Shaw changes its Internet plans

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Shaw changes its Internet plans

Postby kal » Thu Dec 18, 2014 10:06 am

(not sure if this is the right place to post this)

Effective January 1 2015 Shaw Communications is changing its Internet service plans. The situation isn't entirely clear but the news has stirred up tremendous negative reaction on social media (e.g. on Reddit, Twitter).

Here's on of the Reddit threads:

http://www.reddit.com/r/canada/comments/2pgb3w/shaw_starting_january_6th_all_new_internet_is_40/

We can't be sure that data you see there is entirely correct. What we do know is that existing plans (for instance I am on Shaw's Internet High Speed 25 plan) will disappear (although they remain grandfathered for existing customers), to be replaced by other plans. The typical public reaction to this has been "reduced performance, increased price". I can't at this stage verify that. A new customer would not see my HS 25 plan. They would have the choice of a 15 or 30 Mbps plan (the nearest to mine).

Shaw itself has posted this:

http://www.shaw.ca/Customer-Bulletins/January-2015-Internet-Rate-Adjustment/

in which the company claims "Shaw is increasing regular monthly rates on all Internet plans to support continued investment in building and supporting the Internet experience you need now and in the future."

A really interesting area to follow developments is Shaw's own Community Forum area:

https://community.shaw.ca/docs/DOC-3963

I say "interesting" because to the right in this area you will see links to some of the nastier reactions to the rate increases. I'm thinking that Shaw might shut this down once they see what is happening here, but then that in itself may provoke even nastier reaction.

So, has anyone yet seen a notification of a price increase? I haven't but then I haven't read all the fine print on the last bill from Shaw. I do know I am paying too much for the service I get. I pay $165 for combined HS25 and television. I have no pay TV but I do have all the HD content (what's the point of having an HD TV and not getting the HD content for it. The company did eventually send me an MPEG-4 PVR at no charge after two years of complaining that I couldn't watch certain "4" encoded channels on the PVR the company had sold me previously. However, the real reason they gave in was the audio dropout problem on the PVR. However even the newest models seem to suffer this same problem. But that's another story.
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Re: Shaw changes its Internet plans

Postby jon » Thu Dec 18, 2014 7:50 pm

I don't get a paper bill, but the notice of the price increase was relatively easy to notice on the e-mail they sent when my December bill was ready for viewing. Not to mention the fact that previous and present month's invoice amount did not match. There is also a notice near the top of shaw.ca when you first hit the site.

My bill goes up $10 and a few cents a month. I have phone and Internet, but no TV.
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Re: Shaw changes its Internet plans

Postby syntheticsound » Fri Dec 19, 2014 8:59 am

"Shaw is increasing regular monthly rates on all Internet plans to support continued investment in building and supporting the Internet experience you need now and in the future."

Reducing my internet speeds by 40% is supporting my internet experience I need now and in the future? Firstly, Shaw. Don't tell me what I need. I know what I need and a 40% reduction in my speed is not that. In what world do you decrease internet speeds? I guess if I sign up for SHOMI, I will receive a 40% increase in my speed while watching in the future!
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Re: Shaw changes its Internet plans

Postby jon » Fri Dec 19, 2014 10:17 am

I haven't even been able to login to my Shaw customer account for the last 14 hours, so I don't have any detailed information. But my reading of what Shaw has said in their price increase notice, and in supposedly official responses posted on other forums, is that existing customers are grandfathered in with their current Internet speed, essentially just a price increase for existing service levels.

This has happened before. Shaw offered "build your own bundle" about 4 years ago at greatly reduced prices, then quietly eliminated all the offerings about 6 months later. So long as you didn't change anything, you kept what you had. But you could never make a change and get any of those offerings later.

The investment analysts that I follow talked about this at length on several occasions. The Internet/cable TV/Home Phone business ebbs and flows in terms of competition. Huge price cuts are used during heated competition, and they disappear when competition lessens. It is all about how hard your competitor wants to fight for market share. And how they want to do it. Sometimes it is $300 giveaways for signing contracts. Usually it is free or half price for 3-12 months. In Shaw's case, 4 years ago, it was cheap "regular" prices, because they couldn't meet TELUS head on with their Contract $300 giveaways because Shaw likes to brag about not having contracts.

The investment guys follow the level of competition very carefully, because it tells them, long before the company's balance sheet comes out, how much profit they will be making by what level of "discounting" is being offered.

To make a long story short: I think that history shows that changes to Internet Plans and Prices is pretty normal in that industry.
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Re: Shaw changes its Internet plans

Postby PMC » Sun Dec 21, 2014 5:05 pm

Speed is a relative term to the site being connected to...

My cost for internet on Shaw goes up $3. Its a price hike period !
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Re: Shaw changes its Internet plans

Postby xwdcatvb » Sun Dec 21, 2014 10:14 pm

PMC wrote:Speed is a relative term to the site being connected to...

My cost for internet on Shaw goes up $3. Its a price hike period !


And I wonder how many 'average' Internet subscribers understand that the originating site's bandwidth/speed is a big factor? Or that on a cable loop, speeds vary anyway.

As for price, well, Telus increased the 'Net component of my bundle (landline/'Net/Optik TV) by $5 on the November bill... but I notice my download tested speed has been consistently higher by pushing 2MBPS than the plan's nominal 15 since at least late October. Upload has remained just shy of 5... but as an 'average'/casual user, that really is irrelevant to me.
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Re: Shaw changes its Internet plans

Postby jon » Sun Dec 21, 2014 10:32 pm

Nice to see TELUS finally getting some decent upload speeds in all but their lowest plan.

With the rise in popularity of "on-line continuous automatic" backups, Upload speed is crucial for anyone using it. 5Mbps is wonderful. 1Mbps is not.

I have 1.3TB backed up that way so far.

For everyone else, of course, upload speed doesn't matter.

As for Shaw, my earlier point was that a price increase is one thing, but a speed decrease is another thing altogether.
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Re: Shaw changes its Internet plans

Postby PMC » Mon Dec 22, 2014 9:21 am

I have this for the computer club here http://business.shaw.ca/Internet/Plans/Internet-25/

It includes basic cable tv that is rarely watched. The internet connection is great for downloads, and ok for uploads. Doubt that Telus could provide the same, for the same or less in price.
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Re: Shaw changes its Internet plans

Postby Mike Cleaver » Mon Dec 22, 2014 1:00 pm

If you still have a landline, consider DSL as a still viable alternative to cable supplied Internet.
I have had Teksavvy since it became available in BC about six years ago.
I have 15/1 for 50 dollars a month, taxes included.
Thats with a 200gb download monthly but with unlimited downloads overnight every night.
Better and cheaper than anything else that's out there and they do not provide any information to anyone without a warrant.
Independant Canadian company with real tech support and their own fibre pipe from Toronto to Vancouver.
Mike Cleaver Broadcast Services
Engineering, News, Voice work and Consulting
Vancouver, BC, Canada

54 years experience at some of Canada's Premier Broadcasting Stations
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Re: Shaw changes its Internet plans

Postby jon » Mon Dec 22, 2014 4:31 pm

TekSavvy offers both ADSL (telephone phone line) and cable (television coax) Internet in some areas, including here in Edmonton. Have to ask them, but you may not need any existing service (i.e. - from Shaw or TELUS) on your phone line or television coax, just so long as it is wired into your home.

For comparisons, here are the current pricing shown on the web sites for Edmonton of the major Internet service providers AFTER any initial trial period pricing "wears off".
Download/Upload/Monthly Traffic (GB) - Monthly Price:
  • TekSavvy ADSL 6/1/300 - $29.99
  • TekSavvy ADSL 15/1/300 - $39.99
  • TekSavvy ADSL 25/5/300 - $44.99
  • TekSavvy Cable 10/0.5/300 - $34.95
  • TekSavvy Cable 25/2.5/300 - $39.95
  • TekSavvy Cable 50/3/300 - $84.95
  • TekSavvy Cable 100/5/300 - $144.95
  • TELUS ADSL 15/1/150 - $63
  • TELUS ADSL 25/5/250 - $68
  • TELUS ADSL 50/10/400 - $83
  • TELUS ADSL 100/20/500 - $93
  • Shaw Residential 10/0.5/125 - $59
  • Shaw Residential 25/2.5/250 - $67
  • Shaw Residential 50/3/400 - $85
  • Shaw Residential 100/5/500 - $99
  • Shaw Business 5/0.5/125 - $44.95
  • Shaw Business 15/1/125 - $58.95
  • Shaw Business 25/2.5/250 - $84.95
  • Shaw Business 50/3/500 - $109.95
  • Shaw Business 100/5/1000 - $269.95
  • LightSpeed ADSL 6/1/325 - $29.95
  • LightSpeed ADSL 15/1/325 - $39.95
  • LightSpeed ADSL 25/3/325 - $44.95
  • LightSpeed ADSL 50/10/325 - $77.95
  • LightSpeed Cable 10/0.5/unlimited - $32.95
  • LightSpeed Cable 25/2.5/unlimited - $36.95
  • LightSpeed Cable 50/3/unlimited - $79.95
  • LightSpeed Cable 100/5/unlimited - $129.95
  • LightSpeed Cable 250/15/unlimited - $180.95
All prices are "alone" without discounts for having other services. Some plans offer unlimited monthly traffic for an additional monthly charge. Some companies charge install fees and/or modem purchase or rental fees.

I didn't quote nakedadsl.ca as there are a bunch of fees being waived until January 3rd that could get expensive after that. Rogers and Bell only offer wireless Internet here at the moment, which may be of interest, too, but usually suffers from very low monthly traffic limits. There may be some other companies that I've missed.
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Re: Shaw changes its Internet plans

Postby jon » Wed Jan 07, 2015 3:32 pm

Here are the new Shaw Residential rates and plans:
  • Shaw Internet 5 - 5/0.5/60 - $50
  • Shaw Internet 15 - 15/0.5/125 - $60
  • Shaw Internet 30 - 30/2.5/250 - $70
  • Shaw Internet 60 - 60/3/400 - $90
Business rates have not changed.

Looks like I missed one provider:
  • Distributel Internet Cable 10 Unlimited 10/0.5/unlimited - $39.95
  • Distributel Internet Cable 10 Unlimited 25/2.5/unlimited - $49.95

yak.ca also offers Internet service in some areas, but it can be confusing as I checked service availability in one location on Vancouver Island and was told that the cable Internet I asked about wasn't available there, but that ADSL was, even though elsewhere on the site it says that Yak only offers ADSL in Ontario and Quebec.
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Re: Shaw changes its Internet plans

Postby kal » Fri Jan 09, 2015 8:00 pm

So if you want the equivalent of a 25 plan ($60, grandfathered) you're either going to drop back to 15 or jump slightly to 30. That drop back to 15 will hit you on the rather paltry upload speed of 0.5.

Just running a quick test on my "25" plan here over wi-fi to a Chromebook: 26.2 Mbps/2.7 Mbps. So, no complaints there.

Now if only Shaw could make my channel switching faster. Compared to channel switching on a Telus Optik system the switching on Shaw seems (and is) so slow.
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