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Reply to:	ZiD Internet Terrible, insulting service. They have a serious problem paying attention to customers. The billing department and tech support do not know what each other are doing. Here_s what happened to me: I ordered 7 mbps download, 1 mbps upload. I was not getting the speed I ordered so I called them. My modem was up to the correct speed specs and was otherwise working fine, but they asked me to buy another modem which I did. The problem was not resolved. Then I get an email stating the following: "Hello Sir, We received the stats of your Bell Canada line everything is normal. Bell Response -client on 7mb/512K profile line should be stable and speed issue not caused by line. 1 min. The problem is the modem and wiring cable. Please try another DSL modem and change the phone cable from the modem to the jack or even try another Bell Tel Jack in your house." Huh? They just send out bogus form letters without actually investigating the issue. I wrote back... "I am supposed to have 1 mb upload, not 512. The fact that Bell has the wrong upload speed could be part of the problem." The fact is, I am lucky to get 150K upload, and as for 7 mbps download? Never seen it. What a joke. And then I never hear back from these people. Not for months. I am being billed for a service I am not getting. And this company does not even respond. After reading some decent reviews I signed up with this hapless ISP, but now I am sorry I did. Sure, I thought I was saving some money over a more established carrier, but since they are billing me for slower service than I am getting the savings are illusory. This carrier does not deliver. Stay away!!! Now, I have a general rant about internet service in the Banana Republic of Canada. Internet bandwidth/speed is often advertised "up to" a certain speed in Mbps or kbps. But actual performance, in my experience, never comes anywhere close. This is unfair and deceptive. Aside from complaining about the slow speed, or cancelling this service and trying another, I have no recourse. Frankly, the prospect of finding an ISP (Internet Service Provider) that actually delivers the advertised speed is pretty bleak. I propose a couple of solutions: 1. Nationalize internet service. The internet infrastructure is too important to leave in private (profit seeking corporate) hands. Private companies have utterly failed to provide reliable, fairly priced, service in this country. There is no reason to believe this will change. OR 2. Require fair advertising, and minimum standards. Instead of "up to" bandwidth, the emphasis should be on "minimum" bandwidth under which the cost should be either pro-rated or given free. This would incentivize ISP_s to meet minimum standards of service, and prevent the epic rip off we have now. Internet service in Canada has all the hallmarks of a 3rd world hell hole. There is no real competition, only a crony capitalist system that keeps a few players in business and Canadians at their mercy. Liberia, or Russia, probably has better and cheaper infrastructure and service. For a so-called "developed" country our internet service is a travesty, which is costing us economically and socially. A quick and easy first step in the right direction would be to demand honesty in advertising, and standards of service quality. I wrote a letter to my local MP, Carolyn Bennett (Liberal) about this issue. I got a terse reply that my letter had been received, but otherwise, no response of any kind. Of course, what I need to do is get 10 friends to write similar letters or make appointments to see her in order to press the point. And then get those 10 friends to get another 10 of their own. Of course, don_t vote for any politician who simply ignores you! Nothing happens without an effort. I urge you to do the same. Unless you do, we will continue to see epic rip offs, in the internet and cellular industry.
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