By this point, you’ve probably been considering the same old Internet Service Providers for your online needs but have magically stumbled upon TekSavvy hoping for something different, something fresh. Well, good news! You’ve come to the right place. But what exactly should you expect when signing up for TekSavvy’s Internet Services? Our goal here is to give you better understanding of how the process works and exactly what you’ll need to be aware of to get your service up and running so you can continue watching those funny cat videos we know you love.
How does it work?
Our Internet comes in two flavours; DSL or Cable. Both services provide a connection to the same Internet; you can choose which flavour depending on what your home is set up for and what best suits your needs.
DSL runs through the same wiring as phones.
DSL eligibility can be tricky. The service you can receive depends on how close you are to the nearest main connection point in your neighbourhood. The closer you are to the main connection point, the more options you will have for speeds.
DSL connection speeds are typically more stable than that of cable Internet. DSL is not a shared connection. You are less likely to witness slow down with your connection during peak usage times, which is between 5pm – 10pm.
Cable Internet runs through the same wiring as cable TV.
Cable eligibility is pretty straightforward. If your home can connect to the cable wiring, you are more than likely going to be able to get any speed we have available – from the most simple package to the highest speed we have for you!
Cable Internet is part of a ‘shared network’ which means that if you have a bunch of neighbours using cable Internet at the same time you are, you may notice your speeds taking a slight dip. Do not worry, this does not mean that they have any access to your connection or information! Think of it as all cable users are cars on a highway – during rush hour things begin to get clogged up a bit.
Once you’ve decided which type of connection to get (DSL vs Cable) you will now be able to decide on which type of hardware to get. TekSavvy offers hardware to be purchased directly from us which comes with a 1 year warranty should anything happen to it.
Most people today expect their Internet experience to be completely wireless. This requires either a modem with wireless routing capabilities built into it, or a separate wireless router device.
Not all hardware is made equal; DSL and cable modems operate completely different from one another. No DSL modem can be used with a cable connection, and no cable modem can be used with a DSL connection. A standalone wireless router can be used with either of the two services, however. Having a separate wireless router can make your options for connecting to the Internet more versatile.
Again, not all hardware is made equal. If you live in a one bedroom apartment, you may not need that fancy $300 wireless router with 8 antennas. Likewise, a $50 wireless router could struggle to provide WiFi signal to every corner of your 2000 square foot home. Spending 15 minutes doing your research on which devices would be ideal for you can help spare yourself some connection headaches down the road.
Ensuring that you have a connection that is appropriate for your needs is crucial to your enjoyment of the Internet. Having a package that suits you should allow you to almost never have to think about your service – it just works. We have a wide selection of packages to fit your unique needs as a customer.
Some factors to be aware of when deciding what is best for you could be the following:
How much usage will you go through?
If you are a streamer of online content, such as Netflix, YouTube or Spotify, you can run through your bandwidth fairly quickly. Making sure that you have an appropriate amount of bandwidth for your service, and keeping up to date on your usage through our MyAccount service, will keep you from getting any surprise overages at the end of your billing cycle.
If you are more of a downloader versus a streamer, all TekSavvy packages have unlimited bandwidth between 2am and 8am local time. Yes, that means that if you have a 200GB package, you can schedule downloads between those times and not have it count towards your cap! Also, uploading data is never counted towards your monthly cap – only data coming into your home is.
If you are a heavy user of the Internet, going with an unlimited option for bandwidth is the best choice for you. All of our speeds come with an unlimited bandwidth option, so you will never be forced into a speed that isn’t right for you.
Speed’s the name of the game.
Having enough speed for what you intend on using the Internet for is key. It’s a scientific fact that time slows down to a crawl whenever your videos need to buffer. Two seconds of buffer time is equivalent to two weeks of normal time. Thankfully, we’ve got speeds that will have you covered.
If you are a streamer, you want to go with a higher speed so that you can burn through video after video without the need to wait. This is even more important when you factor in people using the service simultaneously. Eventually, however, you’ll reach a point where you won’t see a quality of life improvement with more speed while streaming. Once you reach that sweet spot where you’re never seeing buffer time, yet seeing the highest quality of video, you know you’ve got it made.
For downloads, the speed you want to go with is only relative to how little time you want to wait for your download to be done. If you plan on having your downloads scheduled over night to take advantage of our unlimited bandwidth between 2am to 8am local time, perhaps you could go with something not as fast because you’ll get the file in the morning anyways. If you’ve got places to go, people to see and need your files as soon as possible, dive into the higher speeds to seriously cut down on the wait.
A pie, divided. Internet speed shared amongst users.
The more people you have using your connection simultaneously, the more it cuts into how much total speed you can attain. Think of your maximum speed like a pie. It’s great, everything that you’ve ever wanted. Perhaps it’s one of those chocolate pies with a bunch of whipped cream. Amazing, right? You want as much as you could possible take. If you have a pie that’s realistically great for a single person, but have multiple people living with you or have friends over using your connection, you’ll end up with a small sliver of pie. Pretty horrific stuff. You want to get the right size of pie for how many people will be indulging in it, or maybe even ever so slightly more than you need so you have some leftovers – just in case! Think of that like the speed of your connection while sharing among your friends, family and those noisy neighbours who live above you.
