YMMV: What can affect your Internet Service
Looking for the best Internet service? Yup. That’s an actual speed test from a Rally Fibre customer in the picture. (We love to see it!)
“Independent” has become a bit of a misnomer. For ISPs, it generally means anyone who is not owned by THEM. So both facilities-based like Rally and Third-Party Internet Providers are technically ‘independent’ (whereas smaller, fighter or flanker brands that are owned by big telco to appear as a competitor are not independent.) The real question is; who owns and controls the network you’re using and how quickly can they fix it if something goes wrong?
At Rally, we’re obsessed with Internet and we monitor our own network 24/7. We will get an alert as soon as something isn’t right and the team will jump into action! The network team will be on it and we’ll deploy a field team to the site. While we hope it never happens, there are a number of outside forces that can affect your telecommunications services. (Make sure you’re registered for our SMS updates so you’ll get any service notification updates as they come in.)
Here are some of the usual suspects for Internet service issues:
Inclement Weather
We’re Canadian, so we know too well that we could see all 4 seasons in the same day (polar vortex anyone?) High winds, storms and other extreme weather can take out power or disrupt Internet and TV services. TV feeds often come from other cities or countries, so local weather there could be affecting their own broadcast service. We’re constantly monitoring our network – and every TV channel we offer – to ensure things are running smoothly, and if Mother Nature ever causes a problem, rest assured we plan to send her a strongly worded letter about it – after we make sure you’re up and running again.
Construction or Other ISPs
Fibre is especially delicate and the main Internet lines run underground, beneath the city streets through pipes and into conduits in the building. All the routes and conduits are shared among the various providers. If there is road work or other construction anywhere along the path from our data centre, either outside or inside the building, it can happen that a line is accidentally cut or damaged.
It is also possible that another ISP could damage a line while pulling or maintaining their own lines. Because the routes are shared by everyone, sometimes competing ISPs have to work together to help solve a problem (who knew?). We’ll always investigate and let you know what happened, and follow up with whoever caused the issue and make sure everything is repaired as quickly as possible and that you’re compensated for the time you were without service.
Network Maintenance
Our team is constantly monitoring and maintaining our network, and if we ever have to do a planned service upgrade or maintenance in your building, we’ll let you know by SMS ahead of time. Typically, scheduled maintenance will happen overnight, and we hope you won’t even notice (unless you’re a night owl.) In the event of emergency maintenance, we’ll give you as much notice as possible to ensure we get you up and running again and keep you updated on our progress.
Power Outages & Building Maintenance
We are all about power to the people, but if there is ever a major power outage, every telecom is going to have a problem.
Sometimes in buildings there are planned outages, for instance, generator testing or upgrades. If the main power in the building goes out, our equipment located in the telecom room very likely will be affected. As soon as the power comes back, we would be back up too. We don’t usually know ahead of time when that is going to happen, unless someone lets us know. If you are aware of a planned service outage or test in your building, you can give us the heads up so we can be prepared and we’ll have a technician on call to make sure everything gets back up and running as soon as the power is back.
Wi-Fi Interference
Location. Location. Location. Both that of your home, and your router.
• Are there are several wireless networks surrounding your suite or other nearby electronics that are interfering with your connection?
• Is your router placed in an elevated & open area in the space closest to where you use it the most?
• Do you have a lot of devices connected? Try disconnecting ones you aren’t currently using.
• Are any walls, doors or objects blocking the line of sight to the router?
Signal strength is weakened the further away or more obstructed the path. We’ll activate a fibre jack usually in the main space of your suite. If you’re rearranging your space or think your router may be in a bad spot for where you need it, just let us know and we can help you move it.
Your Hardware & Devices
Fibre moves fast, but your devices might not. Can your devices handle 1000Mbps?
• Is your computer new and fast, or an older model struggling to keep up?
• Check that your operating system and processors aren’t the issue.
• Is your router capable of gigabit speeds and how old is it? If it’s been more than a few years, it may be time to have it replaced.
Did you try turning it off and on again?
When in doubt, check your cable connections, unplug, count to 10, and reboot your devices. If it doesn’t improve, don’t suffer in silence!
We always want to make sure you have the very best Internet service possible. If none of these are the culprit or you’re ever experiencing an issue with your service, please contact us 24/7 and let us have a look. We may be able to fix it remotely, or send a technician to check your line or replace your hardware.
Canadians have a right to fast, reliable and affordable Internet.
Rally is a facilities-based Internet Service Provider based in Toronto, Canada with more than 20 years experience serving Canadians with leading-edge broadband solutions on our own our own independent fibre network.
Rally 24/7 Customer Support:
416 360 3000 or support@rally.ca
More answers to your questions can be found in our FAQ.