# Telus high speed or Shaw cable?



## talonracer (Dec 30, 2003)

I switched from Shaw to Telus ADSL in October, and I've been very happy, for the most part. I too was offered a killer deal, and figured it would be worth it to at least give it a try - especially after Shaw decided I wanted a bundle without me asking for it, then sending me a $300 bill.

The only complaint I have is the amount of times I have to release and renew my IP. It hasn't happened for a while, but you should familiarize yourself with the routine.  

Speed-wise, I am getting better results now with ADSL. Give it a go, save some money and try it out.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

When I first moved to Vancouver I signed up for ADSL from Telus. It worked flawlessly for more than 2 years. The only time I had trouble was when Telus added a third network and I was one of the people being switched (two days of sketchy internet ensued).

When I moved to Burnaby I switched to Shaw Cable (no DSL in my particular area and they also offered me a killer deal). The only problems I have had in the last year were a billing issue (they were charging me rental fees for a modem and digital tuner that I bought from them) and once they had a physical cut in the line somewhere and everyone in Burnaby was without cable TV or internet for a few hours.

The bright side of Telus is that it is a consistent service. YOu get the same speeds all the time. Shaw, being more like a network, fluctuates depending on who else is online in your area. Shaw's recent bandwidth increase (to 3 Mbps) has alleviated this for the most part though.

Shaw's upside is that when it is fast it is a whole lot faster. At night I've seen download speeds in excess of 400Kbps.

Basically though, it's hard to go wrong with either service. Shaw offers good deals if you bundle services (Cable TV and Internet) and Telus does too (Phone and Internet).


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## LGBaker (Apr 15, 2002)

I have no experience with Shaw or Telus in the lower mainland, but have tried both in the East Kootenay. I prefer ADSL - it is cheaper and way more consistent. Shaw, although quick at times, was generally much slower and erratic. As for releasing IP addresses - Shaw required this frequently but I have never had this issue with ADSL. I am not a particularly great Telus supporter, but I would still choose ADSL over Shaw cable if I had to make the choice again. The tech support for either option depends on who is on duty at any particular time. Telus has a slight edge, perhaps because I've not had to place as many calls.


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## Kazak (Jan 19, 2004)

I've never tried Shaw, but I've had Telus for several years now.  At first, as talonracer noted, I had to get quite proficient with releasing and renewing, but service has been very stable (and fast) since that first month or so.


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## sornek (Feb 7, 2004)

>release and renew IP?
What the heck?
Please expand. This is something to get in the way of seamlessness?


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## insertclevername (Apr 8, 2003)

If you are using 10.3 Panther.

Go to System Preferences

Network

Configure

IP ADDRESS

Click on "RENEW LEASE"

======================================


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## rogueToe (Dec 13, 2002)

I've been happy with Shaw Lite Speed. It has all the benefits of broadband but not has fast, of course. The up side is that it only costs about $25 a month, which is only $5 more than dial-up, and significantly less than full-speed services. And lite speed is plenty fast enough for me. It's worth checking out.


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## sornek (Feb 7, 2004)

Telus adsl is now available in our area at a price I can't refuse! So they say. (If I opt to switch from Shaw cable I can save something like $200 the first year then maybe $5 a month after that if the rates don't move) So I've signed up for the free trial, but I'm waffling....
• I get top of the line speeds with Shaw. Can I expect that from adsl? This is a rural area where the cable lines of course are way newer than the phone lines.
• I've been pleased with Shaw's service - very little downtime and I'm completely cognisant of the service problems Telus has had, mostly in the phone dept., but same company 
Except for price point, I've happily had no real problems with Shaw. I'm thinking I might cancel the trial. Money's always tight though. Every bit helps, so the question is: 
Does anyone out there have any significant, preferably current Telus experience, positive or negative, particularly in BC? Or even ADSL vs cable opinion?


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## RobTheGob (Feb 10, 2003)

> Shaw's upside is that when it is fast it is a whole lot faster. At night I've seen download speeds in excess of 400Kbps.


I assume you meant 400 KB/s. I regularly get in the neighbourhood of 6000-6500 Kb/s from Shaw and 3500-4500 Kb/s from the tests at dslreports.com.

I've been very happy on Shaw, I've never known anyone on Telus that comes close to the speeds I get.

The only issues that I've had are always around the amount of bandwidth that I use. I've been "repremanded" twice for using too much, but they were pretty bad cases (DL 65GB, UL 25GB in a month). As long as I keep an eye on what I'm doing, I have no complaints...


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## sornek (Feb 7, 2004)

Thanks for the replies, peoples.
(mrogers-Shaw Lite package is, I believe, a little light for our family's needs)
The modem + kit is on its way , they say.
Should be, if nothing else, interesting. Maybe by the time the cheap year runs out Shaw'll want to buy us back, heh heh.
But really telus will have to be very close in performance to sway us


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

Yes. I meant to type KB (kilobytes), not Kb (kilobit).


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## freakie (Nov 17, 2005)

I had Telus High Speed Enhanced for 3 years and had 1 month of Shaw High-Speed to try out. I started off downloading upgrades from Apple and was getting 569 - 645K speeds. I switched back to Telus and was crusing around 245 - 270K download speeds of the same file. 

So I now use shaw ($10.00 cheaper a month) over telus for it is 2X the speed for less $$$$$$$.


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## Demosthenes X (Sep 23, 2004)

sornek said:


> Telus adsl is now available in our area at a price I can't refuse! So they say. (If I opt to switch from Shaw cable I can save something like $200 the first year then maybe $5 a month after that if the rates don't move) So I've signed up for the free trial, but I'm waffling....


Why not call Shaw and tell them about the awesome offer you've got from Telus, but you've been with Shaw for years, you're happy with the service, etc., and you'd hate to switch...  Anyone tried this with internet?


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## zenith (Sep 22, 2007)

Demosthenes X said:


> Why not call Shaw and tell them about the awesome offer you've got from Telus, but you've been with Shaw for years, you're happy with the service, etc., and you'd hate to switch...  Anyone tried this with internet?


Here, Shaw would probably stifle a laugh and tell me to go ahead and switch to another provider.


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## pollux (May 1, 2000)

Well, being a company with unionized staff is the reason I stay away from Telus.


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## Gerbill (Jul 1, 2003)

Telus service sucks. (Nothing to do with the union - management decisions all the way.) 

I moved my internet service to Shaw a couple of years ago and my home phone last spring.


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## sornek (Feb 7, 2004)

Must be Halloween comming. Old threads rise from the dead!
Don't know how unionized the overseas support staff is. Strictly management.
Check out -
Telus forum - dslreports.com broadband community
and its Shaw sister for interesting banter . 
I'm still with Telus, partly because of getting hooked into a 3yr deal I couldn't resist while talking to a rep after a few too many muscle relaxants.
We've been fortunate enough to not need their tech support. The only real problem (a dns server issue) was sorted with the help of the aforsaid forum dwellers.


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