Tag: Fido

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Fido increased some plan prices by $2/mo

Rogers flanker Fido joined Telus’ Koodo in increasing several of its plans by $2/mo.

Like Koodo, Fido now charges more for its 15GB and 20GB  plans, as well as its unlimited talk and text plan. However, unlike Koodo, Fido offers a $5/mo automatic payments discount and inflates the cost of its plans so that you pay the same as other providers when you use the discount. That means the 15GB plan costs $67/mo at Fido and $62/mo with the auto-pay discount — Koodo just charges $62 for its version of the plan and doesn’t offer an auto-pay discount.

Similarly, Fido charges $72/mo for the 20GB plan or $67/mo with auto-pay. As for the unlimited talk and text plan, Fido charges an absurd $40/mo for the plan ($35/mo with auto-pay).

Fido increased the cost of some plans as of April 12th, 2023

It’s worth noting that the unlimited talk and text plans cost $30/mo in January 2022 and $27/mo in August 2022, thanks to a promotion. Since then, the cost of unlimited talk and text has steadily increased, though Canadians can still get similar plans for about $25/mo at other providers. Bell’s Virgin Plus kicked off this round of unlimited talk and text price increases by upping its plan by $1/mo to $34, but Koodo and Fido have gone further.

This latest round of price increases at the flanker brands will be particularly frustrating, coming after a period of relatively decent deals. Just last week, Fido, Koodo and Virgin Plus wrapped up double data and $10/mo credit offers that, combined, allowed Canadians to get $55/mo 30GB and $50/mo 20GB plans. Before that, Canadians could get $45/mo 50GB plans from the providers during Black Friday.

Though it likely goes without saying, you should probably hold off on getting a new phone or plan for now. Wait for the next deal because these newly increased prices frankly aren’t worth your money. In other rate hike-related news, Koodo recently increased the cost of several plan prices by $2.

Source: Fido

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Mobile Syrup

Today is the last day to get $60/20GB and $65/30GB plans

It looks like today will be the last day to take advantage of double data deals at Koodo, Fido and Virgin Plus.

Both Koodo and Fido have added notices to their respective websites warning that the double data bonuses offered for roughly the last month will end on April 3rd, 2023. Virgin Plus hasn’t added an end date to its website yet, but historically the three providers move in lockstep, and I expect Virgin will drop the offers within a few days of Koodo and Fido ending them.

As a quick refresher, the plans in question were a $60/mo 20GB plan (usually 10GB) and a $65/mo 30GB plan (usually 15GB). There was also a $10/mo credit for 24 months available to bring-your-own-phone (BYOP) customers.

Moreover, Koodo appears to have already ended the $10/mo credit offered to BYOP customers. Fido and Virgin both still offer the credit, however.

Virgin and Koodo kicked off the double data deal at the end of February, and Fido matched the deal a day later. Over the first couple weeks of March, Virgin, then Koodo, and finally Fido added the $10/mo credit.

It’s a real bummer to see the deals go away. $55/mo for 30GB of data isn’t bad, and it’s the best offer we’ve seen since the $45/50GB deal over Black Friday. Until we see another decent offer from these providers, it’s probably best to hold off on switching or upgrading.

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Mobile Syrup

Fido increasing internet rates by $3/mo for some customers

Rogers flanker brand Fido warned some customers that their internet service price will increase by $3 plus tax.

According to a post on Reddit by ‘u/WSJ_pilot,’ Fido tucked a notice about the incoming increase at the end of internet bills. u/WSJ_pilot shared a picture of the notice, which says:

“On the date of your first bill after February 12th, 2023, the monthly service fee for your Internet package as shown on this bill will increase by $3 plus taxes.”

Fido internet price increase | Image credit: u/WSJ_pilot

The notice goes on to say that customers with active discounts will still get those discounts. As usual with Canadian carriers, discounts apply to whatever the base cost of the plan is, and companies remain free to change that as much as they want.

It’s not clear how widespread the price hike is. MobileSyrup reached out to Rogers for more details about the change.

Source: Reddit ‘WSJ_pilot’

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Now you can save $10/mo for 24 months on Fido’s 30GB plan

Over the weekend, Rogers flanker brand Fido joined Koodo and Virgin Plus in offering a $10/mo discount for 24 months on its $70/mo 30GB promo plan.

This is the latest move in a long-running back-and-forth game of promotions that started back in February, with Virgin and Koodo doubling the data on their 10GB and 15GB plans to 20GB and 30GB. Fido followed suit, then Virgin added a $10/mo for 24 months bill credit to the plans, bringing them down from $60 and $65 to $50 and $55 dollars. Koodo and Fido rolled out matching offers for the $50/20GB plan, and then Koodo added the credit to the 30GB plan too. Finally, Fido has caught up with its own discounted 30GB plan.

Unfortunately, things are a bit different with Fido. The Rogers flanker brand recently added a $5/mo discount for those who sign up for automatic payments, but also increased the cost of its plans by $5 around the same time. So to get the $55/mo 30GB deal from Fido, you need to sign up for automatic payments too.

Fido’s 20GB and 30GB plans with a $10/mo credit offer, as of March 13th, 2023.

The plan in question is normally $70/mo before discounts and includes 15GB of data. Again, thanks to multiple layers of promotions, it’s now 30GB for $55/mo.

Fido still has the $50/20GB plan available for those who don’t need 30GB. It’s not clear how long the deals will last, however, so you may want to move quickly to get it. You can view Fido’s plans here.

Along with the above deals, Fido ran a small promotion offering customers one day of free roaming after Virgin and Koodo announced price increases for their roaming packages.

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Mobile Syrup

Save $10/mo for 24 months on Fido’s 20GB plan

Rogers flanker brand Fido joined Virgin and Koodo in offering a $10/mo credit for 24 months on select BYOP plans – well, on one plan, at least.

Like Koodo, Fido is offering the credit on its $65/mo 20GB plan and, when combined with Fido’s $5/mo automatic payments discount, brings the cost of the plan down to match the $50/20GB plan offered by Virgin and Koodo. To get the credit, you’ll need to add promo code ‘FIDOPROMO10’ when selecting your plan.

Unfortunately, the offer is only for BYOP plans and is only available online.

While it’s good to see Fido getting on this deal train, it’s worth noting that it’s got the worst offer of the three flanker brands unless you sign up for automatic payments. Moreover, only Virgin has the $55/mo 30GB option — both Fido and Koodo charge $65 for that plan.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that Fido, Koodo and Virgin all currently have a limited-time double-data deal going on. It’s not clear when the offer will end, so you may want to act fast. Oh, and Fido (as well as Rogers) are picking a fight over roaming charges by offering customers a free day of roaming while Telus, Koodo, Bell and Virgin up roaming costs.

You can learn more on Fido’s website.

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Mobile Syrup

Rogers offering Fido customers special $69.99/mo 1.5Gbps internet plan

Rogers is offering some Fido customers (including myself) an exclusive deal on Rogers Ignire Internet.

Per an email I received from Fido, the offer includes 1.5 Gigabit internet for $69.99/mo for 24 months. The price includes a $55/mo credit, and the price would go up to $124.99 after the two-year discount period. Rogers advertises this as $1,320 in savings over two years.

The Ignite plan in question offers download and upload speeds of up to 1.5Gbps, along with unlimited use.

Rogers Ignite internet offer for Fido customers.

Digging into the fine print for the offer, it’s available until April 22, 2023 to “eligible existing customers where access/technology permits.” Moreover, the fine print warns that the credit will apply toward the current price during the promotional period, and that price may increase during the promo period.

There’s also a $39 ‘Ignite Express Setup Fee,’ but the fine print warns of an additional “$110 Pro Install Add-On fee” that applies to fibre-to-the-home addresses.

To claim the offer, eligible customers have to call the number provided in the email. If you’re with Fido, keep an eye out for a similar offer landing in your inbox.

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Mobile Syrup

Virgin Plus still offering $10/mo Lunar New Year discount

Koodo, Virgin Plus, and Fido logos on smartphones.

Last week, MobileSyrup detailed Koodo’s plan to remove its $10/mo Lunar New Year discount on February 14th. Now that the 14th is behind us, Koodo has dropped the discount. So has Rogers flanker brand Fido, though Bell’s Virgin Plus still offers the discount, for now.

Fido’s website has removed the Lunar New Year discount from the plan page and the listed plans no longer show the discount. As a refresher, customers could save $10/mo for 12 months with the Lunar New Year deal. It appears Fido removed the offer at the same time as Koodo.

Fido plans with no Lunar New Year deal (as of Feb. 15th)

Meanwhile, Virgin Plus still lists the $10/mo discount on its website. Virgin says the deal is a “limited time offer” but there’s no end date listed. It’s not clear how long the discount will stick around.

Virgin Plus plans as of Feb. 15th.

The deal is available on the following plans:

  • $55/mo 8GB ($45 after discount)
  • $60/mo 10GB ($50 after discount)
  • $65/mo 15GB ($55 after discount)

If you want to take advantage of the Lunar New Year deal, you’ll want to move fast.

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Mobile Syrup

Understanding the differences between Canadian wireless providers

Most Canadians know the Big Three carriers — Rogers, Bell and Telus.

But for those who only think about their carrier when its time for a phone upgrade (or those who aren’t avid MobileSyrup readers), it might come as a surprise to know that most wireless service providers in Canada are owned by the Big Three. Even if you know that, figuring out the differences between, say, Rogers, Fido, and Chatr can be tough.

So here’s everything you need to know about the differences between Canada’s wireless providers, though this isn’t an exhaustive list of every provider operating in Canada (it’s also worth noting many of these brands offer other services, like internet or cable TV, but we’re going to focus on wireless).

National providers

First up, the national providers. These are your Big Three, Rogers Bell and Telus. If you have cell service in Canada, you’re probably using one of these three or a provider owned by one of these three. Unless you want to dig into the technical nitty-gritty, there isn’t a lot that’s different between the Big Three carriers and, in all the ways that matter to most Canadians (like price), they’re effectively the same.

What makes the national providers stand apart from the others on this list is that they offer 5G services (most of the others cap out at 4G or 3G), service bundles (such as family discounts if you have multiple lines, or discounts if you have multiple services with one provider), and they’re also the most expensive.

Here are some of the things you can get with the Big Three that might not be at other providers:

  • Plans starting around $85/mo and up
  • 5G/5G+
  • “Unlimited” data (what you actually get is a data cap at a set speed, and then unlimited usage throttled at a maximum speed of 512Kbps)
  • Speed caps of 250Mbps to 1Gbps, depending on the plan
  • Canada/U.S. plans
  • Multi-line/multi-service bundles
  • Streaming bonuses (Bell offers Crave with some plans, Rogers offers Disney+, and Telus has a streaming bundle, though it’s also available at Koodo)

Flanker brands

Koodo, Fido, and Virgin Plus logos on smartphones.Next up, we have the flanker brands. Chances are you’ve heard of these guys: Fido (owned by Rogers), Virgin Plus (owned by Bell) and Koodo (owned by Telus). Despite looking and acting like separate entities from the Big Three, the flanker brands are very much part of the Big Three’s strategy. Moreover, they operate on the same wireless network as what’s offered by the respective Big Three carrier — in other words, if you have poor service at home with Rogers, switching to Fido probably won’t help.

The flanker brands tend to add value compared to the Big Three offerings, if you’re willing to take a hit on network performance. You might also get worse customer service with flanker brands, though your mileage may vary with that (in my experience, I’ve had better customer service from Koodo than from Telus, Bell, Rogers and Fido.)

Here are some things you’ll get with the flanker brands that you might not get from other providers:

  • Plan prices ranging from $30-$70 per month
  • Conventional data allotments with overage fees
  • Up to 4G LTE service
  • Speed caps of 100Mbps to 150Mbps (depending on provider)
  • Special perks or bonuses (Koodo’s Pick Your Perk plans, Virgin’s Member Benefits, Fido Xtra)
  • Refer a friend perks
  • CRTC-mandated ‘Starter’ plans

It’s also worth noting that at the time of writing, Koodo was the only flanker brand that hadn’t switched over to the device financing model offered by the other flanker brands and the Big Three.

Budget brands

There are several budget brands available in Canada as well that are owned by the Big Three. This includes Chatr (Rogers), Lucky Mobile (Bell) and Public Mobile (Telus). Like the flanker brands, the budget brands offer service on the Big Three networks but at a reduced price (and usually at a reduced quality, such as capping data speeds at a 3G level).

Moreover, budget brands only offer a small number of cheap phones but focus on bring-your-own-phone service, often with no-commitment plans and no credit check. While the service can be basic, it’s often cheaper than flanker brands or the Big Three.

Here are some of the things you can get with the budget brands that might not be available at other providers:

  • Plan prices ranging from $15-$70/mo
  • 3G or 4G speed (depending on the provider)
  • No credit check
  • Monthly data bonuses
  • Service credits for things like helping the community or referring a friend

Regional and other players

Finally, Canada has a variety of regional providers that are only active in certain areas of the country. Sometimes these providers also offer service that falls back on the Big Three networks if you leave their coverage region.

Regional players include providers like Freedom Mobile, Shaw Mobile, Vidéotron, Eastlink, Tbaytel, Sasktel and more. When shopping for mobile services, it’s almost always worth exploring regional options since they tend to offer lower prices than the Big Three, although service might be unreliable or restrictred outside of the regional provider’s footprint.

Most regional players offer at least 4G service, with some offering 5G as well.

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Fido plans now cost $5 more per month

Rogers flanker brand Fido appears to have raised prices for most of its plans by about $5/mo while also rolling out a $5/mo discount for those who sign up for Automatic Payments.

A recent change to Fido’s website now shows the text “After $5.00 per month Automatic Payments Discount” on several of the provider’s plans. Moreover, several plans are now listed at higher prices than they were just a few days ago. MobileSyrup documented Fido’s plans on January 21st and also on January 13th when detailing the provider’s Lunar New Year deals.

The new plan prices are as follows:

  • Talk & Text (no data) – $38/mo or $33/mo with Automatic Payments Discount (previously $33/mo)
  • 8GB – $60/mo or $55/mo with Automatic Payments Discount (previously $55/mo)
  • 10GB – $65/mo or $60/mo with Automatic Payments Discount (previously $60/mo)
  • 15GB – $70/mo or $65/mo with Automatic Payments Discount (previously $65/mo)

MobileSyrup reached out to Fido for more details about Automatic Payments and the associated discount, but the provider did not provide comment in time for publication.

Fido is still offering the $10/mo for 12 months Lunar New Year discount, but so are Koodo and Virgin Plus.

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Telecom news roundup: Bell drops 5 cents per post donation for Let’s Talk Day [Jan 7-13]

2023 is just two weeks old, but the telecom news isn’t coming in slowly. Some companies have already released Q1 financial results for the year, while others have changed the way they’ll make financial donations.

As a recap, here’s almost everything that happened in Canada’s telecom sector this week.

Business

Bell is changing its donation method for Bell Let’s Talk Day. The company typically gives five cents for every message shared on the day. But it’s now retiring the practice for a $10 million donation instead. It’s unclear why Bell went this route.

The telecom giant also rolled out 3Gbps speed and 5G+ in Atlantic Canada. The latter service is now available in Moncton, Riverview, Mount Pearl, and Halifax.

ISP TekSavvy says Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne must block Rogers’ $26-billion takeover of Shaw. Peter Nowak, the company’s spokesman, said ISPs are being “squeezed out,” and the Minister must take action.

The Competition Bureau is set to face the Federal Court of Appeal on January 24th to argue against the Competition Tribunal’s approval of Rogers’ merger with Shaw. In its original appeal, the bureau argued the tribunal should’ve solely focused on the Rogers-Shaw merger instead of Vidéotron’s commitment to acquire Freedom Mobile. The tribunal said it would’ve reached its conclusion to support the larger merger either way. In its updated appeal, the bureau said the tribunal failed to explain why that would’ve been the case.

SaskTel has launched Cloud PVR service on maxTV Stream, allowing users to record up to 300 hours of content.

The University of Waterloo is leading a group of companies and academics to create technologies that will protect Canada’s national security through 5G. École de technologie supérieure in Montréal, University of Regina, BlackBerry, NoviFlow, Rockport Networks and Rogers are part of the consortium.

Shaw reported adding 12,000 new wireless prepaid customers in the first quarter of 2023. However, the company’s overall revenue decreased.

Cogeco also released its Q1 financial results for the year, bringing in $762 million in revenue. Despite the revenue increase, the company projects growth will slow this year.

The House of Common’s industry and technology committee will hold a second hearing on Rogers’ merger with Shaw, according to The Globe and Mail. 

Deals

Public Mobile is offering new customers 5GB of bonus data per month for eight months. Read the details here.

Koodo and Virgin have increased the cost of their unlimited talk and text plans to $33/ month. This is a significant price increase, considering the plans used to close $27 back in August 2022.

Fido has discounted some of its plans by $10/month for Lunar New Year. More specifics are available here.