ISP Shopping in Ontario

Earlier this month I moved to a more central location. Change is good, especially when it saves money and makes life easier. HowToGeek wrote an article which also demonstrated a very reasonable way to go ISP shopping in Ontario. I figured if the culture shock of moving to Chinatown can wear off in a few weeks I could probably bear to change my ISP as I was not on contract. I own my modem as well and they promised almost no downtime and no contractual obligation as well.

Why go ISP shopping if you’re happy?

An ISP or internet service provider chooses the speeds your data can flow at, what traffic they charge you for and how much. I landed at Start. They offer plus packages that have speeds at 25/10 for under fifty bucks if you stick to your data cap. If you’re on your own it should be fine but if you have room mates you may want to opt for the unlimited package for $10 more. Their ratings on DSLReports are pretty promising. If you aren’t under contract then what is the harm in shopping around?

They offer a great cable package with great upload speeds and don’t charge for upstream traffic. If you were thinking about hosting an FTP server for your home office this would be the place to go. The comparables don’t have a lot going for them at this point other than I love how Teksavvy stood for net neutrality. (I still love you Tek)

I will be the first to do the acid test and change providers and I will blog it here for your benefit.

So far I have had nothing but joy with this provider. Also good news in the light of yesterday’s announcement by the FCC that net neutrality is over, Start customers are on a “verified” network

I am really enjoying having a fast way to post material to the web.