I've been living with roommates for the past bit and we've been splitting the bills, but I'll be on my own soon and was pricing out cable internet. Holy jebus, it's expensive through Rogers (and I don't understand all their levels of usage - from lite to super extreme or something like that).
So I'm wondering
1. whether there are any Toronto babblers who have found less expensive, yet still reliable ISP's?
and
2. Can I use DSL if I don't have a landline?
Your replies are much appreciated!
If you're in a building, sharing wireless with a neighbour might be an option. There might even be an unencrypted signal to share for free, initially.
Summer, I think you might be SOL on getting a DSL at a reasonable cost with reliable service. Jeez, what do you think this is? A free-market economy? 
I'm a Rogers user for internet and TV cable. When I lived alone I had Rogers extra lite, or whatever the cheapest is. Yeah, most of your costs will increase if you live on your own (you probably know that already).
I'm pro-stealing wireless, and try to do it when I'm out and about. Most peeps are wise to it though. Dammit.
Dial-up can be surprisingly fast. Some providers have figured out how to get more than 56K out of a phone modem. I paid $100 a year for a provider in San Diego, & got 112K service consistently. 112K is like "slow DSL".
I'm not comfortable with wireless. If you're sending personal information, it's too easy for someone to grab your Credit Card # out of the data flow.
The fast dial-up is good for websites with pictures, but too slow for Skype & Youtube.
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I use DSL. I was with Echo Online but they got bought by Primus. It's not obvious that it is more or less reliable than Bell.
There is another service that I heard about associated with the Linux Cafe, don't recall the name offhand. I recall they were also trying to create a mesh wireless service so DSL users would also become access points.
Summer, I highly recommend Teksavvy. They are great. Of course, they use Bell lines (as all the others do) but they have excellent service. You will get your bandwidth throttled though, through Bell, not Teksavvy. It doesn't matter which ISP you chose, Bell still controls the lines. bastards.
http://www.teksavvy.com/en/index.asp
thanks for all your replies. much appreciated. Stargazer, I will look in Teksavvy.
BCG - I have indeed considered simply trying to "borrow" my neighbours' wireless signals...but it's true that most people seem to have figured out that they should password protect their connection (I think it has something to do with that pedophile who was piggy backing on other people's connections to download his child porn. yuck. that's when I password protected mine anyway).
Just ask for a password. Offer to cost share. For the price of dial-up, you can share a high-speed wireless connection - if there's somebody next door to share it with, who's purchasing the service anyway.
talk to my neighbours? in a rental building? in Toronto? that's just crazy talk!
actually, that's a really good idea. I will try to work up the courage to introduce myself to my new neighbours....eek.
For My Internet services I use telnet, good prices and good customer service. And I don't live anywhere near Oshawa!
I forgot one option: If you're in the downtown core, you might want to look into One Zone (Formerly Toronto Hydro's Wireless, installed on hydro poles - great throughput in some locations).
Yes LTJ - we have Hydro at work and it's lightning fast.
They have two networks - one fiber optic, laid along the in-ground electrical grid, and the wireless network. I'm guessing your building connects to fiber-optic.
The wireless network is very dependent upon positioning (distance, number of walls & type of materials between you and the nearest tranceiver). Check out the signal strength - and if you're in a sweet spot, you'll be very happy.
I've been living with roommates for the past bit and we've been splitting the bills, but I'll be on my own soon and was pricing out cable internet. Holy jebus, it's expensive through Rogers (and I don't understand all their levels of usage - from lite to super extreme or something like that).
If you're really on a budget and dont surf a lot except for email and such, this site claims to offer free dialup internet access.
And if you live in B.C., check here for freebie dialup
http://www.wififreespot.com/ <-- free wifi hotspot listings, mainly for U.S. but some for Canada as well
Maybe the government should set up free wireless internet with medium and large cities, and then smaller cities. Sounds good for the economy.
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he's gone
