It has been 5 months since I started using the Rogers Portable Internet system. During the initial period of use, I was quite optimistic that this was a viable solution. 5 months later, I am still satisfied. The promotional material indicates that the technology provides for 1.5 megs download speed and 256 K upload. Over 5 months, I have performed 125 speed tests. The average download speed has been 1.7 megs and the average upload speed has been 207 K. The system has been reliable. Even during extended power outages, the Rogers network maintained service.
The first two weeks required a few trips to my roof to re-align my antenna, and I suspect with the befit of hindsight that was more pilot error than a system issue. I am also aware of a few customers living in my general area who are using the inside antenna. In my case, the inside antenna was inadequate.
I have had two outages. The first was handled quickly. A call to Rogers involved a short wait on hold and then I spoke to an English speaking CSR who walked me though a few tests, and then filed a repair ticket. I was told it could take 24-48 hours. Within an hour my telephone rang and a recorded message advised that my ticket had been resolved. It was.
The second outage was a few weeks ago. The connection went dead and I called Rogers. Again, a few minutes on hold and then I was speaking to an English speaking CSR. A few tests and still no connectivity. Logically, I was requested to reboot my modem by unplugging and plugging back in, bypassing my wireless router and rebooting my computer. All logical and all had been done before I called. Still, I knew they had to work through their script. At this point, the CSR told me he could see my modem (remote diagnostics) and there did not appear to be any problem. I asked him to wait while I tried something - and then I turned my modem off. Asked him to see if he could still see my modem and he advised he could. At that point I asked to speak to his supervisor.
Supervisor confirmed that he could see some erratic readings from the tower and would file a trouble ticket. I would receive a recorded message when resolved. I did not check the connection for 4 hours, but when I checked all was well. I never received the recorded message.
If you live in an area that is not served by another ISP, Rogers may be a good solution for you. Their service map is in error as many happy customers are living in areas that are not indicated on their map. If you try their service and you have no signal, just take the modem back and you receive a full refund.