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Taken on: 9/16/2007 @ McMaster University (Mills)

Online and on time

One thing I like about being with a DSL service is if they say your line will be up at a certain time, most of the time it will.

After debating with the Installer today about the questionable nature of the wiring in this apartment we are finally online and kicking with bell DSL.

What's more amazing was that the activation cost for the dry loop was only $1.22 That's right I saw on my invoice I was deducted $10 promo, $6 rebate, and a few other misc savings for being an existing member. That's just awesome.

Bell surprises you with charges you don't have to pay where cogeco would just surprise you with incidental charges.

So the total cost of activation so far is $20 for buying the modem and $1.22 for the install.

Currently the line rates are 3008bps down 800bps up. Pretty awesome all things considered. I did need to make an extra run to the local shop to exchange the initial modem which was defective, I guess that's a crap shoot anyways.

9-5 for internet?

The installers at bell and cogeco are strange creatures, they ask for a 9-5 window when installing a phone line or initially connecting a cable. This is installing a phone line even if your room has jacks (weird).

I mean normally if you have phone jacks they just connect you at the CO box and your loop is established. I'm assuming they want to come by and perform an initial line sync test.

Anyways after I get a sync, I intend on doing some speed measurements and provided I can approach the speeds achieved from the same ISP in Toronto and my download rates from speed test servers stay above 1Mbps I believe we'd be all set with this internet.

The move

Well the move has started, I've already moved some big items to the place I will be calling home for the next 2 years.

Tomorrow is phase 2 of the move which in my schedule is the final phase, so far the conditions look promising I'm stuck with another engineering grad student that should mean that the house will not become a super freaky drunk party house at some god awful weekday (or so I hope now).

I won't have home based internet until the 5th so you can expect a black out period will I suffer from internet withdrawal? Maybe.

But a day or two down in Hamilton will at least have the plus side effect of forcing me to unpack and I couldn't complain about that.