The worst cell phone provider in Canada! How to choose the best plan

When it comes to cellphone service, Canada is still one of the most expensive countries in the world.

Part of this is because Canada is a very big country (second largest after Russia) and it requires a lot of infrastructure to to cover and connect all the places where people live. 

But the market is also mostly controlled by three big players, Rogers, Bell and TELUS, who own most of the infrastructure and have some power to keep the prices up. 

 

Which provider should I pick?

Apart from the big three, Rogers, TELUS and Bell, there are quite a few smaller ones, however they usually operate renting the network of the big three. And many times the company that owns the infrastructure will prioritize their own customers over those that are just "renting" on it, which can result in poor service. 

Which provider to pick, depends on where you are located. Every province or bigger city, has their own providers that have good coverage in that area. 

This is a great website to compare the different plans when it comes to prices: https://www.ratehub.ca/telecom/mobile

But before making a choice, make sure to check the coverage of that provider in your area.

Cellphone Coverage Map Canada:   https://www.whistleout.ca/CellPhones/Guides/Best-Cell-Phone-Coverage-in-Alberta

Also make sure that 4G or 5G is covered, since you probably want good internet service. 

The big major cities like Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, etc. are usually good with most providers but once you get more rural, it can make a big difference which provider you pick.  

 The worst provider

This is from MCs personal experience with Freedom Mobile.

She had signed up with the biggest plan in her area, as a big data package was important to her, to be able to work from anywhere. 

However, even in the town we lived in and where she signed up for the plan, the service was terrible. When driving out of town, even just an hour north, she usually had no service, or when she did, it was just not working. 

When we moved to a new place, it was the same thing and we called Freedom mobile about it. 

It turned out that they operate on two different networks and give you 20GB of the plan on the Freedom Mobile Network (which is only available in major cities) and then 10GB on a different Network (Nation Wide. So you would have great service, and still unused data, but it would not be accessible because it was on the wrong network.  

This was not explained to her when signing up for the plan. 

So freedom mobile is not free at all, because as soon as you move it doesn't work HAHA

Anyways, she now signed up with TELUS, which offered her a month to month plan with twice the data for a lower price and much better service. 

So before you go with freedom mobile, make sure that you have service where you need it and can use ALL your data!

 

Summary and tips

  • When choosing a provider do not just pick the cheapest. Check on who covers your area and then compare the plans in that region (a cheap plan is no good if it doesn’t work)
  • Check for new deals regularly, it is still getting better and cheaper 
  • There are many competitive options on a month to month basis, no need to be locked in for 2 years!
  • Careful when getting close to the US boarder, some phones/providers like to switch to US providers and charge you roaming fees!
  • Do not just walk into a store and let them sell you whatever…. Phone sales people can be very penetrating as they get commissions based on their sales
  • Always compare before you pick a provider!