Just wanted to share some frustrations and open this up for discussion.

Unlike in Europe or parts of Asia, Canada has virtually no true pay-as-you-go (PAYG) mobile plans. Most so-called “prepaid” or “PAYG” options here are just monthly bundles with expiry dates — not actual usage-based billing. You’re often paying $15–30/month whether you use 100 MB or not at all.

To make things worse:

  • The minimum postpaid plan is now often 60 GB or more — which is total overkill for average users who don’t stream or game constantly.

  • Vacation suspensions are restricted or unavailable unless you upgrade to expensive plans and limited to a minimum of 30 days.

  • Text-to-911 is still not available to the general public, only for those registered as Deaf or hard of hearing — despite many emergency scenarios (hostage, abuse, low signal) where calling isn’t possible.

  • CRTC and CCTS don’t help. The CRTC says they can’t intervene in pricing or service terms, and the CCTS (per Section 4.3) won’t challenge carrier policies themselves.

Please note that I’m not asking for charity or free service — just fairer options that reflect actual usage, more flexible policies, and access to emergency support.

Has anyone here had better experiences with MVNOs or alternatives? And why do we seem so far behind compared to other countries?

  • Diyan Hu@discuss.tchncs.deOP
    5·
    2 days ago

    Yeah, population density gets blamed a lot — and while it explains some issues, it doesn’t justify:

    • No true pay-as-you-go (even in cities and urban areas)
    • 60+ GB minimum plans for light users
    • No public access to Text-to-911 (even when dangerous moments happen)
    • Inflexible vacation suspensions (with mandatory 30 days minimum)
    • Daily roaming access fees (yes, even with no usage, as long as a foreign tower is connected) from so called marketing such as Roger’s Roam Like Home™, Telus Easy Roam®, and Bell Roam Better

    The Big 3 hide behind geography while keeping margins high and MVNOs out.

    Who to pressure? Well… it’s basically no one at the moment.

    • CRTC says it can’t touch pricing or service terms
    • CCTS won’t challenge policies (see Section 4.3)
    • I even contacted OpenMedia, CBC, CHEK, and CTV, but it feels like shouting into a void. The mainstream Canadian media ignore such issues especially for temporary residents like me.

    Not asking for freebies — just flexible, fair options that reflect how people actually use mobile services.

    • BlameThePeacock@lemmy.caEnglish
      5·
      2 days ago

      Population density isn’t a rural issue, it’s a fixed costs issue.

      The companies are required to maintain a larger total network of towers and everyone has to pay for that, which means city users are subsidizing rural networks quite significantly.

      I’m not saying the Big 3 aren’t taking advantage of the situation, but they do have a legitimate issue.

      • Diyan Hu@discuss.tchncs.deOP
        3·
        2 days ago

        Totally fair — fixed infrastructure costs are real, and urban users likely do subsidize the broader network. But even within cities, the lack of options (like true PAYG or small data tiers) feels unnecessarily rigid.

        The issue isn’t solely about cost — it’s how little flexibility or fairness is built into the plans, even for light users.

        • BlameThePeacock@lemmy.caEnglish
          3·
          2 days ago

          Allowing light or limited plans means that they don’t have the revenue to cover the costs.

          The actual usage on the network is functionally irrelevant at this point, providers don’t save any money if people don’t use their phones as much these days. It’s almost all fixed costs which means that plans are essentially just fixed at this point too. Price points still exist only for advertising and marketing purposes, the companies are totally satisfied just getting everyone to a minimum value. The whole industry has just become a commodity but with 100% fixed costs.

          It’s not like they’re raking in stupid profits either, TELUS only had a net income of around 5% of their revenue last year.