Anyone notice the changes that Shaw has made to its Go WiFi service?
Go WiFi has gone through numerous changes over its life. At one time speeds were fixed, then they were coupled to user account home speeds, then they became uniform, and, now, in the most recent change, they've become two-tier.
Basically, if your home Internet subscription from Shaw has a speed rating under 30 Mbps your Go WiFi is now capped at 5 Mbps.
In my case this has made for quite a change and the service has become essentially useless on a smartphone. My subscription is for a grandfathered Shaw Extreme package, rated at 25 Mbps. When Shaw shuffled packages the "25" was eliminated, and users had a choice of going down to 20 or up to 30. Or staying put, as long as nothing else changed.
A few months ago, without notice, Shaw quietly changed its Go WiFi speed. At first I thought something was amiss in the various locations where I typically use the service. However I now have confirmation from the company that it has indeed reduced my bandwidth for Go WiFi. And this despite paying a premium for years to get a 25 megabit service into the house.
Of course this move is designed to shake loose those on grandfathered accounts in an effort to shake loose a few more subscriber dollars. The irony here is that Shaw has, probably inadvertently, raised my default bandwidth to 30 megabit service, a level at which everyone else gets the faster Go WiFi service.
I'm considering filing a formal complaint with the regulator, but I'm not expecting anything as the CRTC is too busy dealing with complaints over "skinny" TV.
This move by Shaw has, for the first time, prompted me to consider a move to Telus service. A visit to a Telus booth, in the local mall where my Go WiFi is now capped at "5" brought the surprise revelation that I can get 100/10 Mbps Telus service, with 130 channels of Optik TV for $135. And that's not a promo price. That's a price going forward. With Shaw I am paying $180 for my 25 Mbps service plus TV, with HD Plus as my only add-on.
It's decision time. Abandon Shaw, whose service I've had since it took over from Rogers in this market? Upgrade to a higher Shaw plan to have Go WiFi speeds restored? Switch to Telus Optik service? Abandon TV altogether and go with a third-party such as Internet Lightspeed?
What are your thoughts?