Inexpensive Internet?

[Danielson99]

IMO internet access is at a point of being a "guaranteed right". The government doesn't buy you a car but it provides you with roads - and in today's age you are not going anywhere without a internet connection.

There is nothing a person needs the internet for. Everything that is necessary in life is fully serviceable in person at a bank, city hall or a service outlet such as Shaw, Telus etc etc.
In other words....you can go everywhere and have no internet connection.

[LoneWolf_53]

There is nothing a person needs the internet for. Everything that is necessary in life is fully serviceable in person at a bank, city hall or a service outlet such as Shaw, Telus etc etc.
In other words....you can go everywhere and have no internet connection.

Spoken by a city dweller.

I don't think it's quite as cut and dried as that, with more and more entities shifting their focus to an online existence as their priority, Government of Canada included.

There's also online education to consider.

Powers that be also want people to do less driving, greenhouse gas emissions and all that, so if they're serious about that, then one of the biggest inventions capable of making that happen, should be viewed as an essential service/guaranteed right.

[Danielson99]

Spoken by a city dweller.

I don't think it's quite as cut and dried as that, with more and more entities shifting their focus to an online existence as their priority, Government of Canada included.

There's also online education to consider.

Powers that be also want people to do less driving, greenhouse gas emissions and all that, so if they're serious about that, then one of the biggest inventions capable of making that happen, should be viewed as an essential service/guaranteed right.

Powers that be want people using as much gas as possible, which is why Governments bailed out the auto industry in the first place even after they so blatantly abused the system. If the powers that be were concerned about greenhouse gas emissions why would the meat industry become what it is today? The powers that be have no concern whatsoever with greenhouse gas emissions and Canada is one of the biggest abusers on this planet. We are the furthest thing from Green that there is. I know what you're trying to say.....but the reality of it is the complete opposite.

There is absolutely no reason to use the internet today. Everything is still easily done the way we've done it for the past hundred years. Many people still prefer it...because they feel it's so much safer than putting your personal info online where time after time it's getting stolen and used.

[matai]

I find it funny when people take Europe as an example and how cheap everything is compared to Canada.

In Europe, they fit 60 million people in countries the size of Okanagan Lake. In Canada, we have as many people as California, but extending from one Ocean to another.

As such, it would be delusional to ask the government to provide cheap internet to each and every citizen in this country!

Yes but that has completely changed now that US internet providers will be taking over in Canada. It's no longer delusional and about to become reality. Prices will definitely be coming down, which is why our current suppliers are trying to stop it from happening.

...until they realize we're 10x less people in a twice as big country as them LOL

[Captain Awesome]

There is nothing a person needs the internet for.

If this person is from 1958 then you're right. It's impossible to live without Internet today.

[Danielson99]

Yes but that has completely changed now that US internet providers will be taking over in Canada. It's no longer delusional and about to become reality. Prices will definitely be coming down, which is why our current suppliers are trying to stop it from happening.

...until they realize we're 10x less people in a twice as big country as them LOL

That's somewhat irrelevant, 90% of our population lives within' an hours drive of the border. That is ALL that matters to them.

[Danielson99]

If this person is from 1958 then you're right. It's impossible to live without Internet today.

There are many people who do not use the internet for anything other than surfing the news or sending the odd email. There are also many people who don't use the internet at all. It's easy to live without the internet today...and if more people did it they would be better off for it. Less time sitting on your *** every day is a good thing. Kids used to play outside after school every day....now they sit at home on their computer on the internet gaming....what a wasted generation.

[Woodenhead]

Danielson is right. "Need" is the key word. If you want to discuss "convenience" rather than "need" then it's a different ball game. Personally I try to balance things out.

One thing I find funny is how I'm sort of a "computer geek" - build my own rigs, run a large website, etc. - meanwhile, I sport an old & simplistic dumbphone, and I refuse to get anything else. I've often had friends bug me about that. haha I simply prefer to leave all that crud behind whenever I step away from this keyboard. I don't need all this stuff to follow me around - it's only here for my amusement.

[Liquidnails]

Have your neighbor look into service from lightspeed (http://www.lightspeed.ca/personal/ratesadsl.html) or teksavvy (http://teksavvy.com/en/residential/internet/dsl) Their plans start at $29.99/month.

I've heard mixed reviews about teksavvy's customer service, but that goes for Shaw and Telus too. I've heard great things about lightspeed from a couple people I know down here in Vancouver.

[StraitTalk]

Have your neighbor look into service from lightspeed (http://www.lightspeed.ca/personal/ratesadsl.html) or teksavvy (http://teksavvy.com/en/residential/internet/dsl) Their plans start at $29.99/month.

I've heard mixed reviews about teksavvy's customer service, but that goes for Shaw and Telus too. I've heard great things about lightspeed from a couple people I know down here in Vancouver.

Customer Service will always depend on the customer. If you are on the phone with someone you feel is incompetent, do yourself a favor and call back until you don't. If you act like a jerk, expect bad service in return. I can't tell you what I've gotten out of my cell provider alone just by being incredibly nice. Very good friend with Tek Savvy, has no complaints.

Can't really escape the prices that much unfortunately. It is the most abundant form of profit for providers, and they milk it - all of them.

[Loed]

The prices really are not too terrible when you actually look at the service you are getting.

People don't understand/respect the ridiculous amount of work/time/investment it takes to make the internet work.

[Omnitheo]

The prices really are not too terrible when you actually look at the service you are getting.

People don't understand/respect the ridiculous amount of work/time/investment it takes to make the internet work.

indeed, especially when they're basically paying $2 a day for something they feel is essential to their life.

[bazinga42]

Ok, look... I'm not here to start a debate about what's legal/moral/etc. But I can provide some technical assistance if the goal is to save money and/or improve access without respect to a company's desire for profits.

Before anyone harps on what I'm about to propose, I have done a lot of research. In our jurisdiction it is legally GREY (never been challenged in court to a point that there is a precedence regardless of what couch lawyers may want to [mis]interpret of their understanding of the law) - which means it may or may not be illegal but almost certainly means there won't be any repercussions if you ever were "caught" (beyond not being able to do it moving forward). Really, at worst you're likely to see you are unable to get service from whatever provider you decide to use while attempting this. So ignoring the legal/moral aspect, here is the technical:

You can share your internet connection with X number of neighbours within Y hundred meters. 'X' (number of people) depends on:

1. The package you have with your provider (ie. 10Mbps split 100 ways isn't really going to work, but forking over the $$ for their 250Mbps and its another story)
2. The router you have (no, the one from FutureShop won't suffice)
3. How many wires you're willing to string from your ceiling
4. Your willingness to accept the risk/hassle of collecting funds, if that's part of the equation, from everyone because otherwise you're footing the bill on your own

'Y' (how far away they can be) depends on:

1. Line of sight or not
2. Equipment chosen
3. neighbour's willingness to have wires come in through their roof

Sound like a lot of hassle for being cheap? It is, but consider that its not just cheaper... its better.

Let's say you have a 10Mbps (which is probably what most average users have) all to yourself. The math is simple.. you get 10Mbps. But let's say 10 people split a 100Mbps connection. At WORST, while you're all on it maximizing the bandwidth, you each have 10Mbps... so at WORST, you're the same as you were before (but paying less). But its rarely going to be an "at worst" moment. At best, you're the only one on and you get a full 100Mbps all to yourself. Most of the time, its in between. So you have better Internet speeds for less money.

It doesn't have to stop there.

Technically you're all on the same network. So you can also set up one or more servers. They can be used to do things like:

• Have mutual backups of each other. Totally encrypted, etc (but who cares, you trust these neighbours, right?). Unless all your houses burn down, you have a solid backup scheme for when the worst happens
• Have one repository for downloaded music, movies, TV shows (remember, we're not making moral/legal judgements, right!?!)
• While we're at it, setup a telephony (VOIP) system so you can ditch that landline at the same time.

Now your TV, movies, and phone are all WAY better than they were before and your total bill is [Internet cost divided by sharers] plus you have backup service that would otherwise cost you a good $10 a month.

There's equipment costs, of course. They aren't outrageous though. My setup cost me about $800 all told for what's in my house and about $100 for each of the "neighbours" (I use that term loosely because some are several kms away).

Its not perfect. There are rare times when everyone's phone is down because the VOIP service we chose has a hicup or someone's favorite TV show didn't get recorded because some anonymous uploader on the "net" mistyped the title. But overall, we're getting better service (in terms of Internet, TV and phone) for a fraction of what it otherwise would have cost.

And again, its not just about being cheap. Its about access to content. My phone system is simply better than what Shaw or Telus can provide. I can see shows broadcast in other markets that Shaw or Telus simply can't/won't show me. I see what I want to see, when I want to see it, etc etc.




Ok, I've posted a big enough book. My point is, its all possible. Its not "easy" per se, but its all there.

If anyone's interested in links to equipment or software or whatever... some of its hard to find (because there's paranoia about getting caught I guess)... I don't mind helping. But if it turns into a moan fest, just know that I'm pretty quick with the unsubscribe button.

'night

[bazinga42]

One thing I find funny is how I'm sort of a "computer geek" - build my own rigs, run a large website, etc. - meanwhile, I sport an old & simplistic dumbphone, and I refuse to get anything else. I've often had friends bug me about that. haha I simply prefer to leave all that crud behind whenever I step away from this keyboard. I don't need all this stuff to follow me around - it's only here for my amusement.

I just thought that was funny because it describes me as well :) I'm the geek of the bunch and I don't have a cell phone period. I don't use Facebook (I swear that thing's never going to catch on)... I barely understand the point of Twitter. in some ways you'd think I was a technophobe. But then, I've always appreciated irony ;)

[Woodenhead]

I just thought that was funny because it describes me as well :) I'm the geek of the bunch and I don't have a cell phone period. I don't use Facebook (I swear that thing's never going to catch on)... I barely understand the point of Twitter. in some ways you'd think I was a technophobe. But then, I've always appreciated irony ;)

haha Right on! No facebook here, either. Sounds like we are of pretty much the same mind, when it comes to this kind of thing.

I know some students who set things up like you said. Seems to work well for them, and is very cheap overall.