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Bell Aliant FibreOP 200/30 Vs Rogers Ignite 250u

15K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  PhilP 
#1 ·
Hi guys. I'm in a bit of a dilemma right now.

On Wednesday I called Aliant asking if they could give me a better deal. For the past 2 years I was getting a $35 credit on my bill because we had complained about the price at the time.

This time, the most they could do was a $20 credit. I decided that was a joke of an offer and called Rogers to see what they would offer.

Beforehand, I checked out Rogers website and was surprised that they now offer unlimited bundles with speeds that rival Aliant's. I was pleasently surprised at the price with the amount of features (movies, NHL, WWE Network, unlimited North American long distance, 2 free receivers, 3 year guarantee, etc.) for the price. I told Rogers I would call them back, as I needed time to think. In reality, I called Aliant telling them what Rogers had offered me...

Of course, over the phone like this, they think your bluffing. They simply don't believe you. They simply offer you weak credits. This time when I called and told them what Rogers offered, the lady over the phone admitted "Rogers kicked our butts" and offered me an additional $5 credit, for a grand total of a $25 credit.

Forward to Friday and of course who calls? Some guy who is an agent for Bell Aliant. He gives me his personal cell, his work number and his email. He started off by saying they he would offer me cheaper deal than what Roger's was giving me...

This deal included 150/30 with the movies, essentially the best bundle at a decent deal. I then went down the list of features and services Rogers was offering me (250/20, North American long distance, WWE Network, movies, etc.). He said okay, let me see how much it would cost for a speed jump. He told me he'd call me back in 5 minutes. Sure enough, 10 minutes goes by and he calls. The price goes up like $10. He tells me the total price (with taxes) for 6 months (no idea why the first 6 months are cheaper) and the total price (with taxes) for the remainder. I remind him I want the WWE Network. So it once again goes up. I told him I didn't like the $200 price mark.... So he lowered it under the $200 mark and I agreed.

Anyways, I'm a wrestling fan and was excited to hear about Aliant getting the WWE Network on the 25th of March... I got an email yesterday from Aliant explaining that launch of the WWE Network was actually the 31st of March... 2 days AFTER WrestleMania, which as any wrestling fan knows is the biggest event of the year. Turns out, we have to call between the 25th and the 28th in order to get the WWE Network early... Why do we have to do the work? Why not just release the thing on the 25th and get it over with?? Perhaps because they want people who have no clue to purchase the event at the ridiculous price of $60-$70 instead of the subscription price of $11.99 for the WWE Network.

I also learned yesterday that Aliant will not be offering the on demand selection (at this time), just the 24 hour channel. Rogers has on demand and Rogers customers have full access to the entire library of the WWE Network online, like the US residents. For the past year and a month I've had the WWE Network, but have decided to cancel it with it coming to ISPs in Canada. I waited until Aliant has it, but then they come out with a toned down version for the SAME price? This is what has me second guessing staying with Aliant.

Here's what Bell Aliant is offering me:
Premium Movies (TMN, HBO, CraveTV, etc.)
200/30 Internet
WWE Network (Just 24 hour channel)
Province Wide Long Distance
Plus he got rid of $6 rental on our home phone (which we've been paying for many years).
All for $12 more than what Rogers offers me.

Here's what Rogers is offering me:
Premium Movies (TMN, HBO, etc.)
Shomi
250/20 Internet
WWE Network (FULL feature)
NHL GameCenter Live
North American Long Distance
All for $12 less than what Bell Aliant is offering me.

There's a a few things I'd like people's opinions on (if you don't mind). These things are what made me stick with Bell Aliant.. Part of it was the convincing this guy did on the phone... He was so good, I forgot to mention that NHL GameCenter Live was included in the Rogers bundle... He of course knew that, but wouldn't mention that as it would hurt the value of the bundle he was offering me.

1. Internet slowing down at peak times (I think this is true with Cable, but not with their upgraded system. I could be wrong).
2. Customer service.
3. Billing issues (Taking forever to correct).
4. Lack of STB features (Record 2 shows at once - compared to Bell Aliant's 5, advertising on their guide or something along those lines, etc.).

For anyone with the Nextbox 2.0, is it any good? I know that I shouldn't except anything as good as FibreOP 3.0. But is it that bad? When I was on the phone with the Bell Aliant guy, he was telling me about the Nextbox 2.0 and saying how it wasn't any good.. I had previously read that they could do 8 recordings, he said two... I was on the Ontario site of Rogers (... why doesn't Rogers have a popup dialog to change location like Aliant???). If Nextbox 3.0 was in NB, I would have switched no questions asked.

Also, are there contracts? From what I understood they can no longer do contracts, only price guarantees set for so many months, years, etc. And customers no longer have to give 30 day notice to cancel.

Thanks everyone!
 
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#2 ·
I've been with all the providers for all the services, and here is what I can tell you based on my experience:

Home Phone - Voice quality is same between Rogers, BA, or VoIP provider (CallCentric). Call Centric is cheapest, but if you're doing bundle Rogers wins on the features and NA LD.

Internet - BA on SpeedTest jumps to 150 and stays at 150 for the duration. Rogers jumps high (SpeedBoost), and then comes down, and then is a little jagged. But I haven't experienced an issue with streaming, voice, or anything else that would be sensitive to this. I'd give BA this one because they provide 30 up, and Rogers only goes to 20. (If upload is one of your criteria).

TV - Bell Sat is good. BA is better. But their SimSubs drive me crazy! Shaw Direct is good with little SimSubs. Rogers does some SimSub, but their guide and hardware is about 10 years behind. Their PQ has gotten much better though as they've slowly digitized their analog channels.

BA reps have gone WAY downhill. Rogers tries to work with you. All IMHO

Personally, I would have BA FibreOp net only, Shaw Direct TV, Call Centric phone (with ObiHai 202 adapter). But there are advantages to bundling as you point out above.
 
#3 ·
For the WWE Network, are you sure that Aliant isn't going to have the online back catalog like everyone else has? That would be pretty strange. I can see them not having the On Demand, but that's not the same thing (that goes through the STB).

Might be worth clarifying that.

In general, I've always found speeds with Aliant more consistent than Rogers in prime time, which is really noticeable with online games. But man, Aliant's pricing games are getting old really fast.

If they mess with you too much, just cancel. After six months you're a "new customer" and suddenly there are better deals. It's absurd.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Rogers Vs. Bell Aliant

I just switched from Bell Aliant Fiber OP 75 to Rogers IGNITE 100 U myself. They are coming in Monday to install. I was paying $100 just for just the internet with BA. Rogers gave me a deal that includes home phone with alot of features and NA calling, ROGERS IGNITE 100 U and Digital VIP with NHL GameCenter Live for $147. It also includes a PVR and Shomi free for 3 years. I live with my landlord so he agreed to cancel his home phone with Bell Aliant, get his number ported over and pay $47 on my bill, so basically I'm getting two services for the price of one,(maybe a small bit more, BUT I'm getting Cable !!!). NOBODY can tell me that this is not A better deal. I'm delighted. AND NOW bundled.
 
#6 ·
^^ Oh that's great then. I'm really looking forward to getting hooked up tomorrow !!!! I can't see it being much more different for us in Newfoundland. For now I had to go to my moms to get on the internet and watch TV. I found out they are also throwing in a regular HD receiver for my landlord in the $147 price. $47 for him for the home phone - $100 for me. Great Great Great.
 
#7 ·
Sorry to bump, but after a long debate with myself, I've decided to switch to Rogers. Aliant counter offered shortly after this thread was created and I stayed up until now. But I've grown tired of waiting for Aliant to add the ability to watch the entire WWE Network catalog online. To clarify, you are paying $11.99/month for JUST the live channel, not even on demand... With Rogers, you pay the same price and get on demand AND the online catalog... Plus Rogers has more deals with other companies, such as the NHL (GameCenter), CNN (watch CNN online, etc.). Rogers simply has more online stuff available. I'll be paying $195.51/ month for Rogers... That's with 250/20 internet (more like 300/20 - according to people on the internet), Ultimate VIP with TMN TV package and home phone. I calculated how much this exact package would cost me with Aliant.. More on that later...

With just WWE Network ($11.99), the basic HD TV package, and the bump to 300/30 ($15), I am paying $175/month with Aliant currently. That's with a $45 credit added to my account. Therefore without my credit, I would be paying $220/month.

My biggest complaint with Aliant is not only the WWE Network and their lack of support for the online catalog, but the serious lack of channels and the price to add channels (or theme packages - $5 each). There is literally nothing on TV with FibreOP, even with the best bundle (you only get movies added). I get it, the picture quality is better and the PVR is the best in NB without a doubt, but I'm not going to stick around for better picture quality and a better PVR. Rogers offers many ways to not have to record your favourite shows, including Rogers Anyplace TV, on demand and with my package, time shifting. Also, Aliant does have more HD channels. From my count, Aliant has 139 HD channels, while Rogers has 83 (don't quote me on this).

I've calculated the cost of adding theme packs with Bell Aliant. To get the channels I will be getting with Rogers, I'd have to add an additional $60 to my bill and thats without tax!
 
#8 ·
As a long time Rogers customer (since @home), we're now taking a serious look at moving cable provider. We have a lot invested in equipment (whole home PVR with a bunch of stations), but this latest round of interactive guide "upgrades" has moved the usability of many features into the dark ages. In almost all functions, what used to take 1 step now takes 3 or 4, sometimes 5, it's sad when a TV system trys to mimic a smart phone, let's see, 5" or 55" ... duh ... doesn't work !!! But many other issues with this new interface are
1) it's difficult to find what has been recorded because of the way it is presented (tiny font truncated title tiles rather than text)
2) referring to #1 because future and present recordings are inter-mixed
3) the only search feature is the * search, which as any Rogers customer can tell you rarely finds anything you are really looking for
4) every aspect of the interface uses a DIFFERENT presentation, so every step of the 4 or 5 you now go through take longer because the information is presented differently
5) oh ... and did I mention the fonts ... most now unreadable after the upgrade, I don't use glasses except for reading.
6) since the "upgrade" I've seen a steady increase in PVR space used, biggest problem is that since other areas of the guide are so unusable it's still impossible to find out why the sudden increase in PVR space used.
 
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