Bell Canada introduces a new tier and new names. Brings many lies along with it.

Two days ago, Bell Canada introduced a new internet tier in Ontario and Quebec. Aside from that, they renamed their Performance tier and Max tiers. They are now called "Fibe" and there's also a new tier called "Fibe 25".

Now, the name "Fibe" sounds an awful lot like "fiber", doesn't it? In fact, you'd probably think it is fiber. Nope. Bell just uses FTTN (Fiber To The Node) which connects what's called a "remote" to the central office via fiber optic cabling. From the remote, the data gets to/from your modem via ADSL/ADSL2+/VDSL2+.

Typical Bell. They show both Performance and Fibe 7 even though they seem to be identical.

Everything that was there previously seems to be unchanged.

Then there's the Fibe 25 which uses VDSL2+ technology. Just like the rest of the tiers, there are some differences due to "market-based competition" (or lack there-of).

I'll start with what it's like in Ontario, since it's just a bit less ridiculous. Just a bit.

- Up to 25Mbps download speeds (Not bad)
- Up to 7Mbps upload speeds (This could possibly be the highest upload speeds for a residential offering in Ontario/Quebec. Rogers' upload speeds max out 2Mbps while Videotron's upload speeds max out at 1Mbps)
- 75GB/month cap
- $52.95 - $67.95 per month depending on whether or not you have a Bell Bundle or year long contract.
- $1.00/GB overage rate (There's probably at least a 1000% markup on that)
- $6.95/month mandatory modem rental. (Yeesh!)
- $29.95 activation fee if you don't have Bell TV.

That 75GB cap is pretty low keeping the speeds in consideration. You can theoretically go over the cap in under 6.5 hours. That's even more ridiculous that Videotron's 30GB cap for their high speed offering in Quebec which you can go over in just under 8.5 hours.

Correction: It seems that unlike their other services, the speeds are 25/7 after overhead and not before. Therefore, it would theoretically take just under 5.5 hours to go over the cap.

Now I'll describe the offering in Quebec.

- Up to 25Mbps download speeds
- Up to 7Mbps upload speeds
- 20GB/month cap
- $49.95 - $64.95 per month depending on whether or not you have a Bell Bundle or year long contract.
- $2.50/GB overage rate (There's probably at least a 2500% markup on that)
- $6.95/month mandatory modem rental.
- $29.95 activation fee if you don't have Bell TV.

Okay. 20GB is an absolute joke. If you use any sort of media services (Youtube, Channels' websites that host shows like The Comedy Network's website, listen to radio online), you'll easily go over the 20GB cap. You can theoretically go over the cap in ....................... 100 minutes!!!

Correction: As stated above, the maximum speeds are 25/7 after overhead. Therefore, it would theoretically take even less time to go over the cap. 85.5 MINUTES!!!

Other notes about Bell Internet. Bell Internet uses DSL technology which is distance dependant. This means that unless the copper loop for your phone line is less that about 1KM, you're probably not going to get the maximum possible speeds. This would be especially true for the Fibe 25's up to 7Mbps upload speed.

Another thing. They throttle. Between 4:30PM - 6:00PM and 1:00AM - 2:00, they throttle bittorrent sessions to 60KB/s, and between 6:00PM and 1:00 AM it's throttled to 30KB/s. I doubt the Fibe 25 offering would be an exception.

There's a bit in their fine print that they can change the terms in the middle of a contract, so... it's not really a contract if one (specific) side can break it.

I could go on about how they outsource their tech support to a country that's about 11000 KM away. Oh wait, I just did.

Well, as it is, I'm pretty happy with my 5mbps/800kbps internet connection from TekSavvy with a 200GB cap. The speed is a bit slow for 2010, but it provides great value... for now.