Martin Cleaver, masterfully.

While the telecoms industry in Canada is widely* criticized as offering poor value** compared to other countries, the huge leveraged revenue streams from those obscene 3 year cellphone plans may be what’s funding the single telco service I am a huge fan of: WiMax***.

* especially by me
** net neutrality issues, system-access fees, extortionate plans for mobile data, typically a 3 year cell phone commitment, use of CDMA technology, no competition for GSM customers
*** technically pre-WiMax

I’ve used a Portable Internet modem since last summer, both at home, and in my bag as the main way I connect to the internet. Last night, I purchased a higher-powered modem with enhanced reception for use at the cottage.

Despite what seemed like Rogers actively doing everything possible to prevent me buying this (at the service availability, billing, and technical support levels) I happily report that I’m now connected. Let me tell you, it’s a world of difference from dial-up.

How did I get on with their Outdoor Modem?

And how come Rogers’ made it so difficult to buy? It’s not like Rogers have avoided taking money from the Canadian public before.

No no no, I know they are not shy. Last year that they charged me $50 for 1mb of data over my phone. They charge me extra for “long distance” incoming calls. They have gained a widely held reputation for gouging customers, starting with a few years back when they added channels to people’s TV services without asking and more recently with their extortionate data plans for the iphone.

So, how come such hassle for me to give them more money?!

A Fair Rate plan

Ok. Before I start I should mention there was one factor where I was the source of the hesitation for the transaction. The other two belong to Rogers.

For past summers I’ve not spent much time at Six Mile Lake where the family cottage is because I need high speed internet to work productively. In the past year the Rogers/Bell WiMax coverage map has grown. Six Mile Lake is more or less in the middle of this, in the dark green area.

As the indoor modem I bought from Rogers last year won’t pick up a signal at the cottage I wanted a modem with better range. Now Rogers tell me that because I have two modems I need two plans. Err. No: As far as I am concerned I need two modems but only one service. I’m not going to be on both at the same time!

Ah well, its how I know their brand: Rogers by name, and Rogering by nature.

Billing

So accepting that I’d have to pay for both services, I go into a midtown Rogers store on Friday afternoon and ask for the Outdoor modem. I give them my cellphone number and they tell me: “you already have two internet accounts, you can’t have more.”

WHAT?

“Our billing system allows for a master account and a dependent account.” You have Hispeed and Portable Internet. You can’t have another one.”

We tried associating it with the cottage address. They couldn’t do this - the sales lady said the address wasn’t in their system. “Unsurprising” I said, as it is on a Rural Route with no postcode. This *is* the boonies.

“I don’t normally recommend this but I suppose you could go with Bell: they offer a WiMax solution too”

After about 20 mins of explaining that I want both portable and cottage, I cancelled my portable internet account and replaced it with the outdoor modem account, keeping all the plan details the same. I explain that I’ll just carry the cottage modem in my bag whereever I go. She tells me it wouldn’t work unless it is fixed to a wall. I try not to laugh.

I’m instructed to take care of everything including the packaging and the receipt, and that I have 30 days to return it. I walk out victorious. (If you can call paying $282 for a modem that can only be used on Rogers’ network a victory for anyone other than Rogers)

Getting the modem working at the cottage

I was under no illusions that the modem would find it easy to connect. However, I walk around, and at certain angles there it is ONE LIGHT (indicating 1 of 5 signal strength). Wahoo. This could work.

The packaging includes a manual that is more misleading than useful. Crucially it promises the Expedience LinkMonitor software on the CD. This CD doesn’t seem to exist. The only CD is one that has the junky Rogers Yahoo browser software and other such crapware. No way would I run that. Where’s this Motorola Nextnet CD?

I ring the Rogers Tech Support. He’s surprised that I don’t have a stronger signal as “You are 0.7 km away from the signal tower”. He thinks I am at home. I informed him of my location. To which he changes his tone: “It will not work. You should just get a refund, you are 18km from the nearest tower; the indoor modem supports 4.5km, the outdoor one 9km”. (I later find that nextnet site says it covers up to 32km, but I appreciate that’s under optimal conditions). He says the manual supplied is wrong. And there is no support software, not even via download. I’d wanted it to help me orient the modem.

He’s not interested that their map shows my address covered. He says the address finder doesn’t cover it so the area is not covered. I’m on my own.

Whatever. It’s late. I rest. I know our area is covered.

The following morning

Afresh with the promise of being at the cottage throughout the summer mornings, I experiment more. I try higher. Every window. And in one corner, finally! If I hold it: 2 lights. Perched on the window: mostly one, sometimes two.

Speed Results from Speedtest.net:

99ms ping; 592 download; 226 upload

114ms ping; 472 download, 182 upload,

ping statistics to clarke.freenode.net:

14 packets transmitted, 10 packets received, 28% packet loss

round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 99.062/508.605/1738.298/539.633 ms

These are not great. But they are good enough for me to do work.

Now I’ve hooked it up to a Wireless router and am sitting on patio overlooking the lake. I’m not the only one, nor the first. But let me tell you, it’s made me sitting happy. (Dialupatcost.ca may lose a customer if the WiMax performs in all weathers.)

Decisions going forward

Other than cancelling my* home Rogers hi-speed internet account and replacing again with Teksavvy, what else should I do? I’m a bit miffed that I have buy an extra modem and pissed at Rogers that they would force me to pay for two plans.

1. I don’t really want to have to reposition the modem every time I come here. So can I add an external antenna to my existing portable internet WiMax modem?
2. Is this Outdoor modem only ever going to work with Rogers’ network? And can’t I just clone the Mac address of my portable internet box and assign it to a 3rd party modem?
3. If I am going to stay here for the summer what will I do about those damn mosquitos, black flies and horse flies?

* to say this is mine is not the whole story, but needless to say if I was in charge of this decision I would have ditched such a packet shaped ridden network a long time ago

Corollary

I found a stack of network tools at Stanford to help diagnose. (I really like the look of LANMAP). I know I’m going to have to read all the pages of the Digital Home forum. e.g.:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=762517&postcount=185

From what I hear you can be up to 15 kms away from the tower if there is a transmitter pointed towards you, while some people cant get a signal 2 km away from the tower if there is no transmitter pointing towards their general direction.

Maybe we are 18km away from those towers on the first map. We’re in the green bit though, and it works. WiMAX is a good service that will only get better as demand hikes and our duopolistic duo infills more towers to match demand. I’m glad the WiMax service is month-to-month though: Satellite internet services are unworkable for summer users like me.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 5th, 2008 at 8:28 pm and is filed under Canadian Life, Canadian Competitiveness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.