Telus ADSL in BC

[peternm22]

Hello my fellow satelliters, I need some help.

We are currently on our local cable companies highspeed internet service. We pay $5 for basic TV (required for getting internet), $40 for the service, and another $10 for an additional IP address. Total: $55 a month. The speeds aren't fantastic either.

Telus is coming to town soon with their high speed ADSL service. $40 a month, with 2 IP addresses!! Running at 1.5Mbs downstream, and 512Kbs upstream.

Anyone have experience with Telus ADSL? How's the service? Also, on the site it says there is a limit to 5GB downstream a month, and 1GB upstream a month. Are these actually enforced? Can you buy extra bandwidth per month, if so, how much does it cost? I can't find anything on their website.

Thanks in advance,
Peter

[PlusONE]

They actually enforce the 5GB downstream and 1GB upstream. If you go past it, you will get a letter plus maybe some extra charges. ADSL from Telus is pretty reliable with a constant speed. /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

[Bill_R]

Quote:
"Also, on the site it says there is a limit to 5GB downstream a month, and 1GB upstream a month. Are these actually enforced? Can you buy extra bandwidth per month, if so, how much does it cost? I can't find anything on their website."

Peter,

I can't comment on Telus since I don't have them but my ADSL vendor has the same "restrictions" on their website but as far as I know they never really enforce them. I have no idea of how much "usage" I have but I am sure that it is more than 5 GBs a month. It might be a good idea to ask just to make sure that there are no suprises on your bill.

You should NEVER pay extra for a second IP address. It is cheaper to buy a router and connect it to your network so that you only need one IP address. At $10 a month the router will pay for itself in less than a year.

Bill R

[peternm22]

We only need the IP address for 6 months, so a router isn't really worth it.

Peter

[mikealex]

Well, I would argue that a router is worth it anyway, not just to act as a NAT, but to provide a hardware firewall.

When you connect your computer to the internet through a cable modem, or DSL, you open up a very large door for anybody in the world to enter. Running a software firewall on your computer will do an OK job, but I don't feel they are as secure as a hardware firewall.

With a software firewall, packets are still reaching your computer. Hopefully, they are stopped before doing anything, but if a hacker discovers a bug in the software, it can be exploited to get into your system.

A hardware firewall will prevent the packets from reaching your computer. A hacker may find a bug in the hardware firewall, but the possibility of exploiting that bug to access your computer is much less.

[peternm22]

I know all about that Mike. But I think a software firewall is fine. I just can't justify the cost of buying a router.

Peter

[mikealex]

What cost? They're under $150. You're paying almost half of it just by having a 2nd IP address for 6 months. Anyway, it's your choice. I choose to protect my system the best that I can.

BTW, if you goto <a target="_blank" href=http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&amp;langid=EN&amp;dept=0&amp;WLBS=fs%2Dw eb1&amp;biasid=6A58AD7C8431411EA18886EEFEF7DA8B&amp;sku_id =0665000FS10011967&amp;catid=&amp;newdeptid=1>Future Shops website</a>, they have refurbished Netgear routers for $70.

[JRB]

"Telus is coming to town soon with their high speed ADSL service. $40 a month, with 2 IP addresses!! Running at 1.5Mbs downstream, and 512Kbs upstream."

Don't be fooled by how fast they say it will go. I have Telus and the speed is still quite fast but I have never experienced 1.5 mb. It is only possible if all the transmission equipment(including phone lines) are in perfect shape and you are very close to the pylon. Its still worth the money but don't expect magic.

[Bill_R]

I agree with Mike. The security issue alone makes a router a wise investment.

Bill R

[chrisbolt]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

I have Telus and the speed is still quite fast but I have never experienced 1.5 mb.

<hr></blockquote>

Remember, speeds are quoted in megabits per second. Divide by 8 to find megabytes per second. That comes out to 0.1875, or just under 200 kilobytes/sec which I can easily reach by downloading from ftp.mozilla.org, and I have Telus in Alberta.