TekSavvy: Difference between revisions
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== Services == |
== Services == |
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While TekSavvy operates using "[[last mile]]" infrastructure from [[Bell Canada|Bell]], [[Rogers Communications|Rogers]], Cogeco, [[Shaw Communications|Shaw]], [[Telus Home Phone|Telus]] and [[Vidéotron]], it differs in terms of pricing and features. It offers unlimited bandwidth plans for consumers |
While TekSavvy operates using "[[last mile]]" infrastructure from [[Bell Canada|Bell]], [[Rogers Communications|Rogers]], Cogeco, [[Shaw Communications|Shaw]], [[Telus Home Phone|Telus]] and [[Vidéotron]], it differs in terms of pricing and features. It offers unlimited bandwidth plans for consumers. It provides home phone services through landline and VOIP, as well as long distance packages and web hosting in eight Canadian provinces. Business Internet is also available at a higher cost than its residential counterpart.<ref name="TekSavvyProv">{{cite web|url = http://teksavvy.com/en/province.asp|title = Please select your region|accessdate = 2 December 2011|last = TekSavvy|year = 2011}}</ref> |
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===Digital subscriber line (DSL) Internet=== |
===Digital subscriber line (DSL) Internet=== |
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Revision as of 23:26, 17 November 2013
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| Company type | Privately held |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | January, 1998 |
| Headquarters | Chatham, Ontario, Canada |
Key people | Marc Gaudrault (CEO) |
| Products | Internet, Telecommunications |
| Parent | None |
| Website | www.teksavvy.com |
TekSavvy Solutions Inc. is a Canadian residential and business telecommunications company based in Chatham, Ontario, with branches in Toronto, and Gatineau, Québec. In most of the country, it is a wholesale operator and CLEC, providing a last mile service that utilizes existing infrastructure from Bell Canada, Bell Aliant, Rogers Communications, Cogeco Cable, Telus Communications, Shaw and Videotron.
History
TekSavvy Solutions Inc. was founded in January 1998.[1] The company ranked 27th in 2008, 33rd in 2009, 44th in 2010, and 33rd 2011 on the list of fastest growing companies in Canada on Canadian Business Magazine's Profit 100 list.[2] By 2011, it had been rated as the number one ISP in Canada by the users of DSLreports.com[3] for five years. In 2012, it was 12th on the Branham 300 Top 20 Movers & Shakers list.[4]
Services
While TekSavvy operates using "last mile" infrastructure from Bell, Rogers, Cogeco, Shaw, Telus and Vidéotron, it differs in terms of pricing and features. It offers unlimited bandwidth plans for consumers. It provides home phone services through landline and VOIP, as well as long distance packages and web hosting in eight Canadian provinces. Business Internet is also available at a higher cost than its residential counterpart.[5]
Digital subscriber line (DSL) Internet
TekSavvy offers DSL service using Bell lines in Ontario and Quebec, Telus lines in Alberta and British Columbia, and Bell Aliant lines in New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Before the summer of 2011, TekSavvy could only access Bell's "Performance" speed tier, with maximum speeds of 5 Mb/s. Starting in July 2011, several months after the Canadian government allowed third-party ISPs to access higher speed tiers, TekSavvy started offering the same DSL speed tiers found at Bell. High-end plans with 10 Mbit/s upload speeds require a Sagemcom modem rental from Bell at a cost of $8/month, while all lower DSL tiers can be used with any compatible ADSL2+ modem.[6] Their bandwidth-capped packages offer unlimited usage between 2 AM and 8 AM, a period which does not count towards the customer's limit.
On March 20, 2013, TekSavvy added a 50 Mbit/s tier, the fastest FTTN tier that Bell started offering a month earlier. TekSavvy offers the same FTTN DSL speeds available from Bell. The only exceptions are that for the slowest plans, 6 Mbit/s regular DSL and 7 Mbit/s FTTN DSL is sold by TekSavvy instead of Bell's 5 Mbit/s plans. All plans offer a choice between 300 GB or unlimited Internet access, while the 6 and 7 Mbit/s plans offer a lower-priced 75 GB option.
Cable Internet
TekSavvy's cable Internet offerings rely on Rogers, Shaw, Videotron or Cogeco infrastructure to connect customers to TekSavvy Internet. In areas served by Rogers, TekSavvy cable Internet is offered with either 6, 25, 35, 45 or 150 Mb/s download speeds with the choice of 300 GB of monthly bandwidth (with unlimited usage between the hours of 2am and 8am) or unlimited usage. The 6 Mb/s plan also offers a lower-priced 75 GB option. Uploading does not count towards bandwidth usage.[7] In areas served by Cogeco, most predominantly in the Niagara region, there are 5 packages available at speeds of 6, 10, 20, 30 or 60 Mb/s with a standard bandwidth cap of 150 GB/month, excluding the 6 Mb/s service, and a 300 GB or unlimited option for a fee. The same 300 GB and unlimited options are available in Chatham-Kent, Ontario and major cities in Vancouver with lower speeds due to the Cogeco and Shaw infrastructure used in those regions. In Quebec, Vidéotron provides the cable infrastructure.
Opposition to usage-based billing
TekSavvy has been very public about its stance against usage-based billing (UBB), opposing the CRTC's decision to enforce data caps on wholesale operators that would be similar to incumbents. Former CEO Rocky Gaudrault argued, in 2011, that the larger bandwidth allotments of wholesale operators is one of those operators' more distinguishable factors, stating, "The answer to future growth is not to stifle it by imposing punitive pricing but to encourage it, accommodate it, and make more money on greater volume consumed at lower prices with more efficient infrastructure." [8] TekSavvy devotes most of its news page to addressing its concerns about UBB.[9]
Controversy over disclosure of subscriber personal information
In November 2012 Voltage Pictures LLC sought disclosure of subscriber personal information based on data collected by Canipre from September 1, 2012 to October 31, 2012.[10] TekSavvy has a policy to "not provide personal information to a 3rd party when copyright infringement is alleged unless ordered to do so by a court. TekSavvy will do its best to ensure that its customers receive notice when disclosure of their personal information is sought in such cases."[11] On November 14, 2012 filed a Statement of Claim in Federal Court, initiating action against TekSavvy (court file T-2058-12)[12] seeking a court order for the release of subscribers names and addresses associated with about 2000 IP addresses allegedly involved in copyright infringement. TekSavvy declined to defend the action, and sought permission of the court to notify the affected subscribers instead.
See also
References
- ^ "TekSavvy: About". Retrieved October 27, 2011.
- ^ Rogers Communications (2011). "Profit 200". Retrieved 2 December 2011.
- ^ DSL reports (2011). "Charts - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - Issue #613". Retrieved 2 December 2011.
- ^ "Branham 300 Top 20 Movers & Shakers". Branham Group Inc. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
- ^ TekSavvy (2011). "Please select your region". Retrieved 2 December 2011.
- ^ "Residential Internet". TekSavvy. Retrieved 2012-03-31.
- ^ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r28199868-Cable-Cable-unlimited-2-8am-and-upload-on-ATPIA-
- ^ Gaudrault, Rocky (February 7, 2011). "Internet usage debate, Part 1: The real myths". Financial Post. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
- ^ TekSavvy News
- ^ Voltage Pictures LLC Statement of Claim. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
- ^ TekSavvy: Copyright FAQ. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
- ^ Court docket. Retrieved July 02, 2013