IPTV Chatham

Chatham is home base for one of the internet providers that wires it. TekSavvy is based in Chatham, and in 2018 both Bell and TekSavvy announced fibre plans for Chatham-Kent that started right here. Chatham had 45,171 people in the 2021 census, and for live TV, the line into your home and the Wi-Fi inside it decide how well it plays. Here’s who runs the lines in Chatham and the rest of Chatham-Kent, what Boom TV needs, and how to test it on your own connection first.

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One community in a very big municipality

Chatham isn’t a separate city any more. In 1998, the Province of Ontario amalgamated the city of Chatham with the County of Kent, along with towns such as Blenheim, Wallaceburg, Tilbury and Wheatley, to create the Municipality of Chatham-Kent. It is a single-tier municipality with 103,988 people in the 2021 census and about 2,450 square kilometres of land, with roughly 88 kilometres of Lake Erie shoreline and 24 kilometres on Lake St. Clair.

Chatham itself grew up where McGregor’s Creek meets the Thames River, where European settlement began in 1792, and it serves as a retail centre for the municipality. Wallaceburg, Tilbury, Blenheim, Ridgetown, Wheatley and Dresden are the other population centres. Between them are many smaller communities, and what reaches a Chatham street may not reach a road outside town.

Two fibre plans in one year

In May 2018, Bell announced a plan to bring fibre to more than 38,000 homes and businesses in Chatham-Kent, starting in Chatham and then moving on to Blenheim, Ridgetown, Tilbury and Wallaceburg.

Two months later, the municipality and TekSavvy announced a joint plan for an open-access fibre network. TekSavvy said it intended to connect more than 38,000 residences and businesses in Chatham, and the municipality said it would build a fibre backbone linking Chatham-Kent’s communities.

Since then, TekSavvy has announced fibre service in other parts of Chatham-Kent, including more than 300 homes and businesses along Riverview Line and Grande River Line and more than 250 in Grande Pointe, Mitchell’s Bay and Pain Court in January 2022, and a fibre launch in Wallaceburg in April 2022.

What the network map shows

An independent coverage map built from CRTC network-owner filings (the CRTC is Canada’s telecom regulator) covers the whole municipality, not Chatham on its own, in 129 zones:

• TekSavvy fibre is mapped in about 46% of zones, the widest of any fibre owner.
• Cogeco fibre is mapped in about 27%, and Cogeco cable in about 18%.
• Bell fibre is mapped in about 16% of zones, with Bell’s older DSL in about 74%.
• Fixed wireless is listed in every zone.

These are shares of mapped zones, not homes, and they cover the whole municipality, so they say little about any one Chatham street. Check your own address with each provider.

Boom TV is an app, so nothing is installed on the line, and Boom TV doesn’t change anything on your internet account.

How much speed you actually need

Boom TV’s recommended speeds, per stream:

That coverage map lists DSL at 5 to 100 Mbps and fixed wireless at 25 to 250 Mbps, so on either, run a speed test in the evening before relying on 4K or several screens. Boom TV works on any home connection that meets the speeds above. Test it on your own line with the free trial.

A 4K TV in the living room plus an HD stream on a tablet need about 35 Mbps between them.

Getting set up in Chatham

1. Start the free 24-hour trial. Test it in the evening, on the TV you actually use.
2. Install the app on your streaming stick, TV box, smart TV, phone, tablet or computer, and sign in with the details sent by email.
3. Connect over 5 GHz Wi-Fi or Ethernet and watch a full evening. If it plays cleanly, choose a plan on the plans page.

If it buffers on a fast plan, move the router out of the basement, use the 5 GHz band, or run a cable to the main TV.

Frequently asked questions

Does Boom TV work on TekSavvy fibre in Chatham?

Yes. Boom TV is an app that runs over your home connection, whether that’s TekSavvy, Cogeco or Bell. Boom TV doesn’t change anything on your internet account.

Does it work in Wallaceburg, Tilbury or Blenheim?

Yes, if your connection meets the speeds above. These communities are part of Chatham-Kent, and the free trial is the simplest way to test your own line.

I live outside town. Will it work on my connection?

It depends on the speed you get. On that coverage map, DSL in Chatham-Kent is listed at 5 to 100 Mbps and fixed wireless at 25 to 250 Mbps. Test your evening speed against about 10 Mbps per HD stream.

What do I need for 4K?

About 25 Mbps per 4K stream, plus a device that supports 4K.

Is there a free trial?

Yes. It lasts 24 hours and is free. Start the trial or see the plans.