{"id":2417,"date":"2020-05-20T23:54:54","date_gmt":"2020-05-21T05:54:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernfimily.com\/?p=2417"},"modified":"2021-01-29T18:22:54","modified_gmt":"2021-01-30T01:22:54","slug":"cheapest-internet-providers-in-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernfimily.com\/cheapest-internet-providers-in-canada\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheapest Internet Providers In Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"

Not too long ago we wrote about how Public Mobile has drastically decreased our phone bill by dropping our monthly phone plan to $5\/month<\/a>.\u00a0 Today we are going to tackle another monthly reoccurring bill that most people are overpaying for: internet.<\/p>\n

How Much Do You Pay For Your Monthly Internet?<\/h2>\n

I’m going to take a guess that you are currently with a larger, well known, internet provider such as Shaw, Bell, Rogers, or Telus if you’re reading this from Canada.\u00a0 Do you spend $50?\u00a0 $100?\u00a0 $150???\u00a0 While there is nothing wrong with the service of these providers, you’re likely paying a premium to have your internet be supplied by these larger companies.<\/p>\n

Did you know the Canadian Radio-television and Telecom Commissions (CRTC), which is part of the Government of Canada, is trying to foster more competitive rates across Canada<\/a>?\u00a0 How so you ask?<\/p>\n

Independent Service Providers (ISPs)<\/p>\n

“To foster competition at the wholesale level, the CRTC requires that large companies sell access to their networks under specific terms and conditions. Service providers use this access, with their own networks, to offer Internet and other services to their own retail customers. In other words, independent service providers are wholesale customers of large cable and telephone companies.”<\/p>\n

This is huge<\/strong>! What this means is that smaller competitors are able to come in and utilize the existing networks at rates far below the big boys.\u00a0 Meaning the service is the SAME.\u00a0 These ISPs must buy access to infrastructure owned by former monopoly carriers at wholesale rates set by the CRTC.\u00a0 Sure they may not have as many brick and mortar offices, or staff in general, but this is what allows them to keep their costs low AND the service you receive when you plug in to your wall is the same service<\/strong> you’ll get from the big guys.\u00a0 The benefit to consumers is clear – lower wholesale rates means lower retail prices and more network investments from competitors.\u00a0 Understand this concept an you’re golden.<\/span><\/p>\n

The big boys are hurting as their days of running a monopoly are over and they are being forced to expand their loyalty department to try and keep you on board by lowering your rate if you threaten to leave.\u00a0 Here here!<\/p>\n

Back in August 2019 the federal telecom regulator significantly lowered wholesale rates that smaller internet resellers pay to access broadband network infrastructure built by major providers.\u00a0 Now of course, the big guys aren’t going to just sit back and let competition in without putting up a fight.\u00a0 Unfortunately the big players are trying to fight back and now frozen wholesale rates are forcing some of Canada’s smaller ISPs to hike prices (by ~$5\/month)<\/a>.\u00a0 Don’t let this scare you away, the rates from the ISPs are still considerably cheaper. This interview<\/a> with TekSavvy’s VP of Privacy and Consumer Legal Affairs explains the details even further.<\/p>\n

Our Real Life Example<\/h2>\n

We were right there with you, we didn’t know about these smaller players in town and went for one of the big guys in our area – Telus.<\/p>\n

We were with Telus for ~3 years paying $50\/month originally which eventually creeped up to $79\/month for the same 10 mbps service as they occasionally would bump up rates for no apparent reason.\u00a0 Talk about frustrating!\u00a0 After the last hike from $74 to $79 for the same exact plan, I had enough.\u00a0 It was time to look for other options.<\/p>\n

After doing a Google search, it appeared that TekSavvy and Lightspeed were two low cost competitors available in our area outside of Calgary.\u00a0 In late 2019 we ended up choosing Lightspeed which is a wholesale provider of Telus and Shaw aka the same service as the big guys but for a fraction of the cost<\/strong>! We are now paying $34\/month (including tax) for 30 mbps cable internet versus our previous plan mentioned above with Telus was at 10 mbps for $79.\u00a0 A faster speed at a lower cost, what a concept?!<\/p>\n

Once the switch was made, I called Telus to cancel our service. They were desperately trying to keep us as customers and asked what we were quoted from the other company and offered to reduce our $79\/month bill to $30\/month (taxes included) if we signed up for a 2 year plan.\u00a0 Crazy what a simple phone call will do.<\/p>\n

We had already committed to Lightspeed and bought a modem with them (we had the option to rent or buy, we chose to buy) but it was tempting to consider Telus’ counter since it was a few bucks cheaper and everything was already all setup.\u00a0 However, since Telus slowly crept up the price on us in the past we didn’t have faith that the bill would remain at $30\/month for the next two years.\u00a0 After speaking to a friend about this, they mentioned how unless you get that price documented in writing vs a verbal agreement, Telus will very likely slowly add in additional fees over the course of that 2 year commitment that you’re on the hook for.<\/p>\n

And how are we finding Lightspeed? So far so good! No complaints at all and our bank accounts are thanking us for the switch.\u00a0 Our modem arrived in the mail within a few days and a tech came out to our house (free of charge) the next day to install everything and ensure our modem and router were working properly.\u00a0 The only other time we interacted with their customer service team was to set up auto pay and both interactions were quick and painless.\u00a0 We are more than happy with the 30 mbps speed as we aren’t gamers or downloading large documents or streaming multiple devices for hours on end (and its faster than what we had in the past). There’s no contract so we can make changes at any time without incurring any fees.\u00a0 And the price can’t be beat!<\/p>\n

Like Public Mobile<\/a>, we are in no way sponsored or affiliated with Lightspeed.\u00a0 We simply are trying to shed some light on how to lower your monthly internet bills.<\/p>\n

If you do end up making the switch over to Lightspeed yourself, you can use our referral code 50618<\/strong> to receive $10 off when you sign up (which typically processes after your account has been in good standing for 90 days).\u00a0 You can learn more about Lightspeed’s referral program here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ole Faithful<\/h2>\n

Now if you want nothing to do with the smaller independent service providers you aren’t totally out of luck.\u00a0 While the bigger players tend to be more expensive and try to lock you in for a set duration (i.e. 2 years), you likely can find a good rate if you are willing to lock in for a set term.\u00a0 Typically they will lower the rates of the first 6 months too.\u00a0 These larger companies are feeling the burn from the competitiveness of the smaller guys so it’s always worth calling their customer retention team every few months with some research ammo in hand to see if they will lower your rate even further (set a reminder to pop up on your phone every 4-6 months).\u00a0 They likely will throw in some sort of perk or reduced payment to try and keep your pennies.<\/p>\n

From what I’ve found, Bell and Rogers tend to cover eastern Canada and Telus and Shaw are the big wigs out west and then of course Sasktel runs shop in SK.\u00a0 Here’s a list of the best rates I’ve been able to find from the bigger players out there offering at a minimum 10 mbps (note sometimes I am required to put in a specific address so these may be rates for my home in particular or some made up address)<\/p>\n