Insights For Success

Strategy, Innovation, Leadership and Security

Montreal

Calgary airport offers the best WIFI performance in Canada

GeneralEdward Kiledjian

Ookla, everyone's favourite speed test service has just published internet performance metrics for North American airports. Calgary Airport has been rated as the best performer of all Canadian airports and is the third best in North America.

  1. Seattle Tacoma International
  2. Denver International Airport
  3. Calgary International

Montreal's Pierre Elliot Trudeau Airport was rated the worst. Toronto's expensive Toronto Pearson International Airport is rated 23rd.

Uber launches its Taxi service in Montreal

technologyEdward Kiledjian
Uber_mtl.png

The super popular Uber taxi service is testing its offering in Montreal (Quebec). Uber taxis are limited during this testing phase but it shouldn't be "too" difficult to hail a taxi within a reasonable time-frame. 

What is Uber?

Uber iPhone app

Uber iPhone app

 

 

It is a smartphone app that allows you to hail a taxi. The app tells you where your taxi is and notified you when it arrives to pick you up. Uber also stores your payment information so you never have to worry about having cash on you. If you pay through their electronic service, they email you a receipt within minutes.

 

 

Launch special

To celbrate the testing launch of the Montreal service, they are offering users a $15 discount on their first taxi use. The discount code is UBERMTL 

Download the Uber app for your smartphone now

Videotron to offer free WIFI and charging stations at Just for Laughs

technologyEdward Kiledjian
Just for laughs is an incredibly popular festival in Montreal and is scheduled to take place July 13-28 this year. We learn that Videotron is back as a key sponsor. The most exciting result of this sponsorship for a tech enthusiast is that they will be offering free wifi and free charging stations. 
"To help offer the best possible entertainment experience, Videotron will install mobile phone charging stations at the Festival site. Festival-goers will be able to recharge any type of mobile device (Android, BlackBerry, etc.) and access free Wi-Fi at the stations."
You can read the press release here.

Review of Canadian ISP ElectronicBox.net

technologyEdward Kiledjian

 

Until last week, I had been a long time Bell Internet customer. My journey started with their overpriced & underperforming ADSL service and ended with their Fibe 15 Fiber Optic to the house internet service. I had stayed with Bell all these years because it was easier than moving to another provider but I was tired of being overcharged and underserved. Their helpless desk seem to be staffed with unqualified agents and their customer retention team loves to give a “take it or leave it offer”. One agent I spoke to even said “this is our price and service, if you don’t like it leave”, so I left. 
After looking around I found a local ISP called ElectronicBox which provides internet services for
Quebec City, the Montreal area and Toronto.

Why ElectronicBox

If you check out sites like DSLReports, you’ll see their agents reading customer complaints and responding appropriately. They may be a small company but they seem to have excellent customer support processes. 
I am able to buy a faster internet connection (than the Bell Fibe Service) at a much more competitive price.
I did consider the service from Teksavvy and they also seem to provide excellent customer support but ElectronicBox’s pricing tiers made better sense for my needs. TekSavvy offered the same speeds but had a 300 MB bandwidth tier then moved to unlimited. I felt that I needed more than 300 but less than 500 so I bought the 500MB service from ElectronicBox.

The Signup Process

The signup process was easy and straightforward. I found the cable based internet service I wanted and used their online ordering system. 2 days later, I received the Thomson (Docsis 3.0) cable model. 2 days later I received an email informing me of when the installer would be coming. The installer showed up on time and 3 hours after he left, the service was working flawlessly.
During the signup process I had a couple of technical questions that I emailed their tech support and generally they responded within 36 hours with the correct answer.

The Cherry on top

I had been with Bell for over 8 years and not once did they automatically improve my service. I just received an email from ElectronicBox that they will be improving the cable model upload speed (from 3 Mbps to 10 Mbps) May 1st and without any additional charge. Booya ElectronicBox!

Verdict

Although it has only been 1.5 weeks that I have been with ElectronicBox, the performance of their internet service has been excellent and consistent. I am (so far) a very satisfied customer. Anyone asking me for a good ISP, get’s sent to their website.