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HT November 3, 2009 at 3:41 am

Rogers’ 50 Mbps service = Wow

If you consider yourself a “power user” when it comes to the Internet, you should try the new 50 Megabits per second speeds of Rogers’ new Ultimate High-Speed service, now in the Toronto area.


Rogers 50GB ModemI admit I’m a digital pack rat, guilty of downloading thousands of sounds, games, photos and videos each year. Sure, a lot of it is for work – such as needing new screen grabs for a high-tech gizmo – but a long of the time I’m scouring for new podcasts, audiobooks, rare albums and other goodies.

And so I jumped at the chance to be one of the first to test-drive Rogers’ new Ultimate High-Speed service, now available in the Greater Toronto Area. The promise? Up to 50 Mbps downloads and up to 2 Mbps uploads. Most Canadian broadband users are getting 6 to 10 Mbps downloads – if that.

Indeed this new Rogers box – an SMC modem and Wireless N router in one – delivered the goods with consistent 49.6 Mbps downloads (using tools that measure connection speeds). Forget about the numbers – you can really tell you’re getting about 5 times faster speeds – but it depends on where you’re downloading from, of course. I experienced a major improvement on sites such as Download.com, where a 100+MB program, such as an image editor, would download in seconds flat

There is a catch, however. Well, two of them. For one, the price might be an obstacle for many, at $200 for the modem/router and $150/month for service (which includes up to 175GB of data allowance). Perhaps if you work from home and can write these things off, it’s not much of an issue. The second shortcoming is the fact you need to be a Rogers Digital Cable subscriber to get this new High-Speed Ultimate Service. Apparently, it’s not for technical reasons, but rather, billing-related ones. A third consideration is that this service is only offered in the Toronto area at this point.

But man oh man, if you take your downloads seriously, this high-speed service is smokin’ fast.


Filed Under: Computers & Software > PC > Utilities
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Comments (12)

  • Bell Canafa says:

    IPTV from Bell is available in many area of Toronto, including some areas in Scarborough.

    Download speeds of 20Mbs with upload speeds at or around 9Mbs. Price starting from $49.50 INCLUDING HD TV all with free installation. True there is a 60GB download cap ($1.50 per extra GB up to $30 max a month). But still comes out to a lot better of a deal.

    (Report comment)

    • Jeremy Phan Jeremy Phan says:

      Too bad it’s not available at my postal code (M6E). The watching-paint-dry upload speeds of my current provider are terrible & I always exceed the traffic limits, but it’s actually cheaper paying the overage fees than upgrading to a higher tier, which I’ll still exceed.

      Searched the entire Bell Entertainment website. There’s NO info about speeds, traffic limits, etc. Even read through all the http://www.bell.ca/terms/ stuff. :-(

      (Report comment)

      • Bell Canada says:

        Yes, I agree there is a lot of details that are missing from the site that would help people make a better informed decision.

        I can give you the details as I know them (from experience)

        Line profiles

        1 TV STB (set top box) ordered: Line is set to 23204/9920
        2 TV STB’s : 27204/9920
        3/4 TV STB’s: 30204/15256

        There is a 60GB download cap, and throttling MAY come into play if used for P2P. (between 4pm and Midnight) The average internet user will NEVER see throttling.

        Give this thread a read (posts from actual users). keeps this post shorter and offers the most information for you.

        (Report comment)

        • Jeremy Phan Jeremy Phan says:

          “Give this thread…” ? Is a link is missing?

          I don’t use P2P. In addition to the deep-packet inspection currently being used by Rogers, their throttling of encrypted traffic is wholly unacceptable.

          VPN traffic is encrypted. Skype is encrypted. Remote desktop/client tools are encrypted. Their throttling directly affects QoS on time-sensitive data, which makes using these tools less than optimal.

          Hopefully the Bell service uses more effective, less invasive network traffic management.

          (Report comment)

    • Andrew says:

      I am replying to Bell actually trying to compete with Rogers, when I was with Bell back in Dec 2008 and complained about issues they all went unresolved. I got stuck with a three year contract on a cell phone with no reception in my own house, and they wouldnt let me out of the contract, Bell said use it in Toronto or a bigger city??? I asked when I got the phone if it would work in my house not Toronto. Dont ask about home phone, I had to contend with my neighbor on my phone at the same time for months and they didnt fix it. Then there was the download caps at peak times. I switched to Rogers in January and they have been great, I have 5 services with them. I called Bell to cancel one month from end of cell contract said i would pay the last month they hit me for $300 , at same time canceled internet, it finally got canceled on their books in August, why would they even claim they could give good service????? They gave it to me good and I told them dont call me I also added my self to the DNC list, didnt stop Bell, bet they are glad they control it.

      (Report comment)

  • jr says:

    Shaw Cable has 100mps !!!

    I suspect to be offerred in Hamilton eventually. We have it here in Calgary (the real center of the universe) :)

    149 a month and cable modem is included. no contracts.

    (Report comment)

    • the hakrsban09 says:

      ps.. i just got the rogers high speed service express edition with the gateway and im exteremely happy im one of the first. im in scarborough and using wireless secured and unsecured connections but i reccomend that if u want to use the internet for gaming then d o n t use the rogers anti virus setup use another any other. it blocks all ip.s from connecting. and my bill for connecting at time of introduction 64.00 my installation of cable fee was waved thanks to the special pakage and rogers understanding of my online needs for high speed connection to the college in nova scotia I am getting ready to take a pc tech course for an A+ Technicians license from DaRTT Institute
      Nova Scotia. pleas excuse typing errors im trying to get up to rogers speed lololololol

      (Report comment)

  • Marianne says:

    I’m impressed that you’re running this article about Rogers and allowing negative comments about Bell service. Makes Bell more trustworthy in a weird way. Well, this site anyway.
    Kudos.

    (Report comment)

  • Phil says:

    Bells best package is running on fibre optic with Download speed Up to 16 Mbps
    and Upload speed Up to 1 Mbps. Once again Bell pails in comparison, you can find the info at the following url:

    http://www.bell.ca/shopping/internet.portal?_nfpb=true&_windowLabel=PrsShpInt_NewAccess_internetBrowse_portlet&PrsShpInt_NewAccess_internetBrowse_portlet_actionOverride=%2Fportlets%2Fpersonal%2Finternet%2Fbrowse%2FgetDetailPage&_pageLabel=PrsShpInt_NewAccess

    Personally I am with Bell (Montréal) and have a really good deal, sorry. But it might not take much if I was offered a really cool 50 Mbps from someone else to switch. For now I cannot really complain too much especially when others just outside large cities are still forced to use dial up. Hawkesbury, ON finally has HS!!

    TTFN,
    Phil

    (Report comment)

  • Michael says:

    Umm…Videotron has had a 50Mbps service for well over a year now. So Rogers is not unique just very pricey. $150/month and $200 for the modem. Give me a break!

    Videotron charges $89.95/month without a subscription or $79.95/month with a 12 month subscription. Either way, the modem is including at no extra charge.

    Michael

    (Report comment)

  • the hakrsban09 says:

    i forgot to mention how much my actual monthly fee will be im proud of rogers im on disability pension and its only 44.00 a month incuding taxes and there is a cap on downloadin but u could not afford more in my position so choose wisely

    (Report comment)

  • the hakrsban09 says:

    if rogers didnt give me the service i would not be here right now to talk about how great a legacy ted rogers left with rest of employess who are pro trained functional and quite easy to talk to about service needs and from a toronto office beat that and the prices and my selections are not limited i could get services from at least 4 different co. with good service rates if you are rich you p a y m o r e and besides it only depends on the customers to make the store so shop and make rich who u choose it makes no differece and it is rogers service that changed my attitude about service proverds so beat that too

    (Report comment)

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