Digiital
08-05-2005, 11:19 AM
SYMPATICO TO RAISE ON-LINE SPEEDS
Jack Kapica, The Globe and Mail, 08/04/05
Subscribers to Sympatico Ultra Internet service will start seeing speed increases of about 25 per cent, Bell Canada said today.
The increase is limited only to the company's Ultra package, which offers the highest speed, and will be available to residential accounts as well as small-business accounts. It is also limited only to Ultra subscribers in Ontario and Quebec.
Until now, word of the increase was only an on-line rumour. Bell says it will make an official announcement soon.
The speed upgrade is supposed to start rolling out on Aug. 15, a Bell spokesman said. Subscribers to the Ultra services will not be charged extra.
Under the plan, residential speeds will increase from 4 megabits per second to 5 mbps, and business or dedicated services will go from 4 mbps to 6 mbps.
The company is emphasizing speed, the spokesman said, because "families are embracing the broadband home, including networking and wireless networking."
The increases bring Ultra subscribers up to speed with a similar package offered by Bell's cable competitors.
The spokesman said that the increase in speed was partly in reaction to Sympatico's success with Gamesmania.com, its on-line gaming site. The increased speeds will shorten the length of time required to download the games content.
He also added that the increase would also speed up Sympatico's value-added services, such as parental controls, e-mail spam filtering, and antivirus protection. The addition of the MSN Premium service last year also resulted in larger downloads.
Similar value-added services for small and medium businesses will continue to be served better by the increase, including a live network help desk and support maintenance.
Jack Kapica, The Globe and Mail, 08/04/05
Subscribers to Sympatico Ultra Internet service will start seeing speed increases of about 25 per cent, Bell Canada said today.
The increase is limited only to the company's Ultra package, which offers the highest speed, and will be available to residential accounts as well as small-business accounts. It is also limited only to Ultra subscribers in Ontario and Quebec.
Until now, word of the increase was only an on-line rumour. Bell says it will make an official announcement soon.
The speed upgrade is supposed to start rolling out on Aug. 15, a Bell spokesman said. Subscribers to the Ultra services will not be charged extra.
Under the plan, residential speeds will increase from 4 megabits per second to 5 mbps, and business or dedicated services will go from 4 mbps to 6 mbps.
The company is emphasizing speed, the spokesman said, because "families are embracing the broadband home, including networking and wireless networking."
The increases bring Ultra subscribers up to speed with a similar package offered by Bell's cable competitors.
The spokesman said that the increase in speed was partly in reaction to Sympatico's success with Gamesmania.com, its on-line gaming site. The increased speeds will shorten the length of time required to download the games content.
He also added that the increase would also speed up Sympatico's value-added services, such as parental controls, e-mail spam filtering, and antivirus protection. The addition of the MSN Premium service last year also resulted in larger downloads.
Similar value-added services for small and medium businesses will continue to be served better by the increase, including a live network help desk and support maintenance.