Internet at Cook St

[lukecyca]

Continuing the Internet-related discussion from Moving into the new space on Cook St:

@SteveRoy

Has Internet been looked at for Cook St?

@Jarrett

No Shaw. They do not plan on installing service into the building

Novus isn’t there either, looks like it’s Telus.

@lukecyca

If we’re going with Telus DSL, then we might as well go with TekSavvy DSL instead. It’s competitively priced, and much more aligned with our values as a hack space, I would think.

@funvill

We had Teksavvy at 45 west. Nothing but problems, I assume they where Shaw/Telus problems but either way they took weeks to resolve on their end.

@SteveRoy

From Smartt (Burnaby based, www.smartt.com)

I have checked on the availability of the service at #104 - 1715 Cook Street
Vancouver and 25.0 Mbps download and 5.0 Mbps upload is available. The
following are the details of the service:

Maximum download speed: 25.0 Mbps
Maximum upload speed: 5.0 Mbps
Static IP address: included
Data traffic : unmetered
Port activation fee: $75.00
ADSL dark loop set up fee: $75.00
ADSL modem : Ni charge
Monthly fee: $99.95

Monthly fee includes the dark loop.
plus tax

Steve

[Jarrett]

With Shaw, we were paying $117 a month including taxes, etc. We hit 500GB
in November, but that was unusual because we were backing everything up for
the move. It looks like Shaw has shut down our account along with our
internet service so I can’t see historical data, but 100-200GB seemed like
a reasonable estimate.

[SteveRoy]

Just chatted with Telus

25/5 no metering
2 dynamic IP
free smart hub back
dark loop included
No contract
$85.95 month
$25.00 setup fee

For static IP add $12.00 month for $ 97.95 total

Steve

[Rob_MacKenzie]

Has anyone talked to the higher level providers like allstream, epic or something like skyway west?
IE, I want fiber with 100mbps synchronous.

[Jarrett]

@Rob_MacKenzie

Has anyone talked to the higher level providers like allstream, epic or something like skyway west?IE, I want fiber with 100mbps synchronous.

Let us know what you find out

[tdwebste]

++ fiber

[Jarrett]

I emailed Novus about a month ago, too. They show service going to some
nearby buildings but none to ours, so I emailed just in case. There was no
reply, so it might be worth following up.

[ktims]

I would assume it’s going to be well out of budget. The lowest rates I’ve seen for this kind of service are in the dense downtown core where some providers will do < $500/mo (3y term) in buildings that are lit by multiple providers. IMO you’d be lucky to get it under $1000/mo at the Cook St. location as it is neither dense nor likely to be on-net already. Anytime there’s a build involved the install fees alone will be $1000s (though as ever this can be negotiated, rolled into a term contract etc.). Pricing is generally quoted, not published, as it varies with location and terms.

Is there any idea what the budget is?

I did check Allstream and Shaw on-net building lists and neither includes Cook, though could be out of date. Other local folks I’m aware of that actually have fibre in the ground and might be worth contacting (long shot…) are:

• Urban Networks
• Bell
• Telus
• Optic Zoo also has fibre in the area but probably not cost effective since they only sell fibre (not Internet access, so that would be additional) and only 1gbps+.

Oh I also don’t think Novus lights business-only buildings. They have business services, but only for businesses in residential buildings they have lit, IIRC.

[Jarrett]

Set a max of $150, say. Target for $115ish

[TomKeddie]

@ktims

Other local folks I’m aware of that actually have fibre in the ground

We have Allstream at work (Burnaby), again, will be super expensive though.

[Jarrett]

Fyi I am calling Telus on Friday, under the “gotta get it done” rule,
unless someone provides a better solution or chooses to take over.

[3bien]

I called TekSavvy (I liked them a lot after many years of Telus and Shaw
crap), unfortunately all they offer an $80 15Mb/s up and 1Mb/s down plan
(plus activation fees). It’s what you see in their business page, but I was
hoping they might have something faster:

http://www.teksavvy.com/en/business/internet/dsl/high-speed-dsl-15-bc

[sIGNgUY]

Is shaw definitely not available?

[Jarrett]

Yes. Two people have independently confirmed. They quoted us at ~$10k to
get service into the building.

[SteveRoy]

I don’t mind getting it arranged if the BoD (or decision makers) want to use Smartt. However if it’s Telus then one of the BoD may as well go with it.

If it’s Smartt then I need (quoted):

If you wish to proceed please let me know the site contact name, Tel number
and email address. I would also like to know the billing contact information
including name, Tel number and email address.

Steve

[catherinecc]

I’d suggest Lightspeed internet - they’re a reseller like Teksavvy and have very competitive prices (including unlimited bandwidth on ADSL lines for an extra $5/mo) along with some signup discounts that are in place until Feb 2nd. Local / not outsourced techs that have been pretty good in my experience.

http://www.lightspeed.ca/personal/ratesadsl.html

Telus screws with their resellers a bit less in my experience - but in any case, we shouldn’t be rewarding the bad behaviour of the incumbent carriers and choosing them just because of fears that they will bully us if/ when technical issues arise.

[laftho]

Bumping this thread… Has there been any movement on internet? The space is nearly physically setup and internet is becoming more important everyday

[SteveRoy]

The paperwork is in with the ISP. They phoned me Thursday to say they hope onsite this week for install and testing.
I’ll arrange to be onsite when needed.

Steve

[laftho]

Awesome! Thank you @SteveRoy!

Which provider did we decide? It’s not clear above… Smartt, Telus, Lightspeed? Which plan are we going for? Price, throughput & bandwidth?

[SteveRoy]

Smartt (used to be known as SmarttNet) local Burnaby ISP, among others a Telus reseller.
25/5, static IP address, un-metered data. $99.99 +tax a month, ADSL.

Steve