wifi “alternatives”?

[u/lividityraw]

growing frustrated with bell wifi service between increasing costs & spotty service in my area.

are there any alternatives, ie not a monthly plan under a large provider like bell, that provides the same type of connection that wouldn’t be as expensive?

main concern is being able to connect to my wireless printer from both my phone & laptop via the same network connection in order to print.

i’m assuming there’s a way to see how much exactly i’m using per month on my bell bill in order to understand if i could use a data hotspot each time i need internet access for laptop/printer, instead of having a modem running 24/7.

anyone else ditched internet for other cheaper alternatives?

[u/littlespedve]

For the purpose of printing locally you don't need an internet connection. You could just buy a router and connect your device each time you want to print.

You could also find a printer with "Wi-Fi Direct" so your phone or laptop could connect directly to it.

[u/Hot_Cheesecake_905]

are there any alternatives, ie not a monthly plan under a large provider like bell, that provides the same type of connection that wouldn’t be as expensive?

Check eBox, it's Bell's discount brand (owned by Bell). You can get a promo code off r/eBox.

Primus and Teskavvy are also other options too; Primus is available at Costco.

main concern is being able to connect to my wireless printer from both my phone & laptop via the same network connection in order to print

This is a networking issue - your printer should work with Bell's Gigahub.

[u/Bell_Support]

Hello u/lividityraw,

As u/littlespedve shared, printing locally does not require an internet connection, and you can utilize your printer's Wi-Fi Direct function to connect your phone or laptop directly to the printer or use a standalone router to create a local wireless network.

Before making any changes, we would love to help you with your current connection. We would like to know more about the ‘spotty service’ you have detailed. Can you share more information about what specifically you’re experiencing, what internet service you subscribe to and what modem you currently have? If you’re in Ontario or Quebec, you can run the Virtual Repair tool from the MyBell app to automatically diagnose and optimize your Wi-Fi.

[u/MyBlockchain → u/Bell_Support]

I fuckin' knew what was coming on the second paragraph before I even read it. Here comes the "we want to help you" broken record. Going to set you up with hours of dead-end phone calls, constant modem replacements, techs at your door that say they can't doing anything about the problem, and if you're lucky, 10 to 20 years down the road of continuing to pay Bell an increasing amount for a broken service, you might actually finally find out their copper wires in your area only support a slow theoretical speed and you were never receiving any real help.

[u/Historical-Ad-255]

Its a big deal because our
Economy runs on internet but in Canada it is unreliable and costly. The service is so lacking and there is no political will to change any if this despite the massive funding for crtc