bitcap) Unlimited
$190-210/mo depending on contract stuff
As for making something a bit cheaper without the priority, server and static bells and whistles and making knocking the price down a bit...I'll suggest it and suggest you write to them suggesting it also and maybe they'll get something in gear depending on demand.
said by Krispy :
»Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcapssaid by Sham :
I have a question for Krispy or others:
How many warnings do I get and at which point do I get suspended?
I believe it's 2 email warnings and then 3 levels of suspends with last one being final (aka: upgrade to bigger package or stay suspended till beginning of next month when counters reset to zero)I have a question for Krispy or others:
How many warnings do I get and at which point do I get suspended?
said by Sham :
Oh yeah, I'd also like to add that bandwidth isn't the only thing being enforced. A few months ago, they enforced the caps on the web space ;(
Sorta...it was more that the vendor fixed a bug that disallowed us from enforcing limits on webspace then us deciding to crack down on webspace all of a sudden. We've been working on that bug for some time and the fix finally came through so we applied it.Oh yeah, I'd also like to add that bandwidth isn't the only thing being enforced. A few months ago, they enforced the caps on the web space ;(
said by Krispy :
Well I can see that this thread has turned into venting so I'll leave you to it, if anyone has an actual question about this you can PM me.
As for the analogy, I still stand by it - the sign always said 80kph and your bitcap was always posted, one day after 5 years of driving ~97kph on that road I got a ticket for doing 97kph on that same road, one day after years of soft caps you got a warning or suspension. I might be able to knock a few bucks off my ticket (actually I didn't) if I'd argued enough but the judge would still remind me that it's posted 80kph and it's irrelevant that I never got a ticket before. If I started arguing with the judge that the speedlimit should be upped as I always drove that speed or if I argued it was just a money grab he would tell me to go speak to the powers that make the decision. That's all I'm telling you guys/girls.
Well I can see that this thread has turned into venting so I'll leave you to it, if anyone has an actual question about this you can PM me.
As for the analogy, I still stand by it - the sign always said 80kph and your bitcap was always posted, one day after 5 years of driving ~97kph on that road I got a ticket for doing 97kph on that same road, one day after years of soft caps you got a warning or suspension. I might be able to knock a few bucks off my ticket (actually I didn't) if I'd argued enough but the judge would still remind me that it's posted 80kph and it's irrelevant that I never got a ticket before. If I started arguing with the judge that the speedlimit should be upped as I always drove that speed or if I argued it was just a money grab he would tell me to go speak to the powers that make the decision. That's all I'm telling you guys/girls.
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urbanriot @ 2nd Oct 11:34AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Did you mess up some end quote tags? That's incredibly hard to read.
Oh, nevermind, I see what you're doing
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Evileye @ 2nd Oct 02:07PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Thanks to mattei for the summary. Yes aardvvark you could say that Krispy "replied and defended the policy" by essentially saying that if it is in the company's AUP, the company has the right to provide the service accordingly. However, if you read between the lines here it comes off as more of an explanation than a defense. I think the most telling point is where Krispy says:
Honestly I don't know and it's a lame answer for me to give you but it's the only one I have which is "wasn't my decision".
As the head honcho for the Cogeco network, if Krispy didn't make this decision, then this was clearly not done for technical reasons and if that's the case then you can bet that the other techs can't be happy about it either.
Cheers.
--
If necessity is the mother of invention, laziness must be the father.
--
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Krispy @ 2nd Oct 02:12PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Evileye :
As the head honcho for the Cogeco network
Gosh...I'm not the head honcho of the Cogeco network (or much of anything for that matter)!! As the head honcho for the Cogeco network
Anyway, I just popped in the thread to let everyone know where they can send their comments as per the request of several posters. So....
Goto »www.cogeco.ca and click the Contact Us link across the top menu then select Contact Us By Email then select Use this form for any questions or comments related to residential services (Cable TV, High Speed Internet, Digital Phone) - the recipients will forward this onto the applicable body.
--
you can lead a horse to the water but you cannot make him drink...you can put a man through school but you cannot make him think --ben harper
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dan991199 @ 2nd Oct 02:13PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
thanks krispy.
i actually used that this morning because i didnt know if you were comming back in here or not.
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Evileye @ 2nd Oct 02:33PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Sorry to misrepresent you Krispy. I took another look at your profile and it states:
"I'm the Network Security Administrator for Cogeco".
As such I still stand by the point I was trying to make. Based on how poorly this change was rolled out it reeks of someone w/little technical knowledge/background going behind the back or above the head of people who should normally be making these types of changes.
Best Regards,
--
If necessity is the mother of invention, laziness must be the father.
--
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anon @ 2nd Oct 04:06PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Krispy :
Gosh...I'm not the head honcho of the Cogeco network (or much of anything for that matter)!!
Anyway, I just popped in the thread to let everyone know where they can send their comments as per the request of several posters. So....
Goto »www.cogeco.ca and click the Contact Us link across the top menu then select Contact Us By Email then select Use this form for any questions or comments related to residential services (Cable TV, High Speed Internet, Digital Phone) - the recipients will forward this onto the applicable body.
Thanks Krispy, but every time I use that form to ask a question I get some canned response back to call a CSR which essentially tells me my issue fell on deaf ears. For most of these issues, I already HAD spoken to a CSR with no results.Gosh...I'm not the head honcho of the Cogeco network (or much of anything for that matter)!!
Anyway, I just popped in the thread to let everyone know where they can send their comments as per the request of several posters. So....
Goto »www.cogeco.ca and click the Contact Us link across the top menu then select Contact Us By Email then select Use this form for any questions or comments related to residential services (Cable TV, High Speed Internet, Digital Phone) - the recipients will forward this onto the applicable body.
I know this isn't the forum for this issue, but so many Cogeco customers are here. Can someone confirm or deny that Cogeco has eliminated HD games from the Super Sports Pack? Cogeco won't answer my question which pretty much answers my question, but I have no confirmation. They've been gone for a week and channels 464-466 are labeled NBA League Pass. The NBA season doesn't start for almost a month. 466 was showing a NASCAR Hot Pass channel on Sunday afternoon in SD, but my TV just freezes when I switch to the other two. I'm expecting a tech at my house any minute for an unrelated issue, but I'm sure he either won't know or won't tell me either.
There's a lot of secrecy going on at Cogeco right now, it seems.
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Krispy @ 2nd Oct 04:24PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by gobisbay :
I was told that the people that read those emails distribute them accordingly, if that's not the case PM me and I'll investigate and clear that up for you.said by Krispy :
Gosh...I'm not the head honcho of the Cogeco network (or much of anything for that matter)!!
Anyway, I just popped in the thread to let everyone know where they can send their comments as per the request of several posters. So....
Goto »www.cogeco.ca and click the Contact Us link across the top menu then select Contact Us By Email then select Use this form for any questions or comments related to residential services (Cable TV, High Speed Internet, Digital Phone) - the recipients will forward this onto the applicable body.
Thanks Krispy, but every time I use that form to ask a question I get some canned response back to call a CSR which essentially tells me my issue fell on deaf ears. For most of these issues, I already HAD spoken to a CSR with no results. Gosh...I'm not the head honcho of the Cogeco network (or much of anything for that matter)!!
Anyway, I just popped in the thread to let everyone know where they can send their comments as per the request of several posters. So....
Goto »www.cogeco.ca and click the Contact Us link across the top menu then select Contact Us By Email then select Use this form for any questions or comments related to residential services (Cable TV, High Speed Internet, Digital Phone) - the recipients will forward this onto the applicable body.
--
you can lead a horse to the water but you cannot make him drink...you can put a man through school but you cannot make him think --ben harper
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Spine @ 2nd Oct 08:28PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
hmmm - nevermind....
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anon @ 2nd Oct 10:02PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I received a warning letter mid Sept. I was 80GBs collectively on a standard package. After letting my usage reset for October, I am at 1GB and it appears my bandwidth is being throttle. I have no qualms with over usage, but what I do with 60GBS is my issue. Has anyone else notice any throttling.
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Shamans @ 2nd Oct 10:20PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by hopsing :
I received a warning letter mid Sept. I was 80GBs collectively on a standard package. After letting my usage reset for October, I am at 1GB and it appears my bandwidth is being throttle. I have no qualms with over usage, but what I do with 60GBS is my issue. Has anyone else notice any throttling.
They do not throttle, they warn/suspend. It's easy to confuse congestion and throttling btw, since they have very similar effects.I received a warning letter mid Sept. I was 80GBs collectively on a standard package. After letting my usage reset for October, I am at 1GB and it appears my bandwidth is being throttle. I have no qualms with over usage, but what I do with 60GBS is my issue. Has anyone else notice any throttling.
Eitherway, if you're sure you're not getting the speeds advertised, go call them.
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anon @ 2nd Oct 10:45PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Thanks Shamans, you where right it seems to be working better now. I did call tech support earlier and I asked that question and his initial answer was 'Yes' but he couldn't confirm this was the case and then he wasn't sure and then suggest I download utilities and so on and so forth. Any way it seems to clear up for now.
Thx.
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Shamans @ 3rd Oct 03:00AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by hopsing :
Thanks Shamans, you where right it seems to be working better now. I did call tech support earlier and I asked that question and his initial answer was 'Yes' but he couldn't confirm this was the case and then he wasn't sure and then suggest I download utilities and so on and so forth. Any way it seems to clear up for now.
Thx.
If you want to test properly, you'd have to use a p2p application that can suck up all your bandwidth.Thanks Shamans, you where right it seems to be working better now. I did call tech support earlier and I asked that question and his initial answer was 'Yes' but he couldn't confirm this was the case and then he wasn't sure and then suggest I download utilities and so on and so forth. Any way it seems to clear up for now.
Thx.
And if you've tested properly and it shows that you're not getting your speed - then you have to go bug them because...
if it is congested - then it is their fault
if it is throttled - then it should not be since that is not how they do things (and therefore is their fault).
If I remember right, cable is shared within your neighbourhood (unlike dsl). Cogeco is supposed to upgrade the infrastructure of your neighbourhood if there are bottlenecks. Enforcing bitcaps is one way to battle congestion. Don't be afraid to demand that the terms of the service be fulfilled if they're doing the same thing by enforcing bitcaps.
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anon @ 3rd Oct 03:46AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I, too, got disconnected last month by Cogeco. I was very surprised by the move because I thought they had solved their bandwidth problems with aggressive throttling of peer-to-peer protocols.
I didn't complain about the traffic shaping because I thought the trade-off between having several protocols virtually unusable and not having to worry about the ridiculous bandwidth caps was worth it. I won't complain now either because I know Cogeco doesn't care, but I will be switching my ISP. I don't much like the idea of having a slower DSL connection because I like cable speeds but it will be nice to be able to use my connection for whatever I want again. Will Cogeco decide to let people use their connection however they please now that it is so severely limited in capacity? I won't hold my breath.
This move probably has nothing to do with clearing up network congestion (of which I noticed none). A large part of Cogeco's business is selling TV services. By strictly enforcing very low bandwidth limits they prevent access to high-quality internet television providers and force people to purchase their shows locally (hopefully from one of their own bundled packages, no doubt). This is a very dishonest and anti-competetive tactic which is similar to the way some cellphone carriers block instant messengers so they can charge you for text messages.
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Snickerdo @ 3rd Oct 04:01AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Well, I for one will say that the first thing I did when I heard about this was cancel the cable TV install at my new home. Cogeco will be not getting a dime from me for TV.
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anon @ 3rd Oct 04:24AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Krispy :
Anyway, I just popped in the thread to let everyone know where they can send their comments as per the request of several posters. So....
Goto »www.cogeco.ca and click the Contact Us link across the top menu then select Contact Us By Email then select Use this form for any questions or comments related to residential services (Cable TV, High Speed Internet, Digital Phone) - the recipients will forward this onto the applicable body.
How about just printing the 20 pages (400 comments) and leaving it on the right management drones desk. It will send a message in a physical presence versus a low level drone who just reads emails and submit a report every so often.Anyway, I just popped in the thread to let everyone know where they can send their comments as per the request of several posters. So....
Goto »www.cogeco.ca and click the Contact Us link across the top menu then select Contact Us By Email then select Use this form for any questions or comments related to residential services (Cable TV, High Speed Internet, Digital Phone) - the recipients will forward this onto the applicable body.
reply
anon @ 3rd Oct 05:50AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Better yet just forward them the threads of discontent.
Save a tree or 6.
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neko @ 3rd Oct 07:46AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I called in to see how long it would take to cancel my service; apparently it can be canceled on any day I request, so once my DSL is installed I will cut off Cogeco & be done with them.
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slade @ 3rd Oct 09:12AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by OneTimeOnePlace :
Its 20 pages of the same 6 people complaining though...I imagine Cogeco has no feelings in 6 power users leave their service.said by Krispy :
Anyway, I just popped in the thread to let everyone know where they can send their comments as per the request of several posters. So....
Goto »www.cogeco.ca and click the Contact Us link across the top menu then select Contact Us By Email then select Use this form for any questions or comments related to residential services (Cable TV, High Speed Internet, Digital Phone) - the recipients will forward this onto the applicable body.
How about just printing the 20 pages (400 comments) and leaving it on the right management drones desk. It will send a message in a physical presence versus a low level drone who just reads emails and submit a report every so often.Anyway, I just popped in the thread to let everyone know where they can send their comments as per the request of several posters. So....
Goto »www.cogeco.ca and click the Contact Us link across the top menu then select Contact Us By Email then select Use this form for any questions or comments related to residential services (Cable TV, High Speed Internet, Digital Phone) - the recipients will forward this onto the applicable body.
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DrDog @ 3rd Oct 09:22AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I am a part of Cogeco, and I have feelings on the matter
I hate to hear that anyone is having issues with their service. I am also a customer as well, and I would hate to be in the same boat.
But most decisions are made for the betterment of the entire community, not just a few.
I am sure that policies are constantly changing as the environment changes, and unfortunately there will be upset people every time there is a policy change
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ancodia @ 3rd Oct 09:41AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by DrDog :
I am a part of Cogeco, and I have feelings on the matter
I hate to hear that anyone is having issues with their service. I am also a customer as well, and I would hate to be in the same boat.
But most decisions are made for the betterment of the entire community, not just a few.
I am sure that policies are constantly changing as the environment changes, and unfortunately there will be upset people every time there is a policy change
absolutely. everyone agrees with that. but perhaps, when Cogeco decides to change the policy or the way they enforce the policy THEY SHOULD LET PEOPLE KNOW BEFORE THEY DO IT. :)I am a part of Cogeco, and I have feelings on the matter
I hate to hear that anyone is having issues with their service. I am also a customer as well, and I would hate to be in the same boat.
But most decisions are made for the betterment of the entire community, not just a few.
I am sure that policies are constantly changing as the environment changes, and unfortunately there will be upset people every time there is a policy change
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anon @ 3rd Oct 10:22AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
"But most decisions are made for the betterment of the entire community, not just a few."
Is that some sort of slang term for your wallet that kids are using these days? I don't mean any offense, but to suggest that a company makes decisions for the betterment of anyone other than themselves is preposterous. It seems more like an attempt to appeal to other customers who are not affected by this so that they will shun people who are having difficulties with Cogeco and then be left with very few options once they have these same problems themselves.
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urbanriot @ 3rd Oct 11:09AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by slade :
Its 20 pages of the same 6 people complaining though...I imagine Cogeco has no feelings in 6 power users leave their service.
Zing! Its 20 pages of the same 6 people complaining though...I imagine Cogeco has no feelings in 6 power users leave their service.
However, as has been discussed by users and Cogeco employees in the past, dslreports posters represent an extremely small minority of real world users, so that number should logically be more. I personally know another person evaluating Teksavvy, and another who just signed up with Bell's free Xbox 360 Premium deal.
Mind you, I agree that Cogeco execs probably don't care about those that are leaving due to this new cap and in fact it's probably allowed them to increase their quality of service, and they probably don't care about word of mouth advertising (or detracting) which is far cheaper and works better than paid advertising, since it's not a hard number that can be reported on a statement.
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dan991199 @ 3rd Oct 11:38AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Here is the email i received after sending customer service an email describing my thoughts on the bitcap:
Thank you for contacting Cogeco Technical Support. We appreciate the opportunity to help you resolve any Cogeco issues you may be having.
While we do realize the change in our enforcement was very sudden, there are a variety of reasons we felt it necessary to put them in place. Cogeco has always has bandwidth limitations as outlined in our acceptable use policy located at www.cogeco.ca/aup . Our apologies for any interruptions you may have encountered.
Should you have any further questions or concerns, please call 1-866-774-8888, and select the appropriate menu option for Cable Television or Internet Technical Support. Our representatives are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week for your convenience. You can also contact us through email via our website at www.cogeco.ca and clicking on the "Contact Us" link at the top right side of the page.
Regards,
Cogeco Technical Support
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Trist @ 3rd Oct 12:34PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Cogeco did and does well for themselves by responding to anyone who complains about the recent policy change with that canned response. The voice here is a minority. Yes they've lost some of you as customers in the ISP and/or VOIP and/or television markets over this but again in the minority.
If Cogeco had mass mailed all customers and informed them of the policy change in advance it would have assisted some people in that they would have known to manage data transfers and not have been suspended .. and perhaps would have saved some of those customers from leaving the company. (And the losses will trickle on for a while as more customers learn of the change by way of warnings or service interruptions, but always in the minority.)
If Cogeco had mass mailed all customers and informed them of the policy change in advance then a larger group of people would have been frightened by the 'what if I go over the cap?' unknown. More customers would have moved to an ISP that ensured both the speed they required (for the majority less than those here prefer) and the greater or unlimited data transfer freedom almost everyone wants as a safety blanket.
The Cogeco decision to keep everyone in the dark was (intended or not) a great fear of the unknown damage control move.
NOTE: I am not defending Cogeco. I am not defending consumers. I am making an observation.
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ancodia @ 3rd Oct 12:35PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by slade :
Actually Cogeco is trying to get rid of 2% of it's customers since they claim that 2% is consuming 90% of the bandwidth. Last published report by Cogeco states 261,000 Inet customers. so that's about 5200 people at $50 * 12 months = 3,100,000/year of revenue. That doesnt include other services to which they may subscribe. Plus, Cogeco ticked off alot more than those 5200 people with their suprise mid-month stunt, and you know all those people will have an opinion to give people who ask them about what service provider to go with. said by OneTimeOnePlace :
Its 20 pages of the same 6 people complaining though...I imagine Cogeco has no feelings in 6 power users leave their service.said by Krispy :
Anyway, I just popped in the thread to let everyone know where they can send their comments as per the request of several posters. So....
Goto »www.cogeco.ca and click the Contact Us link across the top menu then select Contact Us By Email then select Use this form for any questions or comments related to residential services (Cable TV, High Speed Internet, Digital Phone) - the recipients will forward this onto the applicable body.
How about just printing the 20 pages (400 comments) and leaving it on the right management drones desk. It will send a message in a physical presence versus a low level drone who just reads emails and submit a report every so often.Anyway, I just popped in the thread to let everyone know where they can send their comments as per the request of several posters. So....
Goto »www.cogeco.ca and click the Contact Us link across the top menu then select Contact Us By Email then select Use this form for any questions or comments related to residential services (Cable TV, High Speed Internet, Digital Phone) - the recipients will forward this onto the applicable body.
Now we know that external bandwidth costs about .03/gig, or about $10.00/300g over Cogent. Assume those 2% use an average of 100g, add in about $22/user for overhead (which I think is high) equals total cost per user @ $25. take $50/month/average from each person (some on standard, some on pro) equals about $25 profit/per user = 1,500,000+/year of lost revenue (again, not including other services). That's alot of money. Of course Cogeco is gambling that most users won't/can't leave and they'll either cut back on usuage (which really doesn't save on bandwidth costs but does save on upgrade costs - which also shows they've overloaded their network) or they'll upgrade (which going from $50/month to $75/month (average; some go pro;some go higher) equals almost 100% increase in profit on the customer on a successful threat - Cogeco is only really giving them an extra $1.50 in bandwidth) = ONE BIG CASH GRAB :) and big Christmas Bonuses!
This also explains why other companies (i.e Bell) can cap the over charge at $30. $30= almost 1 terabyte of additional external data and nobody downloads that much! (At least I hope not!) So Bell probably even makes money on that $30 overcharge.
I won't even comment on how 5200 people can saturate Cogecos network.
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anon @ 3rd Oct 01:05PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Does anyone really believe Cogeco's network is saturated after they are already traffic shaping?
I keep saying this, but it bears repeating: they want to limit your access to online digital distribution services in order to keep you locked into their own in-house television service. Digital distribution of everything from television, music, and movies to video games is the way of the future and Cogeco is digging in their heels and starting to fight it.
This is why they are not offering a lower bandwidth/higher bitcap residential plan.
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anon @ 3rd Oct 02:18PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Well personally since starting this thread I am going the way of switching service providers. I will probably get Teksavvy as they come highly recommended, they are cheaper and they have no caps. Right now I have Cogeco HSI, Digital Cable with TMN and I'm paying around 125 with the tax. After all is said and done I will just have the digital Cable which is just over 50/month. This is the only way we have to retaliate against a company when you are disatisfied with their service hit them in the pocketbook.
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vuarra @ 4th Oct 06:37PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I'm giving them to the end of November.... if they don't have more appropriate packages for consumers (other than the one they are asking me to suck), then I'll be looking into Teksavvy as well, and going back to OTA for TV.
I'm taking a bit of time so that -- just in case the petunia brain transplants have a change of heart -- Cogeco can look into a better capping system. I'm also not holding my breath.
The day that cable internet became available, I signed up. Ditto for HDTV. Now, my wife is afraid to pick up the phone for VoIP and going over the combined cap.
What kind of company keeps its customers in fear?
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Last Parade @ 4th Oct 10:28PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
i would become concerned if it was near the end of the month and i had to call 911 on voip.
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Snickerdo @ 4th Oct 10:42PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Has anyone in Niagara thought of switching to cable from a reseller? There are resellers in the Niagara Region, though I'm not sure of their policies regarding bandwidth and the like.
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Shamans @ 4th Oct 10:44PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by vuarra :
I'm giving them to the end of November.... if they don't have more appropriate packages for consumers (other than the one they are asking me to suck), then I'll be looking into Teksavvy as well, and going back to OTA for TV.
I'm taking a bit of time so that -- just in case the petunia brain transplants have a change of heart -- Cogeco can look into a better capping system. I'm also not holding my breath.
The day that cable internet became available, I signed up. Ditto for HDTV. Now, my wife is afraid to pick up the phone for VoIP and going over the combined cap.
What kind of company keeps its customers in fear?
voip uses maybe 8 to 15 kByte/sec? Tell her it's very very little.I'm giving them to the end of November.... if they don't have more appropriate packages for consumers (other than the one they are asking me to suck), then I'll be looking into Teksavvy as well, and going back to OTA for TV.
I'm taking a bit of time so that -- just in case the petunia brain transplants have a change of heart -- Cogeco can look into a better capping system. I'm also not holding my breath.
The day that cable internet became available, I signed up. Ditto for HDTV. Now, my wife is afraid to pick up the phone for VoIP and going over the combined cap.
What kind of company keeps its customers in fear?
reply
InFloW @ 4th Oct 11:03PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by ancodia :
Actually Cogeco is trying to get rid of 2% of it's customers since they claim that 2% is consuming 90% of the bandwidth. Last published report by Cogeco states 261,000 Inet customers. so that's about 5200 people at $50 * 12 months = 3,100,000/year of revenue. That doesnt include other services to which they may subscribe. Plus, Cogeco ticked off alot more than those 5200 people with their suprise mid-month stunt, and you know all those people will have an opinion to give people who ask them about what service provider to go with.
Now we know that external bandwidth costs about .03/gig, or about $10.00/300g over Cogent. Assume those 2% use an average of 100g, add in about $22/user for overhead (which I think is high) equals total cost per user @ $25. take $50/month/average from each person (some on standard, some on pro) equals about $25 profit/per user = 1,500,000+/year of lost revenue (again, not including other services). That's alot of money. Of course Cogeco is gambling that most users won't/can't leave and they'll either cut back on usuage (which really doesn't save on bandwidth costs but does save on upgrade costs - which also shows they've overloaded their network) or they'll upgrade (which going from $50/month to $75/month (average; some go pro;some go higher) equals almost 100% increase in profit on the customer on a successful threat - Cogeco is only really giving them an extra $1.50 in bandwidth) = ONE BIG CASH GRAB :) and big Christmas Bonuses!
This also explains why other companies (i.e Bell) can cap the over charge at $30. $30= almost 1 terabyte of additional external data and nobody downloads that much! (At least I hope not!) So Bell probably even makes money on that $30 overcharge.
I won't even comment on how 5200 people can saturate Cogecos network.
One problem with your theory is that everything goes across cogent and there isn't any other costs associated with the network. Actually Cogeco is trying to get rid of 2% of it's customers since they claim that 2% is consuming 90% of the bandwidth. Last published report by Cogeco states 261,000 Inet customers. so that's about 5200 people at $50 * 12 months = 3,100,000/year of revenue. That doesnt include other services to which they may subscribe. Plus, Cogeco ticked off alot more than those 5200 people with their suprise mid-month stunt, and you know all those people will have an opinion to give people who ask them about what service provider to go with.
Now we know that external bandwidth costs about .03/gig, or about $10.00/300g over Cogent. Assume those 2% use an average of 100g, add in about $22/user for overhead (which I think is high) equals total cost per user @ $25. take $50/month/average from each person (some on standard, some on pro) equals about $25 profit/per user = 1,500,000+/year of lost revenue (again, not including other services). That's alot of money. Of course Cogeco is gambling that most users won't/can't leave and they'll either cut back on usuage (which really doesn't save on bandwidth costs but does save on upgrade costs - which also shows they've overloaded their network) or they'll upgrade (which going from $50/month to $75/month (average; some go pro;some go higher) equals almost 100% increase in profit on the customer on a successful threat - Cogeco is only really giving them an extra $1.50 in bandwidth) = ONE BIG CASH GRAB :) and big Christmas Bonuses!
This also explains why other companies (i.e Bell) can cap the over charge at $30. $30= almost 1 terabyte of additional external data and nobody downloads that much! (At least I hope not!) So Bell probably even makes money on that $30 overcharge.
I won't even comment on how 5200 people can saturate Cogecos network.
So using some tools
»fixedorbit.com/AS/7/AS7992.htm
»www.lerfjhax.com/as/7992
»www.cidr-report.org/cgi-bin/as-r···s=AS7992
»netconfigs.com/tools/as.htm?as=7992
So based on those they have transit from several providers some being more expensive than others. Also a few peering relationships with some other providers.
Then you factor in the costs of hardware if you now need to push more through routers and switches and things start to add up.
So to me it's not surprising that a small % make up the majority of the costs. This happens with a lot of industries relating to bandwidth. Colocation providers sell cheaper than they used to and the majority of their costs come from the few using their resources. Same with dedicated servers which are extremely cheap now. If the people don't use the resources they make profit if they do then there are problems. So if they were to drop the 5% or whatever it is their profits go way up. But doing so looks bad image wise.
--
»www.hawkhost.com/
»www.esportsea.com/
reply
Phorkster @ 8th Oct 08:47PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I was an original customer way back when, I left for a bit because I had a disagreement with customer service. At any rate I signed back up with them probably 7 years ago or so. I have to say that this was pretty under handed and shady coming from a service that I have grown to respect.
Now mind you, I don't think it was a mid-month issue, I think it was probably a Sept bill period issue, but most of you were just hitting your caps mid month.
Either way, it was wrong to do it without notice.
Unfortunately for me, I really do not want to do away with the service. I get a rock steady 1MB to 1.2MB DL rate from my usenet provider, and I cant tell you the last time I approached my cap. So while this may affect me later, it doesn't now and I am sticking to it. DSL for me in my area is garbage at best.
Then there is the whole changing email addresses and stuff like that. At any rate if it stays like this I will be happy, if they start lowering cap rates and introducing higher tiers, I'm outta here.
reply
ancodia @ 8th Oct 09:50PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by InFloW :
So using some tools
»fixedorbit.com/AS/7/AS7992.htm
»www.lerfjhax.com/as/7992
»www.cidr-report.org/cgi-bin/as-r···s=AS7992
»netconfigs.com/tools/as.htm?as=7992
So based on those they have transit from several providers some being more expensive than others. Also a few peering relationships with some other providers.
Then you factor in the costs of hardware if you now need to push more through routers and switches and things start to add up.
So to me it's not surprising that a small % make up the majority of the costs. This happens with a lot of industries relating to bandwidth. Colocation providers sell cheaper than they used to and the majority of their costs come from the few using their resources. Same with dedicated servers which are extremely cheap now. If the people don't use the resources they make profit if they do then there are problems. So if they were to drop the 5% or whatever it is their profits go way up. But doing so looks bad image wise.
I know my numbers aren't 100% accurate. It was more to show that Cogeco isnt loosing money on that 2%. If that 2% left tommorrow that would cost Cogeco at least $1 mil a year in profit. So there is more at play here than an overloaded network. In my mind, there are only two reasons for all this: 1-quick, easy increase in overall margins in the Internet department and 2-protecting their other business units (ppv/cable). To Cogeco management this is a win-win situation since they achieve 1 & 2. said by ancodia :
Actually Cogeco is trying to get rid of 2% of it's customers since they claim that 2% is consuming 90% of the bandwidth. Last published report by Cogeco states 261,000 Inet customers. so that's about 5200 people at $50 * 12 months = 3,100,000/year of revenue. That doesnt include other services to which they may subscribe. Plus, Cogeco ticked off alot more than those 5200 people with their suprise mid-month stunt, and you know all those people will have an opinion to give people who ask them about what service provider to go with.
Now we know that external bandwidth costs about .03/gig, or about $10.00/300g over Cogent. Assume those 2% use an average of 100g, add in about $22/user for overhead (which I think is high) equals total cost per user @ $25. take $50/month/average from each person (some on standard, some on pro) equals about $25 profit/per user = 1,500,000+/year of lost revenue (again, not including other services). That's alot of money. Of course Cogeco is gambling that most users won't/can't leave and they'll either cut back on usuage (which really doesn't save on bandwidth costs but does save on upgrade costs - which also shows they've overloaded their network) or they'll upgrade (which going from $50/month to $75/month (average; some go pro;some go higher) equals almost 100% increase in profit on the customer on a successful threat - Cogeco is only really giving them an extra $1.50 in bandwidth) = ONE BIG CASH GRAB :) and big Christmas Bonuses!
This also explains why other companies (i.e Bell) can cap the over charge at $30. $30= almost 1 terabyte of additional external data and nobody downloads that much! (At least I hope not!) So Bell probably even makes money on that $30 overcharge.
I won't even comment on how 5200 people can saturate Cogecos network.
One problem with your theory is that everything goes across cogent and there isn't any other costs associated with the network. Actually Cogeco is trying to get rid of 2% of it's customers since they claim that 2% is consuming 90% of the bandwidth. Last published report by Cogeco states 261,000 Inet customers. so that's about 5200 people at $50 * 12 months = 3,100,000/year of revenue. That doesnt include other services to which they may subscribe. Plus, Cogeco ticked off alot more than those 5200 people with their suprise mid-month stunt, and you know all those people will have an opinion to give people who ask them about what service provider to go with.
Now we know that external bandwidth costs about .03/gig, or about $10.00/300g over Cogent. Assume those 2% use an average of 100g, add in about $22/user for overhead (which I think is high) equals total cost per user @ $25. take $50/month/average from each person (some on standard, some on pro) equals about $25 profit/per user = 1,500,000+/year of lost revenue (again, not including other services). That's alot of money. Of course Cogeco is gambling that most users won't/can't leave and they'll either cut back on usuage (which really doesn't save on bandwidth costs but does save on upgrade costs - which also shows they've overloaded their network) or they'll upgrade (which going from $50/month to $75/month (average; some go pro;some go higher) equals almost 100% increase in profit on the customer on a successful threat - Cogeco is only really giving them an extra $1.50 in bandwidth) = ONE BIG CASH GRAB :) and big Christmas Bonuses!
This also explains why other companies (i.e Bell) can cap the over charge at $30. $30= almost 1 terabyte of additional external data and nobody downloads that much! (At least I hope not!) So Bell probably even makes money on that $30 overcharge.
I won't even comment on how 5200 people can saturate Cogecos network.
So using some tools
»fixedorbit.com/AS/7/AS7992.htm
»www.lerfjhax.com/as/7992
»www.cidr-report.org/cgi-bin/as-r···s=AS7992
»netconfigs.com/tools/as.htm?as=7992
So based on those they have transit from several providers some being more expensive than others. Also a few peering relationships with some other providers.
Then you factor in the costs of hardware if you now need to push more through routers and switches and things start to add up.
So to me it's not surprising that a small % make up the majority of the costs. This happens with a lot of industries relating to bandwidth. Colocation providers sell cheaper than they used to and the majority of their costs come from the few using their resources. Same with dedicated servers which are extremely cheap now. If the people don't use the resources they make profit if they do then there are problems. So if they were to drop the 5% or whatever it is their profits go way up. But doing so looks bad image wise.
Cogeco/Bell/Rogers are imposing limits not due to traffic abuse but to protect other business units. Bell charges $30 for an overcharge not because you are using $30 of bandwidth, but because they are assuming you are download illegal content and depriving their other BUs revenue. That $30 is to subsidize the other department. Rogers/Bell/Cogeco management are all thinking this way.
Ultimately Cogeco doesnt want us to leave. They want us to either cut back on use (which helps #1) and/or subscribe to other services (which helps #2). Cogeco management feels FUD is better than dealing with the issue (maybe we'll impose an overcharge, maybe we won't, maybe we'll let you go over 60g, maybe we won't). If Cogeco gives you concrete numbers, you'll be more inclined to make the decision to leave. With uncertainty, you are more likely to stick it out, see what happens and eventually you'll just accept it and continue to subscribe, maybe even bump up your package (and I think the margin increase on the standard->pro is fairly accurate). It's the same formula Bell/Rogers uses. Sure, some of us will say screw that, I'm outta here and switch, but we are a small minority. Most will stick it out because a) it's a pain in the ass to move b) you have no guarantee on what speed you'll get from DSL, so why risk it c) you can't switch (Cogeco market monopoly)
This is a problem growing problem with Internet providers that needs to be addressed. Do you think that if Rogers/Cogeco/Bell ONLY provided Internet service any of this would be happening? I don't. Rogers/Bell/Cogeco are controlling/limiting what you can do on the Internet because they are protecting their traditional services. And that is wrong.
Alot of us are/were long time Cogeco subscribers (I still have the @home t-shirt from their launch St. Kitts). for me, this entire episode ticks me off even more because for 10 years I supported this company and look what it has turned into. I will gladly pay whatever to have Internet access, but it will be to a company like Teksavvy, a true ISP. Otherwise the Internet as we know it will grind to halt (at least in Canada), dominated by bitcaps created solely to protect legacy BUs with outdated technology/business models.
reply
Candoo3 @ 8th Oct 10:15PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Snickerdo :
Has anyone in Niagara thought of switching to cable from a reseller? There are resellers in the Niagara Region, though I'm not sure of their policies regarding bandwidth and the like.
IAW Cable High Speed Internet Access provides high speed Internet access through the existing Cable TV Network. It is only available to residential clients only.Has anyone in Niagara thought of switching to cable from a reseller? There are resellers in the Niagara Region, though I'm not sure of their policies regarding bandwidth and the like.
How much does it cost?:The startup kit is $90.00 plus taxes. This includes a cable modem that you own and installation. The monthly fee is $39.99 plus taxes. Order Now. If you have more questions please Email us
How fast is it?: Speeds have been reported up to 5Mbps in some areas. We have been advising users that the speed is around 5 - 6Mbps download and 640kbps upload.
SOUND FAMILIAR ?? I'm sure that their caps suck.They don't state the caps, but their DSL caps are ridiculous.
reply
neko @ 8th Oct 10:58PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
You make a lot of good points, ancodia. I too am switching to teksavvy (my 2wire should be coming tomorrow).
I think cogeco are all about protecting their PPV/TV market with this move. They don't want users downloading torrents & forgoing their services.
I get 9.5Mbit all the time. it's a great connection for torrents & newsgroups, but with a puny 60Gb cap, it's worthless.
quote:
If Cogeco gives you concrete numbers, you'll be more inclined to make the decision to leave. With uncertainty, you are more likely to stick it out, see what happens and eventually you'll just accept it and continue to subscribe, maybe even bump up your package
Most of the users on this forum don't like the new caps, but I am not sure that all of them will leave. Most of the users here are very savvy, but are in the minority compared to the overall user population; if even all the users of this forum left cogeco, it would do nothing to their bottom line.
I think cogeco knows this. No matter what is said on this forum , it will have no affect on cogeco management. We are sadly in the minority & I reckon we will be subject to more restrictions in our service & increasing prices.
reply
Candoo3 @ 8th Oct 11:28PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by neko :
I get 9.5Mbit all the time. it's a great connection for torrents & newsgroups, but with a puny 60Gb cap, it's worthless.
With a 60gb cap, you must be on the Standard pkg, but with a consistant 9.5mb, what the heck area are you in. I can't even get half of that on a good day.I get 9.5Mbit all the time. it's a great connection for torrents & newsgroups, but with a puny 60Gb cap, it's worthless.
reply
neko @ 8th Oct 11:56PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
With a 60gb cap, you must be on the Standard pkg, but with a consistant 9.5mb, what the heck area are you in. I can't even get half of that on a good day.
I am in Vine St., St Catharines. I get a consistent 9000 - 9500 all day. I get diggnation, cranky geeks, twit & dl.tv, etc, at over 1100Kbs & torrents at over 1Mbit/s. I can get an 8GB H.264 movie off cogeco's news server in about 2 hours. I love the speed, but hate the caps. I am at 73% on my bitcap already :( reply
Candoo3 @ 9th Oct 01:13AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Lucky you :(
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anon @ 9th Oct 01:30AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
can anyone say how much we can go over our limit by?
perhaps even a hint of it?
reply
Frozty2k @ 9th Oct 07:06AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
It doesn't seem like they even send out warnings until you are 110-130% over the limit. Im at 105% now and got nothing.
Seems it would be smarter to send the warning before you go over, not before you get suspended. (If you are downloading fast the difference im sure could be an couple hours.) i.e. It detect how much you are going to go over the cap that month, use that info to email a warning while it still makes sense (assuming the person checks their cogeco email at all).
reply
urbanriot @ 9th Oct 12:01PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by edward nigma :
can anyone say how much we can go over our limit by?
perhaps even a hint of it?
We already have, in at least two threads now. can anyone say how much we can go over our limit by?
perhaps even a hint of it?
reply
anon @ 9th Oct 12:58PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I've only read through so many pages.
Frozty2k says he's at 105% and hasnt recieved anything yet.
What are other members sitting at? perhaps we can estimate what they're capping users at.
reply
Frozty2k @ 9th Oct 03:03PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by edward nigma :
I've only read through so many pages.
Frozty2k says he's at 105% and hasnt recieved anything yet.
What are other members sitting at? perhaps we can estimate what they're capping users at.
From last month people were saying about 30% over, so 80GB on standard was the first warning.I've only read through so many pages.
Frozty2k says he's at 105% and hasnt recieved anything yet.
What are other members sitting at? perhaps we can estimate what they're capping users at.
reply
Shalimar @ 10th Oct 08:36PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
To answer your questions
Just got my 1st bandwidth warning:
Upstream1: 4626
Downstream2: 74528
Current month's percentage of combined limit used: 128 %
and 2nd bandwidth warning:
Upstream1: 5056
Downstream2: 84571
Current month's percentage of combined limit used: 145 %
I decided to push it to it's limit since I now have DSL installed and running from teksavvy and have placed my cogeco acct in Vacation mode for 3 months (to give them a chance to pull their heads out of their asses.. and if not it gets canceled.. and yes I explained this explicitly to the cogeco supervisor and had a note put in the acct about WHY this has been done).
Sorry Cogeco but I will not tolerate such pathetic limits.. esp when 95% of what I download is via the cogeco usenet server.. which is LOCAL network for you only and costs virtually nothing (ie: no bw charges from their upstream carriers).
reply
anon @ 11th Oct 09:50PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
thanks so much for the info Shalimar.
glad your putting your account on the experimentation table for us who are interested in their caps.
much appreciated!
reply
metalman0 @ 12th Oct 10:32PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
My my my, this is just plain amazing. I had to sign up to say something. I've been a lurker of this forum for a few years now. However, I'm having deja-vu from the mid 90's when dial-up providers added caps and limited usage.
After many chats with other internet users I knew at the time, cable was the way to go. The first three years were torturous and yet pleasant at the same time. A few customer care calls, a few free months granted, and all that good stuff. There were limits and caps, but no one human could reach them because the speeds fluctuated from person to person. But when DOCSIS 2.0 came around. Big trouble, the speed arrived and folks signed up overloading nodes, to the happiness of the providers. People had issues all over the place. I was lucky. My speeds were always about 30% less than the given stated speeds, but all was well, no downtime, all downloads and surfing worked accordingly, so no complaints.
Well, not having read an AUP in about 10 years and still assuming this service was unlimited that I signed up for... I see now that it is not. Fair is fair, and sometimes I use nothing in a month and sometimes I could use 10 times as much. First off, I never asked for a speed increase so you should drop my speeds to 5MB or less so you don't freak out and cut off my service because I'm actually using it. Secondly, you never cared how much I used the internet before, so why do you care now? You are placing too much responsibility into my hands to manage my usage accordingly.
It's like, as someone said, speeding, yet you always let me go go go, and then you decide to bust me when it suits you. However, in this case, the "officer" was obviously negligent. I cannot imagine any police officer(s) that ignore the laws of the land and let speeders drive by and then, one day, decide to "go get em" after watching them for years. That is the most insane thing I've ever heard of.
This rant is almost over. I feel the same LOL. I hope that some sanity replaces this crazy change of heart. In the end, the alienation would be worse than that of BELL, whom I thought I'd never have to return to, but it's a crazy planet and poop happens.
Last thought, since this will hopefully get on a corporates desk. Add a lesser tier speed wise. Something in the 4 to 6 MB range with unlimited usage. Meaning unlimited use in any manner at any time. It makes no sense when no human uses the internet the same way at the same time (at different intervals) and some will use more time and some will use less.
Now I feel I need to consume close to or over my max til I get kicked off. What the heck? Some months I used less than 3 GigaBytes, and others close to or over 100. Now it's time to stay near 80 GB me thinks ;) It used to be almost fun! Don't they care the stress that they cause? LOL
I'm curious, does anyone know if there is a petition available that one could sign up on? I think the "6 people" here would like to voice there opinions in a broader forum, plus one of course :)
metalman
reply
anon @ 13th Oct 12:02AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
i am on pro and got 2 warnings that i never got on sept 28 then got cut off i called cogeco and there said they sent out 2 warnings and there was nothing there
reply
Frozty2k @ 14th Oct 07:59PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Shalimar :
To answer your questions
Just got my 1st bandwidth warning:
Upstream1: 4626
Downstream2: 74528
Current month's percentage of combined limit used: 128 %
and 2nd bandwidth warning:
Upstream1: 5056
Downstream2: 84571
Current month's percentage of combined limit used: 145 %
For comparison I just got my first warning a few hours ago,To answer your questions
Just got my 1st bandwidth warning:
Upstream1: 4626
Downstream2: 74528
Current month's percentage of combined limit used: 128 %
and 2nd bandwidth warning:
Upstream1: 5056
Downstream2: 84571
Current month's percentage of combined limit used: 145 %
Upstream1: 26035
Downstream2: 57030
Current month's percentage of combined limit used: 135 %
reply
anon @ 15th Oct 02:21AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Yes I to have just had my first ever Bandwidth warning sent to me, I have been with them for about 8 years and this is the first one I have ever received, I know a friend of mine was suspended for the remainder of the month once but that was years ago, I myself was at 92868 GB down and 21639 up so I was over about 10 GB, but I can understand that they are just enforcing there limits, I think in a case like that they should give you an option to buy more bandwidth, It does not take long to hit the 100 GB mark with today's computers, a few movies and songs and some on-line TV shows and bang your at the limit. I myself would not mind if they say "Hey your at your limit, We can offer more bandwidth at reasonable rates." That would be a nice way to go, or even more plans for us to choose from like a Pro 1, or Pro 2 with higher bandwidth per plan. Time will tell, I myself love Cogeco Internet I have to say that they have been a great ISP, I have had a few issues over the years but still it is worth it for the service and the convenience.
reply
anon @ 15th Oct 11:55AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by metalman0 :
My my my, this is just plain amazing. I had to sign up to say something. I've been a lurker of this forum for a few years now. However, I'm having deja-vu from the mid 90's when dial-up providers added caps and limited usage.
(snip)
Last thought, since this will hopefully get on a corporates desk. Add a lesser tier speed wise. Something in the 4 to 6 MB range with unlimited usage. Meaning unlimited use in any manner at any time. It makes no sense when no human uses the internet the same way at the same time (at different intervals) and some will use more time and some will use less.
You don't need to sign up to post. I've just typed an anon name in the box and this is the third post I've made.My my my, this is just plain amazing. I had to sign up to say something. I've been a lurker of this forum for a few years now. However, I'm having deja-vu from the mid 90's when dial-up providers added caps and limited usage.
(snip)
Last thought, since this will hopefully get on a corporates desk. Add a lesser tier speed wise. Something in the 4 to 6 MB range with unlimited usage. Meaning unlimited use in any manner at any time. It makes no sense when no human uses the internet the same way at the same time (at different intervals) and some will use more time and some will use less.
Anyway, I'm in the 4-6 range (well, usually 4-5 actually) and I would have no problems hitting 100 Gb this month. I'm on pro which is supposed to give me faster speed (which it didn't, but since I'm going to have to watch my usage anyway, who cares). When I used to pay for webhosting the host used to drop one high day a month and give you a three-month average before getting into overage charges. I'm not suggesting that Cogego should drop your high day (cause you can download a hell of a lot in a day), but average usage might be a better idea. It wouldn't penalize those who have an occasional bad month, but would still capture consistent heavy use users.
(I'm a consistent heavy use user, but there was almost no use at all Jan-May as I was out of the country. The sad thing is I should have been asked to upgrade to Pro years ago, which would have provided more income to Cogeco and given me warning that I needed to check my usage. Being cut off gave me a negative feeling about a company I used to be okay with and now I'm looking into Satellite for the TV.)
reply
Shalimar @ 17th Oct 11:52AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Well in the last week or so after being DSL only I can say I miss the added speed of Cogeco... (I was getting 1.2M). However I am getting a steady 5M+ via DSL for just over half the cost.
With the savings I have a premium news server instead of the crappy excuse Cogeco has and it's still slightly cheaper.
For anyone wanting such I have tested some out and found usenetserver.com to be reliable with included SSL and much cheaper than giganews etc. Anyone going there feel free to use me as a referral. Just input my acct# 220866 on the signup page or use this link: »www.usenetserver.com?refer=220866
I have leeched over 135GB in the last week + more the week before. (aprox 250gb so far total since DSL was up and running) and my total upload is only 12gb in the same time frame.
Sorry Cogeco but you're f'd the dog big time on this one since I had been a customer for many many years and was happy with the service. Now to get me back (and a ton of my clients as well whom I have taken with me) you'd have to do more than a simple reversal of your incredibly stupid cap enforcement decision. (especially given 95% of what I download was via your usenet server which has virtually no cost for the bandwidth on your local network only. And for anyone griping about the BW used.. think of how much BW is used for even one On Demand movie in HD...(avg 20-30GB)
Now I'm investigating satellite as a replacement for the cable TV as well and will probably have that up and running before the beginning of Nov. and I'll be taking a bunch of my clients with me for that as well.
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manderson4 @ 17th Oct 12:07PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I just got my first warning today I am now on the pro package so I get 100 gigs
Upstream1: 3956
Downstream2: 109126
Current month's percentage of combined limit used: 110 %
And it was sent to all my email addresses
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anon @ 17th Oct 12:22PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
SERIOUSLY go to the teksavvy forum and post on how good they are. All companies will follow suite one of these days with caps. Get use to it because when a company like teksavvy starts getting charged more so will the customer
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dan991199 @ 17th Oct 12:26PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
this is true, ROCKY has even stated that they dont make any money form heavy users and if things get too out of control they may also implement a cap system, but with lots of warning in advance
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Shalimar @ 17th Oct 12:39PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by dan991199 :
this is true, ROCKY has even stated that they dont make any money form heavy users and if things get too out of control they may also implement a cap system, but with lots of warning in advance
I agree.. and in regards to my own BW normal useage will probably remain in the 130gb or so per month same as I was doing on Cogeco. Initial load for me was catching up after cogeco's stupid cap implementation. I'd say anything under 200gb should be within reason. (esp for dl's only).this is true, ROCKY has even stated that they dont make any money form heavy users and if things get too out of control they may also implement a cap system, but with lots of warning in advance
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ancodia @ 17th Oct 01:45PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by dan991199 :
this is true, ROCKY has even stated that they dont make any money form heavy users and if things get too out of control they may also implement a cap system, but with lots of warning in advance
He said the average for all users on unlimited was round 55g/month. Users who use >250-300g month start to create a loss. You gotta work pretty hard and have alot of free time to go over 300g in a month!this is true, ROCKY has even stated that they dont make any money form heavy users and if things get too out of control they may also implement a cap system, but with lots of warning in advance
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aardvvark @ 17th Oct 03:36PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by IH8TR0LLS :
SERIOUSLY go to the teksavvy forum and post on how good they are. All companies will follow suite one of these days with caps. Get use to it because when a company like teksavvy starts getting charged more so will the customer
Doesn't mean too much to me. If that were to happen (which I do not think would ever happen across the board to the extreme Cogeco went to, ever), I would still choose the company that treated its customers with the most fairness and respect for their dollar. I can't blame new TekSavvy/former Cogeco users for posting here about their satisfaction. It's a good thing for other consumers (and Cogeco) to know after what's gone down the past little while.SERIOUSLY go to the teksavvy forum and post on how good they are. All companies will follow suite one of these days with caps. Get use to it because when a company like teksavvy starts getting charged more so will the customer
Keep in mind that there are other issues besides simple bandwidth costs that Cogeco is likely considering. Unlike Cogeco, TekSavvy does not offer TV and other competing services, so such considerations do not enter their consciousness.
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ancodia @ 17th Oct 03:52PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by IH8TR0LLS :
SERIOUSLY go to the teksavvy forum and post on how good they are. All companies will follow suite one of these days with caps. Get use to it because when a company like teksavvy starts getting charged more so will the customer
The only reason Bell/Rogers/Cogeco are implementing caps on the Internet service is to protect their cable tv service. You'll find if you deal with a traditional ISP (like Teksavvy) their attitude towards customers is completely different. Companies that have monopolies on all media in their markets (Rogers/Cogeco/Bell) are NOT good for the consumer. They manipulate all their services to provide the most PROFIT. Delivering what the customer wants is a minor concern. A company like Teksavvy who provides only one service will give the customer what it wants, which is large transfers limits (or unlimited), unrestricted Internet access all at a reasonable price. A single service business MUST provide what the customer wants otherwise it will cease to exist. It shows in Teksavvys PERFECT customer feedback score and Cogecos/Bells/Rogers ever FALLING feedback score. if Cogeco only provided Internet service, they would NEVER pull this kind of crap on their customers. SERIOUSLY go to the teksavvy forum and post on how good they are. All companies will follow suite one of these days with caps. Get use to it because when a company like teksavvy starts getting charged more so will the customer
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dad_of_3 @ 18th Oct 02:04PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by ancodia :
So is it unlimited or not??All my downloading is automated, so free time isn't an issue....said by dan991199 :
this is true, ROCKY has even stated that they dont make any money form heavy users and if things get too out of control they may also implement a cap system, but with lots of warning in advance
He said the average for all users on unlimited was round 55g/month. Users who use >250-300g month start to create a loss. You gotta work pretty hard and have alot of free time to go over 300g in a month!this is true, ROCKY has even stated that they dont make any money form heavy users and if things get too out of control they may also implement a cap system, but with lots of warning in advance
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ancodia @ 18th Oct 02:14PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by dad_of_3 :
if you are referring to Teksavvy, the unlimited package is unlimited - no catches.said by ancodia :
So is it unlimited or not??All my downloading is automated, so free time isn't an issue....said by dan991199 :
this is true, ROCKY has even stated that they dont make any money form heavy users and if things get too out of control they may also implement a cap system, but with lots of warning in advance
He said the average for all users on unlimited was round 55g/month. Users who use >250-300g month start to create a loss. You gotta work pretty hard and have alot of free time to go over 300g in a month!this is true, ROCKY has even stated that they dont make any money form heavy users and if things get too out of control they may also implement a cap system, but with lots of warning in advance
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anon @ 24th Oct 01:50PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Just to round out this thread I got my Teksavvy installed, it's fast and stable i'm happy with the service. This week I finally get to call Cogeco and give them and their stupid cap the boot! End Transmission....
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neko @ 24th Oct 02:21PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by nydwarf1 :
Just to round out this thread I got my Teksavvy installed, it's fast and stable i'm happy with the service. This week I finally get to call Cogeco and give them and their stupid cap the boot! End Transmission....
Hi nydwarf1, glad to see you made the right decision & voted with your dollars. Like ancodia said, Cogeco are not all about the customer, unlike Teksavvy.Just to round out this thread I got my Teksavvy installed, it's fast and stable i'm happy with the service. This week I finally get to call Cogeco and give them and their stupid cap the boot! End Transmission....
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theninjasqua @ 24th Oct 02:38PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Just so you know, Bell has an option for an additional $25 a month on top of any plan, to get unlimited bandwidth. And this is pretty unlimited, they won't start bugging you until you get up into the mid-high hundreds of gigs. You can probably talk them down on that price even and work a deal.
I would love to switch to Cogeco from Bell because of that speed, but that speed eats up your bandwidth so quickly! If you are going to increase speed, you need to up the bandwidth cap. ISP's do not offer enough options nowadays for service. I mean 2 internet packages is not enough, not everyone uses the internet the same. They need more tailored solutions. I would take a speed cut if it meant having more bandwidth a month.
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anon @ 24th Oct 06:26PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
All these weeks later and still no comment from anyone at Cogeco about any possible new residential packages?
I remember reading that Cogeco's managment were discussing the situation but you would think that after this amount of time we would have heard something if they were actually going to change things.
Oh well I wasn't expecting anything to be done so in the end the only thing I'm disappointed about is I have no one else other than Bell or as I like to call them "HELL" to turn to so I guess I'm stuck at the moment.
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Shalimar @ 26th Oct 02:23PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Hamitlon1 :
All these weeks later and still no comment from anyone at Cogeco about any possible new residential packages?
I remember reading that Cogeco's managment were discussing the situation but you would think that after this amount of time we would have heard something if they were actually going to change things.
Oh well I wasn't expecting anything to be done so in the end the only thing I'm disappointed about is I have no one else other than Bell or as I like to call them "HELL" to turn to so I guess I'm stuck at the moment.
Bigwigs and bean counters are never fast to respond.. hence why I am giving them 3 months (my cogeco acct is on vacation hold with a note explicitly saying why) to get a clue.. and if not bye bye cogeco permanently.All these weeks later and still no comment from anyone at Cogeco about any possible new residential packages?
I remember reading that Cogeco's managment were discussing the situation but you would think that after this amount of time we would have heard something if they were actually going to change things.
Oh well I wasn't expecting anything to be done so in the end the only thing I'm disappointed about is I have no one else other than Bell or as I like to call them "HELL" to turn to so I guess I'm stuck at the moment.
In the meantime I have DSL via teksavvy at 5M and it's working nicely.. I miss the added speed of cogeco but this DSL is unlimited and is cheaper as well by a considerable ammount.
As for Symcraptico.. not a chance I'd go near them ever again.. Teksavvy is infintely better!
Ohh and I'm also investigating satelite for TV as well... eliminating my acct with cogeco completely.
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Phorkster @ 26th Oct 05:06PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
[BQUOTE=Shalimar
Ohh and I'm also investigating satelite for TV as well... eliminating my acct with cogeco completely.
[/BQUOTE
Free To Air, would be the way to go as far as TV is concerned. I'm one step closer to hitting up Tekksavvy for internet, getting a few FTA Dishes. I do however love my Cogeco Digital Phone.
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irishlotus @ 26th Oct 05:18PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
There is no talk that I've heard of for new resident packages. Now this isn't to say there isn't something working on the upper levels but nothing has been said so far. So, if there is new tiers coming out it will be quite a while that's for sure. Wish I had some better news for those that need the extra bandwidth! =/
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Shalimar @ 26th Oct 06:24PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Phorkster :
Exactly as I was already thinking.. maybe a HD coolsat setup will do nicely here. :)
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liamoforange @ 27th Oct 02:34AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Well it looks like Cogeco is getting what they want - the high volume users to leave.
We just got our second warning this month and placed a call with teksavvy today to switch to them.
Gonna dump the cable tv with Cogeco as well, if they don't want all of my business, they won't get any. We were just about to switch to cable phone, glad we didn't bother.
Too bad Cogeco has not done a better job of dealing with this situation. Instead of the emails with the warnings and the cut offs, they should have come to us with new packages that suited our needs. I don't need the faster downloads of the pro pack, I need greater volume, somewhere between 150-250gb a month, but at a slower speed. I don't care how long my downloads take, I just don't want to lose the volume.
A decade with Cogeco and this is how they communicate with me. Of course once I leave the retention calls will start, but once I am gone I won't be back - Bell has never got my phone, internet, or tv money back and never will.
:-(
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Trunkz Jr @ 28th Oct 08:17PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Just got my warning.
Upstream1: 30087
Downstream2: 68824
Current month's percentage of combined limit used: 160 %
Current month's estimated bandwidth usage4 (based on the current daily average usage): 105960 MB
I just clicked the Reconnect button, after about 5min or more, it slowly let me to back to websites (google.ca kept showing a cogeco thing). Guess downloading BF2:PR mod 1.8gig on both of my computer in less then an hour didn't help lmao.
I notice if you click the downstream part it says:
"Plan exceedance is based on cost of 80 cents per 100 Mbytes."
Does that mean I'm gonna be paying through the nose when my bill comes in? lool.. I checked my Cogeco mail for the first time, found TONS of junk mail, and i did find 2 warnings in there, dated 9/30/2007 and then 10/25/2007 so I guess it's fair that they did what they did, but I never check my cogeco mail, isn't there a way they can send warning to my hotmail i don't wanna have to keep checking damn Cogeco mail x_X
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Airwolf @ 28th Oct 09:46PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Why didn't you just transfer the mod over LAN instead of redownloading off the internet?
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Trunkz Jr @ 29th Oct 03:46AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I tried that, it was working, then it would give me a error asking to "try again" or cancel, sometimes the try again would work, but then it wouldn't so I got fed up.
Anyone know of any good Bandwidth Monitors? I hate having to to go the cogeco place x_X
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neko @ 29th Oct 05:21AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
»fileforum.betanews.com/detail/Ne···844763/1
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Snickerdo @ 29th Oct 11:31AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
My router gives me my bandwidth usage in daily, weekly and monthly intervals. If you have a WRT54G(L), it might be worthwhile looking into third-party firmware to integrate this functionality right into the router side.
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gn2 @ 10th Nov 07:52PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
They have cut off any heavy users, AND increased the cost of regular internet to EVERYONE else....
What other kind of solution would you expect ?
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hdtvguy @ 6th Dec 11:16AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Using the graphs and details I was finally able to set up QOS rules to get my VOIP sounding properly.
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Snickerdo @ 6th Dec 07:59PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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Exit @ 11th Dec 03:52AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I just packed up shop and moved over to Teksavvy. I had 2 HDPVR's, 2 digital boxes, VOIP, some specialty channels and internet. So long cogeco. You can have me back when the standard bitcap is 200GB/month and we can get more bandwidth for $10/100GB
--
If your pictures suck you're too far away!
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theninjasqua @ 11th Dec 11:59AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Wow, you got rid of all that with Cogeco? Or did you just drop your internet with them?
--
-theninjasquad
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Snickerdo @ 11th Dec 09:10PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Shalimar @ 11th Dec 11:26PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I agree.. and I also dumped cogeco for all services.. not just the internet connection.
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Exit @ 12th Dec 01:43AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Everything. I can watch most of the shows I watch online and we're setting up an OTA system to get some normal channels. Cogego's HD lineup is crap anyways right now, so maybe in a year we'll come back to see how many more channels they are offering (give us back HD NET!!!)
--
If your pictures suck you're too far away!
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Wings @ 12th Dec 04:33AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
HIgh volume users are in 95% of all cases illegal downloaders... tons of movies, games and stuff like that, because let's be serious... what is legal and should cost you 4-5GB a day, 30 days a month....give me an example... :uhh:
I really don't care if they leave Cogeco, go, bye, c'ya, aufwiedersehen, adios, salute, tot ziens! :D
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Snickerdo @ 12th Dec 04:37AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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Wings @ 12th Dec 05:31AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I'm pretty sure I said 95%...moron :uhh:
Your example is also not an example of someone downloading 30x5=150GB a month.
Of course you download at least 100GB of legal software every month, right? *sigh*
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Snickerdo @ 12th Dec 05:39AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
There you go again...
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Gruesome @ 12th Dec 09:32AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Plus my bother works in CG and often sends me his work to look at.
On top of all that some streaming (Legal) content on the net has gone to 720p
Also we now all use video calling to keep in touch.
Just because you use your connection in a limited way don't expect everyone else to do so.
The connected world is changing
I truly believe that Cogeco is attempting to limit our use of Internet so that they can ensure the future of their own products Cable TV and now Phone Service.
Having said that I think they have every right to do so.
Even with the limited use of your connection you must realize that Phone and Television are becoming redundant.
Cogeco's policy is doomed, They are a Utility providing bits through a pipe, no different than your Hydro and Gas supplier
They will have to compete with the Major TV Networks, Voip Providers, Start up Video Providers all over their own network.
Unless they can some how limit what you can access illegally or Legally over their ip network eventually it's going to eat away at their core business(or at least the profitability of it).
Gruesome
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Gruesome @ 12th Dec 09:54AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I'll give you all an example because Video competition really isn't there yet lets compare Voip
Cogeco offers North American Voip for 44.95 a month
Callcentric offers the same service for 25.95 a month
Do you see where Cogeco's Interest lies here?
And when you'll be able to Stream all you favorite shows over the Web then what?
Gruesome
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A Lurker @ 12th Dec 10:05AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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anon @ 12th Dec 11:30AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Maybe if you guys weren't abusing Cogeco's bandwidth, you wouldn't need to be concerned about the bitcaps.
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Gruesome @ 12th Dec 11:38AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
What do you consider abuse?
I have no issue with them cutting me off if i go over their limit
It's why I have second provider
I know what I'm paying for here and I will take what I can
I hardly call that abuse
Gruesome
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Shalimar @ 12th Dec 02:02PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
@ Wings - what they choose to download is their own business... illegal or not. You nor Cogeco are the police. And instead of your narrow minded pov perhaps as Snickerdo pointed out you have allot to learn still.
As for other "abuses"... fact is with the bitcap cogeco is one of the single most expensive ISPs now per GB... and given their size they could afford to allow 200gb+ for std cable quite easily and still be making tons of cash.
Fact is this is a very stupid move and has pissed off a ton of people... whom like myself removed ALL of our $ from Cogeco's pockets.
I checked around and I have all the same "service" now for much less $/month and with better customer service.
As for their motivation it's a cash grab and to help protect their other services from things like online movie streaming etc.. which competes with their crappy "on demand" service and movie network etc..
I for one say no thanks to that sort of tactic which is obviously not looking after the customers interests at all.. but instead some bean counter wanting to kiss some managers ass.
Ohh and for those staying.. just wait till cogeco starts trying to pull the same shit as rogers got caught doing:
»technology.sympatico.msn.cbc.ca/···te=False
Not to mention their using packet shaping to screw with torrent protocols.. and denying such.. which is a blatant lie on their part.
Sorry.. but no the customer PAYS for X bandwidth connection.. not for X bandwidth @ cogeco's choice of what type of packets you can and/or cannot use.
Ohh and before you open your mouth and make a fool of yourself again by saying torrents are illegal etc etc... get a clue.. they are 100% legal and have many perfectly legit uses... check out how Blizzard distro's their update patches now just for one example.
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hdtvguy @ 12th Dec 06:15PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
The real advantage that Cogeco has, is that employing PacketCable with its IP managed backbone, as a Cogeco customer you should hardly ever have to contend with QOS issues at the network level.
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anon @ 12th Dec 10:20PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
wings, do your parents know your on the internet?
or are you just another troll who has this holier than thou attitude.
of course i'm sure everything on your computer is legit isn't it?
please do us all a favor and leave the internet. your either too old or too young to be using it.
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Snickerdo @ 12th Dec 10:23PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
reply
Phorkster @ 12th Dec 11:43PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I have no choice when it comes to service. DSL in my area is a whopping 1.5Mbps MAX. I enjoy my speed with cable. I do agree that they need to start opening up some new packages. I mean even their TV lineup is crappy at best, which is one reason I have no yet switched to Digital Cable.
PS: Let them shape torrents, in fact I beg them to start. If you haven't jumped into usenet yet, then you are behind the curve. In fact if you ever jumped out of usenet you were behind the curve.
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Snickerdo @ 12th Dec 11:49PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Shalimar @ 13th Dec 01:07AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
ahh... caught in the act eh snickerdo? *LOL*
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anon @ 13th Dec 08:52AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Second, the word abuse at Cogeco doesn't discriminate against legit downloads vs illegal ones. Abuse is going over their bandwidth for what you're paying for no matter what you're downloading. So in my first post I was correct in calling anyone who exceeds the bandwidth limit a network abuser. Thats what Cogeco calls them, and that so happens to be the ISP you're using.
So if calling pointing out abuse when it happens makes me a moron, so be it. I call it like I see it.
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Gruesome @ 13th Dec 10:12AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Ok we're abusers, all I can say is if we go over the limit cut us off i don't care, I have a back up
I don't have the time nor the inclination to monitor my bandwidth all day, I'm too busy
As far as what people download it's nobody's Business but their own and people should get down off their high horse and mind their own business.
I can easily blow through the limit legally and so will more people blow through the limit unless its raised.
Hi Def streaming video is coming on line, file sizes are getting bigger all the time
You may have a legit reason for not using up your bandwidth such as no family and friends to share photos and video with. No one to call, or you don't want to be seen on a web cam
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Scrappy2 @ 19th Dec 05:19AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
You can blow through cogeco's bitcap fast if you have all three game consoles download the demos purchase movies and or games. so these Punks coming on here saying oh bs your not dnlding legit stuff are completes out of touch or have very little knowledge on how the internet works.
Doesn't matter really everyones usage should be up to them if Cogeco was in the US market it would be put out of bussiness fast for low bitcaps.
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Cuui @ 24th Dec 11:08PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
The way the bits are enforced and the way of warning customers is a bit flawed, yeah, but whoever thinks they aren't necessary in this day and age is...foolish. People complain that it limits their use of new technology having to do with p2p, torrents and information exch in general. Guess what - someone how to pay to maintain the infrastructure of the network so you don't get 2 KB/s for every D/L. It's not free, things change, more people use p2p and torrents now, deal with the caps they're meant to allow fair use for everyone on the network. If you're using 100 GIGS plus up an down paying for internet standard and calling the centre complaining that you got cut off (especially if you're bitching) you need your own server and a private connection. Stop calling month after month when you know what you've done to cause the issue.
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Snickerdo @ 25th Dec 12:57AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
reply
anon @ 25th Dec 10:32PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Neither comcast or verison in the US has officially capped service. Sure, comcast may kick you off for doing 400GB a month, but that's nothing to cogeco's measly 60Gb enforced cap.
I think it needs saying again...
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anon @ 25th Dec 11:21PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
i wanted to know, i already got 2 bandwidth notices, and im stopping all torrents and downloads, how much do you guys think im going to have to pay in overages this month
its my fathers cogeco account, so i dont have the specific bandwidth details but i cant imagine the family going over 70 gigs
will it be 80$ :S
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Snickerdo @ 25th Dec 11:31PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Cogeco doesn't bill for overages. They merely pull the plug until next month. My aunt across the street hasn't had Internet for the last few days and won't have Internet for another week because of that. They're livid, but Secord Woods is DSL dark so Cogeco can fuck us around any way they choose and there's not a damn thing we can do about it.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
reply
anon @ 25th Dec 11:33PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
but somewhere in this thread it said 80c/100megs
so that is pretty much at their discretion?
thanks!
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SuperCM @ 26th Dec 01:48AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Candoo3 @ 26th Dec 02:11AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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nitzguy @ 26th Dec 11:18PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
But I don't know the specific policies these days, I'm in the dark in regards to that. Have you thought of maybe yelling at Bell a bit? Don't they have their Wimax unplugged solution in the area for you if they're not gonna roll out the DSL? (Bell that is).
Just a thought :). Or...you could always get a 2nd service! ;).
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Snickerdo @ 27th Dec 01:27AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
reply
Shamans @ 27th Dec 02:06AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
They don't even bother to offer residential internet packages with higher bandwidth caps.
The conflict of interest may have been okay if there was a competing ISP in my area.
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neko @ 21st Jan 05:24PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
From front page: »Verizon, Industry Comment On Time Warner Cable Plans
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urbanriot @ 21st Jan 06:24PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Of course! Downloading TV shows / movies = no cable or satellite TV. There's a definite bias here.
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anon @ 26th Jan 02:31PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
So what can we do about this greedy policy?
Can we call anyone? Some people don't have the option of switching, are those people just screwed?
Anyone that gets a ps3 or xbox and downloads 6 demos or more is over the bit cap for the month...
That is just ridiculous.
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brorjace @ 26th Jan 03:36PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Well I'm going to be honest, my roommate and I watch a lot of streaming video (one could call us YouTube junkies at times).
I'm constently runnnig my Xbox 360 online (download trailers, demos and the like), we BOTH used to play World of Warcraft, we're running on the Standard package and to be honest, I've gone to like 64 GB in a month...so it's possible to use the internet within our limits.
If you find that 60 just isn't enough for you, then I would suggest upgrading to the Pro package. Don't forget, with us not charging for an overage that does give you as a consumer the leg up over other providers (Rogers, Bell, I think Execulink, and other DSL providers charge for Bandwidth Overages...and it's clearly outlined in the fine print on the website, not just in their TOS).
I'm a fan of fair use, so I'm a fan of increased caps, is it planned? Probably, is it being implemented right now? No. So for now I think everyone should just review their internet usage and curve it just a bit so that don't see these warnings (I've never had a warning except a spam warning...heh forgot to re-enable my CSS!)
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urbanriot @ 26th Jan 03:46PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
That being said, I've switched over to the $100 Business account and I'm decently happy, since the quality of service is good, and the support is great... but at the same time, I'm being raped for a service that's costing considerably more than it does in other first world countries.
There isn't much you can do... complaints have been voiced, some people have left, many long time Cogeco users are disenfranchised, and Cogeco's turning a profit. Either switch to the business account or jump ship.
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Shalimar @ 27th Jan 10:38AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
More like get the hell off of the sinking ship that is Cogeco.
Treating your customers whom have been loyal for years as they recently have is simply unacceptable.
I already have as well as many others and I took over 200 of my clients in the Hamilton area with me already with more to come. If $ is all they care about (which is quite obvious) then I have taken away a good chunk of such from them.
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brorjace @ 27th Jan 11:25AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Money wasn't the reason to enforce our Bitcaps though. If that were the case then we would charge everyone for their overage (just as other providers do and our AUP says we can do).
We're just making sure everyone can get the speeds we are advertising with some overhead for new sub divisions to come online. Don't forget, if EVERYONE in the area downloaded 4 and 5 times their Cap then you'd all have slow speeds because the area would get congested.
My suggestion to this all is compare your options. If you wish to leave us for another service then do your research first as some other companies are a little more strict with their Bandwidth then we are :)
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anon @ 27th Jan 07:36PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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A Lurker @ 27th Jan 07:54PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Snickerdo @ 28th Jan 12:55AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
And yeah, node-level bandwidth has absolutely nothing to do with this, otherwise there would be moratoriums on business connections in high congested areas, or QoS setups or stuff like that. This is profit taking, pure and simple. brorjace is just a loyal employee trying to defend the company they work for. Unfortunately, we here have all been through this for a while, and we know that the suits at Cogeco don't give a flying fuck how we feel.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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anon @ 28th Jan 04:10AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I download a lot. I make no apologies for it; I use newsgroups and if I incrementally update my newsgroups, it will take a gig of bandwidth on it's own. So I figured I'd buy the uber-expensive-grab-your-ankles-and-squeal 120 gig/ month plan. Because I download a lot.
That was fine for a couple of years, until last September, when Cogeco started getting anal about bandwidth caps.
It was funny how when I was on the 120gb plan and I first ran up against the new bitcap, I got the automated email saying I was ruining teh interwebs for my neighbors.
Clearly I was hogging the internet, and because of my actions, the poor people who live in my neighborhood weren't able to fully enjoy their highspeed. I must have been leeching all the bits and bytes, and I guess when my neighbors opened up IE they would see a blank page, because all their 1's and 0's were being directed to my computer instead of theirs. I'm a neighborly guy, so I called up Cogeco and ask what I could possibly do in order to make things better for my neighbors.
Startlingly enough, Cogeco's solution was that I purchase a more expensive plan, the $100/month 200-gig plan.
"So if I give you more money each month, that will improve the surfing experience for my neighbors?"
"Umm...well....err..if you purchase the Soho business plan, you will get 200 gigs a month"
"Am I allowed to download that all at once? Should I restrict my days or the time of day I download?"
"No sir, you can download at whatever time of day you choose"
So lemme get this straight. I'm ruining the internet for my neighbors, but you'll get over it if I pay you more?
I don't get picked up for work in a short bus, so I expect honest answers from businesses I give money to, especially ones who suck more than $1,200/year from my bank account.
Last month I downloaded 180 gigs but was entitled to 200. If Cogeco gave a shit about the quality of my neighbor's internet experience, wouldn't they give me a pro-rated rebate for the bandwidth I'm entitled to and don't use each month. Wouldn't that free up the cloud a little more for my neighbors, presumably also loyal sheep in the Cogeco flock?
But it ain't about that at all.
So how about some honesty? Just come clean and admit that it's about milking your loyal customers for every penny you can. You'll feel better for telling the truth, I'll respect you a little more for it too. Hell, I might even let you cook me breakfast the next morning.
Cogeco gets an epic fail for even bringing up the pretense that our interaction somehow wrecks the web for our fellow Cogeco customers. If it was about the quality of the service for those around us, how about increasing Cogeco's network capacity, so that you can actually deliver on your promised speeds, rather than hoping that only a fraction of the paid users will be using the service at any one time?
I wrote this because today I went over 200 gigs (I'm at 208 gigs right now), and got an email saying that those 8 extra gigs were ruining the internet for my neighbors. I wonder if those 8 gigs were somehow sucked out of the harddrives of the people in the apartment building next to me.
I have a fair idea what Cogeco's recommended solution might be; I'm guessing that they have talked to my web-surfing neighbors and they have all agreed that if I pay Cogeco $200/month for the unlimited bandwidth plan, Cogeco will split the proceeds with my neighbors, who will then walk up to me and pat me on the back, maybe even give me a hug.
Am I right, Mr. Cogeco, sir?
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wowproducts @ 28th Jan 06:01AM:
Re: [Kingston] Cogeco Bitcaps
I have the Pro with Cogeco never had a problem with the limits and personally I download alot and send alot of stuff to me friends never once have i got the suspention notice you guys are talking about....but i do keep and eye on the bandwidth since I play games onling too also run my own server for half life and still no going over my bandwidth.
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anon @ 30th Jan 11:17AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I got my first suspension today, oh boy. I'm at 227 gigs on the 200 gig plan. The friendly tech support person said I'm allowed an entire gig til midnight tomorrow night.
I do 90% of my downloading from Cogeco newsgroups, and I know that the transfer from the newsgroup server to my modem is free to Cogeco. That is completely ridiculous.
Time to get another ISP, one who will happily take my $100/month and not treat me like a child.
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hse @ 30th Jan 01:38PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Hey Sulako, that nick looks familiar. ;)
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ItalCanadese @ 30th Jan 04:06PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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anon @ 30th Jan 05:31PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
That's pretty much my biggest complaint as well.
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urbanriot @ 30th Jan 07:51PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Cogeco's doing a great thing by offering a decent quality newsgroup server, which is more than a lot of ISP's do, however if their usenet server was in a 'bandwidth free' zone, I'd utilize it for newer items and have giganews setup as a fill server. However, since it equally counts on my bandwidth tally at the end of the month, I'm not about to do Cogeco any favours.
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Snickerdo @ 30th Jan 10:59PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
reply
klondikebars @ 30th Jan 11:19PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
My daughter called tonight because she got the page about exceeding their bandwidth limit. When does the service get restored, and do they have to do anything to get it back?
Thanks!
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okoolo @ 30th Jan 11:21PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I'm curious .. would they disconnect somebody on the 31st .. that would mean no internet on the 1st .. which is a new month ..
and you're lucky .. I got my 1st warning on 207 gigs ..
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Last Parade @ 30th Jan 11:33PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I would imagine the network traffic on the last day of the month is pretty light from all the criminals not being able to surf.
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okoolo @ 30th Jan 11:46PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
but if they disconnect you on the last day then you're getting penalized in a new month when your record is supposed to be reset..
I'm wondering if I should take that chanced and resume my downloads tomorrow ..
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urbanriot @ 31st Jan 12:04AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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okoolo @ 31st Jan 01:49AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
that's not what I mean .. If I get disconnected on the 31st say at 8 PM will I get reconnected at 12:01 Am on the 1st even though 24 hours did not pass yet ?
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Snickerdo @ 31st Jan 03:30AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Outright cutting people off is a pretty horrid thing, too. I mean come on Cogeco, get with the program. If you're in this bad of a situation when it comes to network capacity, why not do what Bell does and throttle people during peak houses? Cutting someone off outright and killing their VoIP and stuff is a pretty fucked up thing to do.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
reply
okoolo @ 31st Jan 06:18AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
my counter reset an hour ago ... (5am 31st)
thank you Cogeco !
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Chainzz @ 31st Jan 07:32AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Wish people would get their facts straight. VOIP DOES NOT get cutoff and If I am mistaken I am sorry, telephone is a life line, do you really think Cogeco is going to play that game?
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diskdocx @ 31st Jan 07:34AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
It has been confirmed that VOIP DOES get cut off if it is through any provider other than Cogeco.
I believe that Krispy confirmed this, but don't have time to dig back throught the thread to find where.
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Krispy @ 31st Jan 08:52AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Remember that the 9-1-1 Dialing service will not function in the event of a power or broadband outage or if your broadband, ISP or Vonage service is suspended or terminated.
SOURCE: »www.vonage.ca/features.php?feature=911
--
you can lead a horse to the water but you cannot make him drink...you can put a man through school but you cannot make him think --ben harper
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theninjasqua @ 31st Jan 10:48AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
This is why we need the government to deem internet an essential service.
--
-theninjasquad
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anon @ 31st Jan 11:02AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
So I read around and went to the Teksavvy website.
I can get unlimited transfer 5mbit/800kbit from them for (tax included) $51.50 per month. 5mbit is fine by me, I set up my downloads to go overnight anyway.
I currently play just over a hundred bucks a month through Cogeco, so I'd be saving $600/year.
Is access to the Cogeco news server (with somewhat pathetic 3-day retention) worth having a bitcap and paying an extra $50/month?
Hmm, lemme ponder this for exactly 0.001 microseconds, before I head out to buy a DSL modem from Canada Computers.
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Candoo3 @ 31st Jan 11:23AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Frozty2k @ 31st Jan 01:49PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
You can save a further $10 if you don't actually need unlimited as premium is 200GB. You can buy an extra 100GB for that for the same price also. If you plan to use more than 300/mo then unlimited is yout best bet in that case. Also, torrents can replace the newsgroups as they are not throttled on teksavvy :)
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Snickerdo @ 31st Jan 04:21PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
February is right around the corner. Hopefully I'll have reason to stop complaining soon.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
reply
anon @ 31st Jan 04:46PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Hey Frosty,
Do you happen to know in what areas of Hamilton/Stoney Creek Teksavvy is available in?
I'm in the east end of Hamilton (Stoney Creek to be exact)
I've really been considering Teksavvy but i'm not too sure if its available in my area or not.
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Shyte @ 31st Jan 06:36PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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Frozty2k @ 31st Jan 08:33PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Here is a link to the direct forum,
»/forum/teksavdirect
Generally they are availiable anywhere bell phone lines are, but it's best to check if you can get the full 5meg as older area's might be too far away.
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vuarra @ 12th Feb 06:54PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Let's say I do drop Cogeco for my IP... and drop them completely.... who do I have to go to for my wife's pathetic TV addiction? Let's just say that Bell is not an answer.
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urbanriot @ 12th Feb 07:35PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
You could go with an OTA HD antenna with a set top box. Won't cost you monthly fees, you'll get great quality transmissions and you'll have to anyhow if you currently watch anything OTA. Just upgraded my parents...
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vuarra @ 12th Feb 07:43PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Unfortunately, I live in an area that doesn't even get the local radio station due to buildings... otherwise, I'd love that scenario.
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theninjasqua @ 12th Feb 11:54PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Theres always Starchoice satellite. And you could always go with Teksavvy DSL and just download all the shows that you want to watch.
--
-theninjasquad
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A Lurker @ 13th Feb 02:24PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
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vuarra @ 17th Feb 01:52PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I downloaded several *cough* commercialless shows for the wife to watch.... but I swear to God that her and the progeny just loves to whine that there is nothing good on... esp watching TVTropolis (is that what it's called) for the crap that should have stayed in the 80's
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Thank you for using lo-fi dslreports.com - report bugs
© 99-2009 silver matrix LLC
said by Shalimar
Ohh and I'm also investigating satelite for TV as well... eliminating my acct with cogeco completely.
[/BQUOTE
Free To Air, would be the way to go as far as TV is concerned. I'm one step closer to hitting up Tekksavvy for internet, getting a few FTA Dishes. I do however love my Cogeco Digital Phone.
Ohh and I'm also investigating satelite for TV as well... eliminating my acct with cogeco completely.
[/BQUOTE
Free To Air, would be the way to go as far as TV is concerned. I'm one step closer to hitting up Tekksavvy for internet, getting a few FTA Dishes. I do however love my Cogeco Digital Phone.
Exactly as I was already thinking.. maybe a HD coolsat setup will do nicely here. :)
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liamoforange @ 27th Oct 02:34AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Well it looks like Cogeco is getting what they want - the high volume users to leave.
We just got our second warning this month and placed a call with teksavvy today to switch to them.
Gonna dump the cable tv with Cogeco as well, if they don't want all of my business, they won't get any. We were just about to switch to cable phone, glad we didn't bother.
Too bad Cogeco has not done a better job of dealing with this situation. Instead of the emails with the warnings and the cut offs, they should have come to us with new packages that suited our needs. I don't need the faster downloads of the pro pack, I need greater volume, somewhere between 150-250gb a month, but at a slower speed. I don't care how long my downloads take, I just don't want to lose the volume.
A decade with Cogeco and this is how they communicate with me. Of course once I leave the retention calls will start, but once I am gone I won't be back - Bell has never got my phone, internet, or tv money back and never will.
:-(
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Trunkz Jr @ 28th Oct 08:17PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Just got my warning.
Upstream1: 30087
Downstream2: 68824
Current month's percentage of combined limit used: 160 %
Current month's estimated bandwidth usage4 (based on the current daily average usage): 105960 MB
I just clicked the Reconnect button, after about 5min or more, it slowly let me to back to websites (google.ca kept showing a cogeco thing). Guess downloading BF2:PR mod 1.8gig on both of my computer in less then an hour didn't help lmao.
I notice if you click the downstream part it says:
"Plan exceedance is based on cost of 80 cents per 100 Mbytes."
Does that mean I'm gonna be paying through the nose when my bill comes in? lool.. I checked my Cogeco mail for the first time, found TONS of junk mail, and i did find 2 warnings in there, dated 9/30/2007 and then 10/25/2007 so I guess it's fair that they did what they did, but I never check my cogeco mail, isn't there a way they can send warning to my hotmail i don't wanna have to keep checking damn Cogeco mail x_X
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Airwolf @ 28th Oct 09:46PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Why didn't you just transfer the mod over LAN instead of redownloading off the internet?
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Trunkz Jr @ 29th Oct 03:46AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I tried that, it was working, then it would give me a error asking to "try again" or cancel, sometimes the try again would work, but then it wouldn't so I got fed up.
Anyone know of any good Bandwidth Monitors? I hate having to to go the cogeco place x_X
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neko @ 29th Oct 05:21AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Trunkz Jr :
Anyone know of any good Bandwidth Monitors? I hate having to to go the cogeco place x_X
Netmeter is FREE:Anyone know of any good Bandwidth Monitors? I hate having to to go the cogeco place x_X
»fileforum.betanews.com/detail/Ne···844763/1
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Snickerdo @ 29th Oct 11:31AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
My router gives me my bandwidth usage in daily, weekly and monthly intervals. If you have a WRT54G(L), it might be worthwhile looking into third-party firmware to integrate this functionality right into the router side.
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gn2 @ 10th Nov 07:52PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Hamitlon1 :
All these weeks later and still no comment from anyone at Cogeco about any possible new residential packages?
I remember reading that Cogeco's managment were discussing the situation but you would think that after this amount of time we would have heard something if they were actually going to change things.
Oh well I wasn't expecting anything to be done so in the end the only thing I'm disappointed about is I have no one else other than Bell or as I like to call them "HELL" to turn to so I guess I'm stuck at the moment.
Cogeco HAS made a change they feel meets THEIR needs. All these weeks later and still no comment from anyone at Cogeco about any possible new residential packages?
I remember reading that Cogeco's managment were discussing the situation but you would think that after this amount of time we would have heard something if they were actually going to change things.
Oh well I wasn't expecting anything to be done so in the end the only thing I'm disappointed about is I have no one else other than Bell or as I like to call them "HELL" to turn to so I guess I'm stuck at the moment.
They have cut off any heavy users, AND increased the cost of regular internet to EVERYONE else....
What other kind of solution would you expect ?
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hdtvguy @ 6th Dec 11:16AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Snickerdo :
My router gives me my bandwidth usage in daily, weekly and monthly intervals. If you have a WRT54G(L), it might be worthwhile looking into third-party firmware to integrate this functionality right into the router side.
Great router and with TOMATO firmware, it tells you "Everything" thats transpiring with your connection to the net.My router gives me my bandwidth usage in daily, weekly and monthly intervals. If you have a WRT54G(L), it might be worthwhile looking into third-party firmware to integrate this functionality right into the router side.
Using the graphs and details I was finally able to set up QOS rules to get my VOIP sounding properly.
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Snickerdo @ 6th Dec 07:59PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by hdtvguy :
Great router and with TOMATO firmware, it tells you "Everything" thats transpiring with your connection to the net.
Using the graphs and details I was finally able to set up QOS rules to get my VOIP sounding properly.
I've been using Tomato for a very long time. Wouldn't have it any other way.Great router and with TOMATO firmware, it tells you "Everything" thats transpiring with your connection to the net.
Using the graphs and details I was finally able to set up QOS rules to get my VOIP sounding properly.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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Exit @ 11th Dec 03:52AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I just packed up shop and moved over to Teksavvy. I had 2 HDPVR's, 2 digital boxes, VOIP, some specialty channels and internet. So long cogeco. You can have me back when the standard bitcap is 200GB/month and we can get more bandwidth for $10/100GB
--
If your pictures suck you're too far away!
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theninjasqua @ 11th Dec 11:59AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Wow, you got rid of all that with Cogeco? Or did you just drop your internet with them?
--
-theninjasquad
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Snickerdo @ 11th Dec 09:10PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by theninjasqua :
Wow, you got rid of all that with Cogeco? Or did you just drop your internet with them?
From the way I read it, it looks like it got rid of it all.Wow, you got rid of all that with Cogeco? Or did you just drop your internet with them?
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Shalimar @ 11th Dec 11:26PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I agree.. and I also dumped cogeco for all services.. not just the internet connection.
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Exit @ 12th Dec 01:43AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Everything. I can watch most of the shows I watch online and we're setting up an OTA system to get some normal channels. Cogego's HD lineup is crap anyways right now, so maybe in a year we'll come back to see how many more channels they are offering (give us back HD NET!!!)
--
If your pictures suck you're too far away!
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Wings @ 12th Dec 04:33AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
HIgh volume users are in 95% of all cases illegal downloaders... tons of movies, games and stuff like that, because let's be serious... what is legal and should cost you 4-5GB a day, 30 days a month....give me an example... :uhh:
I really don't care if they leave Cogeco, go, bye, c'ya, aufwiedersehen, adios, salute, tot ziens! :D
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Snickerdo @ 12th Dec 04:37AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Wings :
HIgh volume users are in 95% of all cases illegal downloaders... tons of movies, games and stuff like that, because let's be serious... what is legal and should cost you 4-5GB a day, 30 days a month....give me an example... :uhh:
Ever heard of Steam? I downloaded 17GB of software that I legally paid for over the weekend. While the stuff was downloading, I figured that some moron somewhere would try to label any kind of high bandwidth usage as "illegal" activity. Looks like I figured right.HIgh volume users are in 95% of all cases illegal downloaders... tons of movies, games and stuff like that, because let's be serious... what is legal and should cost you 4-5GB a day, 30 days a month....give me an example... :uhh:
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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Wings @ 12th Dec 05:31AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I'm pretty sure I said 95%...moron :uhh:
Your example is also not an example of someone downloading 30x5=150GB a month.
Of course you download at least 100GB of legal software every month, right? *sigh*
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Snickerdo @ 12th Dec 05:39AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
There you go again...
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Gruesome @ 12th Dec 09:32AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Wings :
I'm pretty sure I said 95%...moron :uhh:
Your example is also not an example of someone downloading 30x5=150GB a month.
Of course you download at least 100GB of legal software every month, right? *sigh*
Ok, my family uses ( I have 1 brother and 3 sisters) a program called alliance to share all our pictures and family videos (which by the way are filmed in 1080i)I'm pretty sure I said 95%...moron :uhh:
Your example is also not an example of someone downloading 30x5=150GB a month.
Of course you download at least 100GB of legal software every month, right? *sigh*
Plus my bother works in CG and often sends me his work to look at.
On top of all that some streaming (Legal) content on the net has gone to 720p
Also we now all use video calling to keep in touch.
Just because you use your connection in a limited way don't expect everyone else to do so.
The connected world is changing
I truly believe that Cogeco is attempting to limit our use of Internet so that they can ensure the future of their own products Cable TV and now Phone Service.
Having said that I think they have every right to do so.
Even with the limited use of your connection you must realize that Phone and Television are becoming redundant.
Cogeco's policy is doomed, They are a Utility providing bits through a pipe, no different than your Hydro and Gas supplier
They will have to compete with the Major TV Networks, Voip Providers, Start up Video Providers all over their own network.
Unless they can some how limit what you can access illegally or Legally over their ip network eventually it's going to eat away at their core business(or at least the profitability of it).
Gruesome
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Gruesome @ 12th Dec 09:54AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I'll give you all an example because Video competition really isn't there yet lets compare Voip
Cogeco offers North American Voip for 44.95 a month
Callcentric offers the same service for 25.95 a month
Do you see where Cogeco's Interest lies here?
And when you'll be able to Stream all you favorite shows over the Web then what?
Gruesome
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A Lurker @ 12th Dec 10:05AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by manderson4 :
After looking through some of the packages and the pro I also looked at the business packages and their one business package is the same price as the pro but has a extra twenty gigs can residential customers get the business packages.
Yes you can. The only issue is that you have to change your email addresses (.net instead of .ca)After looking through some of the packages and the pro I also looked at the business packages and their one business package is the same price as the pro but has a extra twenty gigs can residential customers get the business packages.
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anon @ 12th Dec 11:30AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Maybe if you guys weren't abusing Cogeco's bandwidth, you wouldn't need to be concerned about the bitcaps.
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Gruesome @ 12th Dec 11:38AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
What do you consider abuse?
I have no issue with them cutting me off if i go over their limit
It's why I have second provider
I know what I'm paying for here and I will take what I can
I hardly call that abuse
Gruesome
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Shalimar @ 12th Dec 02:02PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
@ Wings - what they choose to download is their own business... illegal or not. You nor Cogeco are the police. And instead of your narrow minded pov perhaps as Snickerdo pointed out you have allot to learn still.
As for other "abuses"... fact is with the bitcap cogeco is one of the single most expensive ISPs now per GB... and given their size they could afford to allow 200gb+ for std cable quite easily and still be making tons of cash.
Fact is this is a very stupid move and has pissed off a ton of people... whom like myself removed ALL of our $ from Cogeco's pockets.
I checked around and I have all the same "service" now for much less $/month and with better customer service.
As for their motivation it's a cash grab and to help protect their other services from things like online movie streaming etc.. which competes with their crappy "on demand" service and movie network etc..
I for one say no thanks to that sort of tactic which is obviously not looking after the customers interests at all.. but instead some bean counter wanting to kiss some managers ass.
Ohh and for those staying.. just wait till cogeco starts trying to pull the same shit as rogers got caught doing:
»technology.sympatico.msn.cbc.ca/···te=False
Not to mention their using packet shaping to screw with torrent protocols.. and denying such.. which is a blatant lie on their part.
Sorry.. but no the customer PAYS for X bandwidth connection.. not for X bandwidth @ cogeco's choice of what type of packets you can and/or cannot use.
Ohh and before you open your mouth and make a fool of yourself again by saying torrents are illegal etc etc... get a clue.. they are 100% legal and have many perfectly legit uses... check out how Blizzard distro's their update patches now just for one example.
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hdtvguy @ 12th Dec 06:15PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Gruesome :
I'll give you all an example because Video competition really isn't there yet lets compare Voip
Cogeco offers North American Voip for 44.95 a month
Callcentric offers the same service for 25.95 a month
And of course ReliaClear @ $14.99/month.I'll give you all an example because Video competition really isn't there yet lets compare Voip
Cogeco offers North American Voip for 44.95 a month
Callcentric offers the same service for 25.95 a month
The real advantage that Cogeco has, is that employing PacketCable with its IP managed backbone, as a Cogeco customer you should hardly ever have to contend with QOS issues at the network level.
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anon @ 12th Dec 10:20PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
wings, do your parents know your on the internet?
or are you just another troll who has this holier than thou attitude.
of course i'm sure everything on your computer is legit isn't it?
please do us all a favor and leave the internet. your either too old or too young to be using it.
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Snickerdo @ 12th Dec 10:23PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by BurNet13 :
Maybe if you guys weren't abusing Cogeco's bandwidth, you wouldn't need to be concerned about the bitcaps.
Right. Downloading software I legitimately purchased and streaming legal video content is "abuse" of bandwidth. Whatever you say, moron.Maybe if you guys weren't abusing Cogeco's bandwidth, you wouldn't need to be concerned about the bitcaps.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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Phorkster @ 12th Dec 11:43PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Snickerdo :
Right. Downloading software I legitimately purchased and streaming legal video content is "abuse" of bandwidth. Whatever you say, moron.
Well some of the stuff you DL is pretty questionable Snick. :DRight. Downloading software I legitimately purchased and streaming legal video content is "abuse" of bandwidth. Whatever you say, moron.
I have no choice when it comes to service. DSL in my area is a whopping 1.5Mbps MAX. I enjoy my speed with cable. I do agree that they need to start opening up some new packages. I mean even their TV lineup is crappy at best, which is one reason I have no yet switched to Digital Cable.
PS: Let them shape torrents, in fact I beg them to start. If you haven't jumped into usenet yet, then you are behind the curve. In fact if you ever jumped out of usenet you were behind the curve.
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Snickerdo @ 12th Dec 11:49PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Phorkster :
Well some of the stuff you DL is pretty questionable Snick. :D
Shhhh! ;)Well some of the stuff you DL is pretty questionable Snick. :D
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Shalimar @ 13th Dec 01:07AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
ahh... caught in the act eh snickerdo? *LOL*
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anon @ 13th Dec 08:52AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Snickerdo :
Right. Downloading software I legitimately purchased and streaming legal video content is "abuse" of bandwidth. Whatever you say, moron.
Dont make it too obvious you're trying to point out what you're doing isn't illegal. First, I assure you all of your software isn't legit if you have 100 gigs on HSI standard [before they suspend you] per month. If you're purchasing THAT MUCH software a month, I question your honesty. Microsoft Office and Photoshop V. 7 alone aren't even a gigabyte combined, let alone a hundred times that. Granted you tossed in streaming videos. Youtube seems to be today's popular choice when people refer to streaming. I can't say thats the one you're using, but they're Flash files which are quite compact and use very little bandwidth. Right. Downloading software I legitimately purchased and streaming legal video content is "abuse" of bandwidth. Whatever you say, moron.
Second, the word abuse at Cogeco doesn't discriminate against legit downloads vs illegal ones. Abuse is going over their bandwidth for what you're paying for no matter what you're downloading. So in my first post I was correct in calling anyone who exceeds the bandwidth limit a network abuser. Thats what Cogeco calls them, and that so happens to be the ISP you're using.
So if calling pointing out abuse when it happens makes me a moron, so be it. I call it like I see it.
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Gruesome @ 13th Dec 10:12AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Ok we're abusers, all I can say is if we go over the limit cut us off i don't care, I have a back up
I don't have the time nor the inclination to monitor my bandwidth all day, I'm too busy
As far as what people download it's nobody's Business but their own and people should get down off their high horse and mind their own business.
I can easily blow through the limit legally and so will more people blow through the limit unless its raised.
Hi Def streaming video is coming on line, file sizes are getting bigger all the time
You may have a legit reason for not using up your bandwidth such as no family and friends to share photos and video with. No one to call, or you don't want to be seen on a web cam
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Scrappy2 @ 19th Dec 05:19AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
You can blow through cogeco's bitcap fast if you have all three game consoles download the demos purchase movies and or games. so these Punks coming on here saying oh bs your not dnlding legit stuff are completes out of touch or have very little knowledge on how the internet works.
Doesn't matter really everyones usage should be up to them if Cogeco was in the US market it would be put out of bussiness fast for low bitcaps.
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Cuui @ 24th Dec 11:08PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
The way the bits are enforced and the way of warning customers is a bit flawed, yeah, but whoever thinks they aren't necessary in this day and age is...foolish. People complain that it limits their use of new technology having to do with p2p, torrents and information exch in general. Guess what - someone how to pay to maintain the infrastructure of the network so you don't get 2 KB/s for every D/L. It's not free, things change, more people use p2p and torrents now, deal with the caps they're meant to allow fair use for everyone on the network. If you're using 100 GIGS plus up an down paying for internet standard and calling the centre complaining that you got cut off (especially if you're bitching) you need your own server and a private connection. Stop calling month after month when you know what you've done to cause the issue.
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Snickerdo @ 25th Dec 12:57AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Scrappy2 :
You can blow through cogeco's bitcap fast if you have all three game consoles download the demos purchase movies and or games. so these Punks coming on here saying oh bs your not dnlding legit stuff are completes out of touch or have very little knowledge on how the internet works.
I'd say it's a bit of both - they have no idea how the internet works, and are completely out of touch with modern content delivery systems. I mean, have these morons heard of a Slingbox, I wonder? Ignorance - their posts are overflowing with it.You can blow through cogeco's bitcap fast if you have all three game consoles download the demos purchase movies and or games. so these Punks coming on here saying oh bs your not dnlding legit stuff are completes out of touch or have very little knowledge on how the internet works.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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anon @ 25th Dec 10:32PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Scrappy2 :
...if Cogeco was in the US market it would be put out of business fast for low bitcaps.
I agree. Cogeco is abusing their dominant position due to there being no other cable providers in their areas. if this where a truly competitive market, and there where other cable providers in cogeco's areas, they would not be pulling this sh*t....if Cogeco was in the US market it would be put out of business fast for low bitcaps.
Neither comcast or verison in the US has officially capped service. Sure, comcast may kick you off for doing 400GB a month, but that's nothing to cogeco's measly 60Gb enforced cap.
I think it needs saying again...
said by Scrappy2 :
...if Cogeco was in the US market it would be put out of business fast for low bitcaps.
Here here, Scrappy2. I am glad someone on this forum has the balls to say it like it is......if Cogeco was in the US market it would be put out of business fast for low bitcaps.
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anon @ 25th Dec 11:21PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
i wanted to know, i already got 2 bandwidth notices, and im stopping all torrents and downloads, how much do you guys think im going to have to pay in overages this month
its my fathers cogeco account, so i dont have the specific bandwidth details but i cant imagine the family going over 70 gigs
will it be 80$ :S
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Snickerdo @ 25th Dec 11:31PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Cogeco doesn't bill for overages. They merely pull the plug until next month. My aunt across the street hasn't had Internet for the last few days and won't have Internet for another week because of that. They're livid, but Secord Woods is DSL dark so Cogeco can fuck us around any way they choose and there's not a damn thing we can do about it.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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anon @ 25th Dec 11:33PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
but somewhere in this thread it said 80c/100megs
so that is pretty much at their discretion?
thanks!
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SuperCM @ 26th Dec 01:48AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Snickerdo :
My aunt across the street hasn't had Internet for the last few days and won't have Internet for another week because of that.
Not sure if this has been asked, but I tried looking for an answer and wasn't able to find it. When someone gets their Cogeco Internet cut for going over, what becomes of Cogeco Television? Is it still normal? I guess I will tack on Cogeco Home Phone to this as well even though I don't have it, but in case others do.My aunt across the street hasn't had Internet for the last few days and won't have Internet for another week because of that.
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Candoo3 @ 26th Dec 02:11AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by SuperCM :
From what I have gathered from previous posts the past few months, TV and CHP keep going, just no Inet.said by Snickerdo :
My aunt across the street hasn't had Internet for the last few days and won't have Internet for another week because of that.
what becomes of Cogeco Television? Is it still normal? I guess I will tack on Cogeco Home Phone to this as well even though I don't have it, but in case others do.My aunt across the street hasn't had Internet for the last few days and won't have Internet for another week because of that.
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nitzguy @ 26th Dec 11:18PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Snickerdo :
Cogeco doesn't bill for overages. They merely pull the plug until next month. My aunt across the street hasn't had Internet for the last few days and won't have Internet for another week because of that. They're livid, but Secord Woods is DSL dark so Cogeco can fuck us around any way they choose and there's not a damn thing we can do about it.
C'mon Snick, we've had these discussions AD Nauseum for YEARS AND YEARS now ;). I'm sure if I still worked there and queried the modem/modems in question that you've been well over the cap for a long long time ;). Cogeco doesn't bill for overages. They merely pull the plug until next month. My aunt across the street hasn't had Internet for the last few days and won't have Internet for another week because of that. They're livid, but Secord Woods is DSL dark so Cogeco can fuck us around any way they choose and there's not a damn thing we can do about it.
But I don't know the specific policies these days, I'm in the dark in regards to that. Have you thought of maybe yelling at Bell a bit? Don't they have their Wimax unplugged solution in the area for you if they're not gonna roll out the DSL? (Bell that is).
Just a thought :). Or...you could always get a 2nd service! ;).
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Snickerdo @ 27th Dec 01:27AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by nitzguy :
C'mon Snick, we've had these discussions AD Nauseum for YEARS AND YEARS now ;). I'm sure if I still worked there and queried the modem/modems in question that you've been well over the cap for a long long time ;).
Actually, I've never exceeded my cap on either Standard at my old address or on Pro at my new address. Of course, the Internet is so piss poor in Secord Woods that it makes it next to impossible to come near the cap ;) Dunno how my cousin did it... probably just queued stuff up and let it go all night. *shrug*C'mon Snick, we've had these discussions AD Nauseum for YEARS AND YEARS now ;). I'm sure if I still worked there and queried the modem/modems in question that you've been well over the cap for a long long time ;).
said by nitzguy :
But I don't know the specific policies these days, I'm in the dark in regards to that. Have you thought of maybe yelling at Bell a bit? Don't they have their Wimax unplugged solution in the area for you if they're not gonna roll out the DSL? (Bell that is).
WiMax is not an alternative. If I wanted 2Mbit/s service I would spin around really really fast and take myself back to 2000 when Cogeco was 2Mbit/s :DBut I don't know the specific policies these days, I'm in the dark in regards to that. Have you thought of maybe yelling at Bell a bit? Don't they have their Wimax unplugged solution in the area for you if they're not gonna roll out the DSL? (Bell that is).
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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Shamans @ 27th Dec 02:06AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by rippedoff :
Neither comcast or verison in the US has officially capped service. Sure, comcast may kick you off for doing 400GB a month, but that's nothing to cogeco's measly 60Gb enforced cap.
I think it needs saying again...
Aye, I agree that there's a conflict of interest between limiting high-bandwidth video and selling TV. Anyone noticed how they increased the price of Standard Residential Internet if you did not get it with a bundle (commonly TV)? Bundled prices did not get affected. How is that not anti-trust behavior?said by Scrappy2 :
...if Cogeco was in the US market it would be put out of business fast for low bitcaps.
I agree. Cogeco is abusing their dominant position due to there being no other cable providers in their areas. if this where a truly competitive market, and there where other cable providers in cogeco's areas, they would not be pulling this sh*t....if Cogeco was in the US market it would be put out of business fast for low bitcaps.
Neither comcast or verison in the US has officially capped service. Sure, comcast may kick you off for doing 400GB a month, but that's nothing to cogeco's measly 60Gb enforced cap.
I think it needs saying again...
said by Scrappy2 :
...if Cogeco was in the US market it would be put out of business fast for low bitcaps.
Here here, Scrappy2. I am glad someone on this forum has the balls to say it like it is......if Cogeco was in the US market it would be put out of business fast for low bitcaps.
They don't even bother to offer residential internet packages with higher bandwidth caps.
The conflict of interest may have been okay if there was a competing ISP in my area.
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neko @ 21st Jan 05:24PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Shamans :
Aye, I agree that there's a conflict of interest between limiting high-bandwidth video and selling TV...The conflict of interest may have been okay if there was a competing ISP in my area.
Had to bring this up, since it's very much on topic.Aye, I agree that there's a conflict of interest between limiting high-bandwidth video and selling TV...The conflict of interest may have been okay if there was a competing ISP in my area.
From front page: »Verizon, Industry Comment On Time Warner Cable Plans
I believe Time Warner’s interest in bandwidth caps has little to do with its own costs and a lot to do with the emergence of movie downloads and streaming television programs over the Internet. The smart people at Time Warner are scared of people watching TV directly over the Internet.
And:There is nothing inherently wrong in charging for bandwidth, if the charge is reasonably proportional to the costs. Time Warner's numbers don't pass the smell test, however. The markup over cost on that bandwidth is between 1000% and 1500%. . . 40 gigabytes at seven cents is less than three dollars per month. Time Warner charges over $40. That's like Starbucks drastically raising the price if you put sugar in your coffee. Any large carrier with a cap below 100 gigabytes and a price above $30 is abusing market power. Their bandwidth costs are less than the marketing budget, and the customer is profitable.
This industry analyst is saying what I, & others have been saying all along. It's not about 'bandwidth hogs' or protecting their network against abuse; it's all about keeping people away from Internet TV/movie streaming/downloads so cogeco doesn't lose any of their VOD/TV customers. Or, if those customers *are* going to use these kinds of online services, then cogeco will start charging based on usage so they still get their slice.reply
urbanriot @ 21st Jan 06:24PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Of course! Downloading TV shows / movies = no cable or satellite TV. There's a definite bias here.
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anon @ 26th Jan 02:31PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
So what can we do about this greedy policy?
Can we call anyone? Some people don't have the option of switching, are those people just screwed?
Anyone that gets a ps3 or xbox and downloads 6 demos or more is over the bit cap for the month...
That is just ridiculous.
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brorjace @ 26th Jan 03:36PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Well I'm going to be honest, my roommate and I watch a lot of streaming video (one could call us YouTube junkies at times).
I'm constently runnnig my Xbox 360 online (download trailers, demos and the like), we BOTH used to play World of Warcraft, we're running on the Standard package and to be honest, I've gone to like 64 GB in a month...so it's possible to use the internet within our limits.
If you find that 60 just isn't enough for you, then I would suggest upgrading to the Pro package. Don't forget, with us not charging for an overage that does give you as a consumer the leg up over other providers (Rogers, Bell, I think Execulink, and other DSL providers charge for Bandwidth Overages...and it's clearly outlined in the fine print on the website, not just in their TOS).
I'm a fan of fair use, so I'm a fan of increased caps, is it planned? Probably, is it being implemented right now? No. So for now I think everyone should just review their internet usage and curve it just a bit so that don't see these warnings (I've never had a warning except a spam warning...heh forgot to re-enable my CSS!)
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urbanriot @ 26th Jan 03:46PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by MadAtCogeco :
So what can we do about this greedy policy?
Well, I'm not so annoyed with Cogeco as I was when they originally initiated this bitcap. They did it without warning, in an ill-thought-out manner... basically proving that someone at the very top doesn't give a shit for customers, and cares only about the bottom line. I'm assuming there's some new idea people at Cogeco who don't realize how much they've destroyed their ISP loyalty. However, since profits are up, I guess loyalty doesn't mean jack.So what can we do about this greedy policy?
That being said, I've switched over to the $100 Business account and I'm decently happy, since the quality of service is good, and the support is great... but at the same time, I'm being raped for a service that's costing considerably more than it does in other first world countries.
There isn't much you can do... complaints have been voiced, some people have left, many long time Cogeco users are disenfranchised, and Cogeco's turning a profit. Either switch to the business account or jump ship.
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Shalimar @ 27th Jan 10:38AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
More like get the hell off of the sinking ship that is Cogeco.
Treating your customers whom have been loyal for years as they recently have is simply unacceptable.
I already have as well as many others and I took over 200 of my clients in the Hamilton area with me already with more to come. If $ is all they care about (which is quite obvious) then I have taken away a good chunk of such from them.
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brorjace @ 27th Jan 11:25AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Money wasn't the reason to enforce our Bitcaps though. If that were the case then we would charge everyone for their overage (just as other providers do and our AUP says we can do).
We're just making sure everyone can get the speeds we are advertising with some overhead for new sub divisions to come online. Don't forget, if EVERYONE in the area downloaded 4 and 5 times their Cap then you'd all have slow speeds because the area would get congested.
My suggestion to this all is compare your options. If you wish to leave us for another service then do your research first as some other companies are a little more strict with their Bandwidth then we are :)
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anon @ 27th Jan 07:36PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by brorjace :
If you wish to leave us for another service then do your research first as some other companies are a little more strict with their Bandwidth then we are :)
It's good that Cogeco's proud of not being the worst.If you wish to leave us for another service then do your research first as some other companies are a little more strict with their Bandwidth then we are :)
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A Lurker @ 27th Jan 07:54PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by brorjace :
Money wasn't the reason to enforce our Bitcaps though. If that were the case then we would charge everyone for their overage (just as other providers do and our AUP says we can do).
We're just making sure everyone can get the speeds we are advertising with some overhead for new sub divisions to come online. Don't forget, if EVERYONE in the area downloaded 4 and 5 times their Cap then you'd all have slow speeds because the area would get congested.
Yes, except I don't think that we, as consumers, are really buying that explanation. I was a high bandwith user, and have no objection to paying more (which I do). If you were really concerned about my neighbours you wouldn't have sold me a business package with a higher download limit. Oh, and my old modem never hit the fancy new higher speeds that my newer modem does (more than twice as fast). Now, I'm a reasonably good user, as I queue and download at night. But I could use all that bandwith during peak hours... so do you really care about my neighbours?Money wasn't the reason to enforce our Bitcaps though. If that were the case then we would charge everyone for their overage (just as other providers do and our AUP says we can do).
We're just making sure everyone can get the speeds we are advertising with some overhead for new sub divisions to come online. Don't forget, if EVERYONE in the area downloaded 4 and 5 times their Cap then you'd all have slow speeds because the area would get congested.
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Snickerdo @ 28th Jan 12:55AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by nydwarf1 :
Does Bell Sympatico currently have a hard bit cap on their service? I'd like to know if their are some alternatives to Cogeco since they clearly might not want my business in the near future.
They'll charge you a max of $30 for going over the hard limit, then they'll throttle you down to 512/512 once you get into the 250GB/month range. If Cogeco did something similar, it would be more than fair. 60GB is pathetically low. 100GB is on the low end. 200GB for a premium package is sufficient for 99.9% of all users out there without making the heavier users look like criminals.Does Bell Sympatico currently have a hard bit cap on their service? I'd like to know if their are some alternatives to Cogeco since they clearly might not want my business in the near future.
And yeah, node-level bandwidth has absolutely nothing to do with this, otherwise there would be moratoriums on business connections in high congested areas, or QoS setups or stuff like that. This is profit taking, pure and simple. brorjace is just a loyal employee trying to defend the company they work for. Unfortunately, we here have all been through this for a while, and we know that the suits at Cogeco don't give a flying fuck how we feel.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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anon @ 28th Jan 04:10AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by brorjace :
Money wasn't the reason to enforce our Bitcaps though. If that were the case then we would charge everyone for their overage (just as other providers do and our AUP says we can do).
We're just making sure everyone can get the speeds we are advertising with some overhead for new sub divisions to come online. Don't forget, if EVERYONE in the area downloaded 4 and 5 times their Cap then you'd all have slow speeds because the area would get congested.
Wow, you have really been drinking the Kool-aid, haven't you. It tastes too much like dishonesty to me, so I'll have a scotch and soda while I write this.Money wasn't the reason to enforce our Bitcaps though. If that were the case then we would charge everyone for their overage (just as other providers do and our AUP says we can do).
We're just making sure everyone can get the speeds we are advertising with some overhead for new sub divisions to come online. Don't forget, if EVERYONE in the area downloaded 4 and 5 times their Cap then you'd all have slow speeds because the area would get congested.
I download a lot. I make no apologies for it; I use newsgroups and if I incrementally update my newsgroups, it will take a gig of bandwidth on it's own. So I figured I'd buy the uber-expensive-grab-your-ankles-and-squeal 120 gig/ month plan. Because I download a lot.
That was fine for a couple of years, until last September, when Cogeco started getting anal about bandwidth caps.
It was funny how when I was on the 120gb plan and I first ran up against the new bitcap, I got the automated email saying I was ruining teh interwebs for my neighbors.
Clearly I was hogging the internet, and because of my actions, the poor people who live in my neighborhood weren't able to fully enjoy their highspeed. I must have been leeching all the bits and bytes, and I guess when my neighbors opened up IE they would see a blank page, because all their 1's and 0's were being directed to my computer instead of theirs. I'm a neighborly guy, so I called up Cogeco and ask what I could possibly do in order to make things better for my neighbors.
Startlingly enough, Cogeco's solution was that I purchase a more expensive plan, the $100/month 200-gig plan.
"So if I give you more money each month, that will improve the surfing experience for my neighbors?"
"Umm...well....err..if you purchase the Soho business plan, you will get 200 gigs a month"
"Am I allowed to download that all at once? Should I restrict my days or the time of day I download?"
"No sir, you can download at whatever time of day you choose"
So lemme get this straight. I'm ruining the internet for my neighbors, but you'll get over it if I pay you more?
I don't get picked up for work in a short bus, so I expect honest answers from businesses I give money to, especially ones who suck more than $1,200/year from my bank account.
Last month I downloaded 180 gigs but was entitled to 200. If Cogeco gave a shit about the quality of my neighbor's internet experience, wouldn't they give me a pro-rated rebate for the bandwidth I'm entitled to and don't use each month. Wouldn't that free up the cloud a little more for my neighbors, presumably also loyal sheep in the Cogeco flock?
But it ain't about that at all.
So how about some honesty? Just come clean and admit that it's about milking your loyal customers for every penny you can. You'll feel better for telling the truth, I'll respect you a little more for it too. Hell, I might even let you cook me breakfast the next morning.
Cogeco gets an epic fail for even bringing up the pretense that our interaction somehow wrecks the web for our fellow Cogeco customers. If it was about the quality of the service for those around us, how about increasing Cogeco's network capacity, so that you can actually deliver on your promised speeds, rather than hoping that only a fraction of the paid users will be using the service at any one time?
I wrote this because today I went over 200 gigs (I'm at 208 gigs right now), and got an email saying that those 8 extra gigs were ruining the internet for my neighbors. I wonder if those 8 gigs were somehow sucked out of the harddrives of the people in the apartment building next to me.
I have a fair idea what Cogeco's recommended solution might be; I'm guessing that they have talked to my web-surfing neighbors and they have all agreed that if I pay Cogeco $200/month for the unlimited bandwidth plan, Cogeco will split the proceeds with my neighbors, who will then walk up to me and pat me on the back, maybe even give me a hug.
Am I right, Mr. Cogeco, sir?
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wowproducts @ 28th Jan 06:01AM:
Re: [Kingston] Cogeco Bitcaps
I have the Pro with Cogeco never had a problem with the limits and personally I download alot and send alot of stuff to me friends never once have i got the suspention notice you guys are talking about....but i do keep and eye on the bandwidth since I play games onling too also run my own server for half life and still no going over my bandwidth.
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anon @ 30th Jan 11:17AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I got my first suspension today, oh boy. I'm at 227 gigs on the 200 gig plan. The friendly tech support person said I'm allowed an entire gig til midnight tomorrow night.
I do 90% of my downloading from Cogeco newsgroups, and I know that the transfer from the newsgroup server to my modem is free to Cogeco. That is completely ridiculous.
Time to get another ISP, one who will happily take my $100/month and not treat me like a child.
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hse @ 30th Jan 01:38PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Hey Sulako, that nick looks familiar. ;)
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ItalCanadese @ 30th Jan 04:06PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Sulako :
the transfer from the newsgroup server to my modem is free to Cogeco
Any traffic going in and out of your modem is counted as bandwidth; regardless of where its coming from.the transfer from the newsgroup server to my modem is free to Cogeco
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anon @ 30th Jan 05:31PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I do 90% of my downloading from Cogeco newsgroups, and I know that the transfer from the newsgroup server to my modem is free to Cogeco. That is completely ridiculous.
That's pretty much my biggest complaint as well.
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urbanriot @ 30th Jan 07:51PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Cogeco's doing a great thing by offering a decent quality newsgroup server, which is more than a lot of ISP's do, however if their usenet server was in a 'bandwidth free' zone, I'd utilize it for newer items and have giganews setup as a fill server. However, since it equally counts on my bandwidth tally at the end of the month, I'm not about to do Cogeco any favours.
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Snickerdo @ 30th Jan 10:59PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by urbanriot :
Cogeco's doing a great thing by offering a decent quality newsgroup server, which is more than a lot of ISP's do, however if their usenet server was in a 'bandwidth free' zone, I'd utilize it for newer items and have giganews setup as a fill server. However, since it equally counts on my bandwidth tally at the end of the month, I'm not about to do Cogeco any favours.
Exactly. If my node wasn't broken I would queue up all my downloads from an off-site server in the middle of the day just to try and cost them as much as possible. If I'm only going to get ~130GB of usable bandwidth a month, I'm going to ensure that the 130GB costs Cogeco as much as possible to provide. This is what they get for treating loyal customers like criminals.Cogeco's doing a great thing by offering a decent quality newsgroup server, which is more than a lot of ISP's do, however if their usenet server was in a 'bandwidth free' zone, I'd utilize it for newer items and have giganews setup as a fill server. However, since it equally counts on my bandwidth tally at the end of the month, I'm not about to do Cogeco any favours.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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klondikebars @ 30th Jan 11:19PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
My daughter called tonight because she got the page about exceeding their bandwidth limit. When does the service get restored, and do they have to do anything to get it back?
Thanks!
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okoolo @ 30th Jan 11:21PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I'm curious .. would they disconnect somebody on the 31st .. that would mean no internet on the 1st .. which is a new month ..
and you're lucky .. I got my 1st warning on 207 gigs ..
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Last Parade @ 30th Jan 11:33PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I would imagine the network traffic on the last day of the month is pretty light from all the criminals not being able to surf.
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okoolo @ 30th Jan 11:46PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
but if they disconnect you on the last day then you're getting penalized in a new month when your record is supposed to be reset..
I'm wondering if I should take that chanced and resume my downloads tomorrow ..
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urbanriot @ 31st Jan 12:04AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by okoolo :
I'm curious .. would they disconnect somebody on the 31st .. that would mean no internet on the 1st .. which is a new month ..
As per all the umpteen other messages it's completely reset by the 1st. Completely. I'm curious .. would they disconnect somebody on the 31st .. that would mean no internet on the 1st .. which is a new month ..
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okoolo @ 31st Jan 01:49AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
that's not what I mean .. If I get disconnected on the 31st say at 8 PM will I get reconnected at 12:01 Am on the 1st even though 24 hours did not pass yet ?
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Snickerdo @ 31st Jan 03:30AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by okoolo :
that's not what I mean .. If I get disconnected on the 31st say at 8 PM will I get reconnected at 12:01 Am on the 1st even though 24 hours did not pass yet ?
From my understanding, correct.that's not what I mean .. If I get disconnected on the 31st say at 8 PM will I get reconnected at 12:01 Am on the 1st even though 24 hours did not pass yet ?
Outright cutting people off is a pretty horrid thing, too. I mean come on Cogeco, get with the program. If you're in this bad of a situation when it comes to network capacity, why not do what Bell does and throttle people during peak houses? Cutting someone off outright and killing their VoIP and stuff is a pretty fucked up thing to do.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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okoolo @ 31st Jan 06:18AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
my counter reset an hour ago ... (5am 31st)
thank you Cogeco !
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Chainzz @ 31st Jan 07:32AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Wish people would get their facts straight. VOIP DOES NOT get cutoff and If I am mistaken I am sorry, telephone is a life line, do you really think Cogeco is going to play that game?
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diskdocx @ 31st Jan 07:34AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
It has been confirmed that VOIP DOES get cut off if it is through any provider other than Cogeco.
I believe that Krispy confirmed this, but don't have time to dig back throught the thread to find where.
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Krispy @ 31st Jan 08:52AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by okoolo :
that's not what I mean .. If I get disconnected on the 31st say at 8 PM will I get reconnected at 12:01 Am on the 1st even though 24 hours did not pass yet ?
Yes although it may not be 12:01 exactly as it depends on modem resyncing, etc.that's not what I mean .. If I get disconnected on the 31st say at 8 PM will I get reconnected at 12:01 Am on the 1st even though 24 hours did not pass yet ?
said by Chainzz :
Wish people would get their facts straight. VOIP DOES NOT get cutoff and If I am mistaken I am sorry, telephone is a life line, do you really think Cogeco is going to play that game?
Chainzz is correct, Cogeco VOIP will not be impacted by the suspension, non-Cogeco VOIP will be cut off and most of the major VOIP providers make you aware of this in their documentation as well, for example Vonage,Wish people would get their facts straight. VOIP DOES NOT get cutoff and If I am mistaken I am sorry, telephone is a life line, do you really think Cogeco is going to play that game?
Remember that the 9-1-1 Dialing service will not function in the event of a power or broadband outage or if your broadband, ISP or Vonage service is suspended or terminated.
SOURCE: »www.vonage.ca/features.php?feature=911
--
you can lead a horse to the water but you cannot make him drink...you can put a man through school but you cannot make him think --ben harper
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theninjasqua @ 31st Jan 10:48AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
This is why we need the government to deem internet an essential service.
--
-theninjasquad
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anon @ 31st Jan 11:02AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
So I read around and went to the Teksavvy website.
I can get unlimited transfer 5mbit/800kbit from them for (tax included) $51.50 per month. 5mbit is fine by me, I set up my downloads to go overnight anyway.
I currently play just over a hundred bucks a month through Cogeco, so I'd be saving $600/year.
Is access to the Cogeco news server (with somewhat pathetic 3-day retention) worth having a bitcap and paying an extra $50/month?
Hmm, lemme ponder this for exactly 0.001 microseconds, before I head out to buy a DSL modem from Canada Computers.
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Candoo3 @ 31st Jan 11:23AM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Sulako :
So I read around and went to the Teksavvy website.
I can get unlimited transfer 5mbit/800kbit from them for (tax included) $51.50 per month.
($39.95 + tax + options)So I read around and went to the Teksavvy website.
I can get unlimited transfer 5mbit/800kbit from them for (tax included) $51.50 per month.
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Frozty2k @ 31st Jan 01:49PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Sulako :
So I read around and went to the Teksavvy website.
I can get unlimited transfer 5mbit/800kbit from them for (tax included) $51.50 per month. 5mbit is fine by me, I set up my downloads to go overnight anyway.
I currently play just over a hundred bucks a month through Cogeco, so I'd be saving $600/year.
Is access to the Cogeco news server (with somewhat pathetic 3-day retention) worth having a bitcap and paying an extra $50/month?
Hmm, lemme ponder this for exactly 0.001 microseconds, before I head out to buy a DSL modem from Canada Computers.
I found the 5meg to be just fine for me, I never got close to the full 10meg anyways. Tek is also now in meetings with bell to get higher speeds so hopefully we can have that in a few months :)So I read around and went to the Teksavvy website.
I can get unlimited transfer 5mbit/800kbit from them for (tax included) $51.50 per month. 5mbit is fine by me, I set up my downloads to go overnight anyway.
I currently play just over a hundred bucks a month through Cogeco, so I'd be saving $600/year.
Is access to the Cogeco news server (with somewhat pathetic 3-day retention) worth having a bitcap and paying an extra $50/month?
Hmm, lemme ponder this for exactly 0.001 microseconds, before I head out to buy a DSL modem from Canada Computers.
You can save a further $10 if you don't actually need unlimited as premium is 200GB. You can buy an extra 100GB for that for the same price also. If you plan to use more than 300/mo then unlimited is yout best bet in that case. Also, torrents can replace the newsgroups as they are not throttled on teksavvy :)
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Snickerdo @ 31st Jan 04:21PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by Sulako :
Hmm, lemme ponder this for exactly 0.001 microseconds, before I head out to buy a DSL modem from Canada Computers.
I would be doing the same if my area of St. Catharines actually had DSL service. I firmly believe that the lack of DSL service in Secord Woods is why my node is beyond congested (could barely pull 500kbit/s during the day yesterday) and why Cogeco has also taken so long to upgrade it. I mean, what incentive is there for a company to upgrade their infrastructure when there is no competition?Hmm, lemme ponder this for exactly 0.001 microseconds, before I head out to buy a DSL modem from Canada Computers.
February is right around the corner. Hopefully I'll have reason to stop complaining soon.
--
I swear that I will faithfully and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
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anon @ 31st Jan 04:46PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Hey Frosty,
Do you happen to know in what areas of Hamilton/Stoney Creek Teksavvy is available in?
I'm in the east end of Hamilton (Stoney Creek to be exact)
I've really been considering Teksavvy but i'm not too sure if its available in my area or not.
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Shyte @ 31st Jan 06:36PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by edward nigma :
I've really been considering Teksavvy but i'm not too sure if its available in my area or not.
Why not just call them up and ask em??I've really been considering Teksavvy but i'm not too sure if its available in my area or not.
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Frozty2k @ 31st Jan 08:33PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by edward nigma :
Hey Frosty,
Do you happen to know in what areas of Hamilton/Stoney Creek Teksavvy is available in?
I'm in the east end of Hamilton (Stoney Creek to be exact)
I've really been considering Teksavvy but i'm not too sure if its available in my area or not.
Best way is to call them or you can register an account here on dslr and make a post in the teksavvy direct forum. Give them your phone number/address. Only teksavvy employees and yourself can view the post, one of them can let you know if it's available and give you an expected speed for your area.Hey Frosty,
Do you happen to know in what areas of Hamilton/Stoney Creek Teksavvy is available in?
I'm in the east end of Hamilton (Stoney Creek to be exact)
I've really been considering Teksavvy but i'm not too sure if its available in my area or not.
Here is a link to the direct forum,
»/forum/teksavdirect
Generally they are availiable anywhere bell phone lines are, but it's best to check if you can get the full 5meg as older area's might be too far away.
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vuarra @ 12th Feb 06:54PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Let's say I do drop Cogeco for my IP... and drop them completely.... who do I have to go to for my wife's pathetic TV addiction? Let's just say that Bell is not an answer.
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urbanriot @ 12th Feb 07:35PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
You could go with an OTA HD antenna with a set top box. Won't cost you monthly fees, you'll get great quality transmissions and you'll have to anyhow if you currently watch anything OTA. Just upgraded my parents...
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vuarra @ 12th Feb 07:43PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Unfortunately, I live in an area that doesn't even get the local radio station due to buildings... otherwise, I'd love that scenario.
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theninjasqua @ 12th Feb 11:54PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
Theres always Starchoice satellite. And you could always go with Teksavvy DSL and just download all the shows that you want to watch.
--
-theninjasquad
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A Lurker @ 13th Feb 02:24PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
said by theninjasqua :
Theres always Starchoice satellite. And you could always go with Teksavvy DSL and just download all the shows that you want to watch.
That's assuming that his wife's addiction can be fed by downloads. I have neighbours who watch the Food Network all of the time. We were laughing about it the other day. They watch, they decide maybe... then maybe not. Even they think sometimes it's a time waster. However, they're retired, and it's freaking cold out right now.Theres always Starchoice satellite. And you could always go with Teksavvy DSL and just download all the shows that you want to watch.
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vuarra @ 17th Feb 01:52PM:
Re: [Niagara] Cogeco Bitcaps
I downloaded several *cough* commercialless shows for the wife to watch.... but I swear to God that her and the progeny just loves to whine that there is nothing good on... esp watching TVTropolis (is that what it's called) for the crap that should have stayed in the 80's
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