As I mentioned during this month's MUUG round table meeting:
I have recently switched 2 of my family's mobile cell phone lines to Fizz Mobile and I am loving them so far!
fizz.ca
Cell Phone Plans in Manitoba | Fizz <#>
Discover Fizz customizable mobile plans for Manitoba. Adapt yours based on your needs and budget. Plus, you get rewards on day 1.
🔗 https://fizz.ca/en/mobile/manitoba?ADDONS%5B0%5D=18&CVRG=108&DATA=23... https://fizz.ca/en/mobile/manitoba?ADDONS[0]=18&CVRG=108&DATA=231&PLAN=1&SMS=223&VOICE=90&WIZARD=mobile
I had mentioned that Quebecor was delaying bringing their Freedom Mobile brand to Manitoba (in favour of launching their own Fizz Mobile brand here first), but it looks like I missed their official new Freedom launch!
Quebecor has now officially launched their Freedom mobile brand (which they acquired from Shaw during the recent Rogers/Shaw merger) to Manitoba as of May 23, 2024!
https://www.freedommobile.ca/en-CA/article-freedom-manitoba
"At launch Freedom is offering customers in Manitoba a deep discount on its 10GB Canada-U.S. mobile plan which is available for $14.50 per month ($29 reg.) for six months."
You can view the Freedom plans for Manitoba here:
www.freedommobile.ca
Cell Phone Plans Winnipeg (Manitoba) | Freedom Mobile <#>
Discover Freedom Mobile's cell phone plans in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
🔗 https://www.freedommobile.ca/en-CA/manitoba/plans https://www.freedommobile.ca/en-CA/manitoba/plans
I still think their Fizz Mobile brand offers greater flexibility with: - data rollover, - data gifting, - generous perks (like free unlimited data days and additional free data every month), - the ability to change your plan every month to fit exactly what you need, - and it has slightly lower overall prices for <= 10 GB data plans.
But you can't go wrong with either company compared to what the big 3 (Bell, Rogers, and Telus) are charging us here in Manitoba.
*If you do decide that you want to try Fizz Mobile, don't forget to use my referral code "16KPK" to get a $25 credit (for both you and me!) during your second month of membership.*
If anyone has any questions about my experience with Fizz, just ask away.
It worked flawlessly in the US during my recent trip to Huntsville, Alabama and I haven't had any issues with it in the Winnipeg area so far.
For reliability and full coverage (especially in Winnipeg and Manitoba), the real question is, whose cell towers is Quebecor/Freedom/Fizz using? Unless they have a deal with Rogers or Bell, it won't work. Even Telus uses Bell towers in some parts of Canada.
Orascom/Wind only had a small collection of their own towers in Toronto and Vancouver (with very poor coverage even in those two cities), and when Shaw bought Wind (and renamed it to Freedom), they only added Calgary and Edmonton, since Shaw didn't want to be shamed in their own home turf.
Well, I should qualify my original "unless" above, with, unless they have (and spend) the billions of dollars it would take to duplicate the Rogers and Bell physical networks.
Hartmut
On Wed 05 Jun 2024 at 02:17:54 -05:00, Bradford Vokey brad@fsi.ca wrote:
On 2024-06-05 11:29 p.m., Hartmut W Sager wrote:
Quebecor (Freedom/Fizz) is an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) in Manitoba.
Last year, the CRTC implemented MVNO agreements that allow regional wireless providers (like Quebecor) to access the networks of the country’s telecom giants, such as Rogers, Bell, and Telus.
From my understanding, in Manitoba Fizz uses Rogers towers when available and then switches to Bell (and/or Telus) towers if it can't get a signal from Rogers.
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/quebecor-expanding-discount-wireless-brand...
Here is the article that led me to believe that their Freedom launch was going to be delayed in Manitoba: https://mobilesyrup.com/2024/04/23/quebecor-kills-manitoba-expansion-blames-...
But after reading more carefully, (and seeing that they have now actually launched their Freedom brand in Manitoba), it appears they are just delaying launching their larger data plans (> 20GB) as the MVNO rates for lots of data are currently too expensive for them here.
Until they do actually build out their own network in Manitoba (or even if they eventually don't) I will continue to enjoy Fizz's lower cell phone rates while they last. I can always switch back to the big 3 if the MVNO experiment fails.
In my personal experience, staying "loyal" to Bell and Rogers/Shaw, and not switching providers (or at least threatening their "loyalty department" to do so) has only cost me money over the years. At the very least, these new lower cost plans from Fizz and Freedom should give you more negotiating power when re-negotiating your contract with Rogers/Bell/Telus (and their flanker brands Fido/Virgin/Koodo) if you do want to remain loyal to them.
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Bradford Vokey -
Hartmut W Sager