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:
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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.
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Vacation suspensions are restricted or unavailable unless you upgrade to expensive plans and limited to a minimum of 30 days.
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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.
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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?
The options suck because there is no real competition, simple as that.
What the carriers actually care about is average revenue per customer (ARPU), so you will find that no matter the “deal” you get, you will be paying about the same minimum cost regardless of carrier at the same level. This is about $70/mo for Telus/Rogers/Bell, and $35/mo for their discount brands Koodo/Fido/Virgin. All that really changes is the amount of data you get, which they can easily give more of since the data itself is practically free. The only reason that these companies would ever do anything to deviate from the status quo is if a new company came in and challenged them, or they were legislated to change their policies, otherwise all they care about is maximizing revenues for shareholders.
Yep, even trying to “vote with your wallet” doesn’t help. Fizz couldn’t even port my number due to technical issues — no working eSIM, no service, and refund still pending. They do allow limited refunds within a trial period (15 days, once per year), but that didn’t stop the headache. Public Mobile worked but wasn’t great either. The issue runs deeper than just price.