I came into work today to see the following in my inbox:
We have good news for you. Shaw is committed to bringing you the very best products and services, and that includes the FASTEST Internet at the best value. As a result we are making significant upgrades to our network in your area which will allow us to increase your Shaw High-Speed Xtreme-I Internet download speed by 50%, from 10 Mbps to 15 Mbps! This will not affect your monthly cost for High-Speed Xtreme-I; your bill will remain exactly the same.
Immediately my skeptical hackles are up. Why is Shaw doing this? Is this just part of natural upgrades to their line, and it makes more sense to put in 15 Mbps capable cable instead of 10? This note comes from internet.notifications@shaw.ca, which seems legitimate. However, it just seems so unusual for a company to do something like this without any financial kickback beyond the optics and better perception it will generate for themselves.
In any case, it's nice to see some positive news related to a telecom company amidst the near-constant news items about secret fees, sneaky contract-changes, and general client-reaming.
We have good news for you. Shaw is committed to bringing you the very best products and services, and that includes the FASTEST Internet at the best value. As a result we are making significant upgrades to our network in your area which will allow us to increase your Shaw High-Speed Xtreme-I Internet download speed by 50%, from 10 Mbps to 15 Mbps! This will not affect your monthly cost for High-Speed Xtreme-I; your bill will remain exactly the same.
You will also continue to enjoy PowerBoost™, an extra burst of speed while downloading at no extra charge. The best part is you don't have to do a thing. It will all happen automatically.
Our network upgrades will take place over the next month. Once we have completed the upgrade in your area we will notify you by email to let you know.
What you will notice is how much faster you can download photos, videos and large files, giving you the best online experience. We hope that you enjoy the 50% download speed increase.
Immediately my skeptical hackles are up. Why is Shaw doing this? Is this just part of natural upgrades to their line, and it makes more sense to put in 15 Mbps capable cable instead of 10? This note comes from internet.notifications@shaw.ca, which seems legitimate. However, it just seems so unusual for a company to do something like this without any financial kickback beyond the optics and better perception it will generate for themselves.
In any case, it's nice to see some positive news related to a telecom company amidst the near-constant news items about secret fees, sneaky contract-changes, and general client-reaming.
Hmmm, I didn't get an email like that (although I don't have a Shaw email setup). I did notice my connection was slow ass last night for a little while. Maybe they were doing some work on the network in our area at that time. When I get home today I'll try resetting my modem and do a new speed test. This is great news.
Note that they don't say it's completed, or even happening immediately. Just that it's "in the works". I suppose this is another reason to remain skeptical. They get the benefit of the good PR immediately, but have an indefinite amount of time before they actually have to act on their promise.
Nothing to do but wait and see...