Why do Quebec residents always get more plans and promos to choose from?

[Korth_]

Quebec residents (almost) always have more plans and more promos available to choose from.

Everyone else in Canada (almost) always has fewer plans and fewer promos available to choose from.

I can understand the reasons for why it used to be this way - why it "always" was this way - the complicated and "special" deference, concessions, rulings the CRTC historically gave Quebec. But I can't understand why it's still a thing anymore. All the Telus subsidiaries (indeed, all Big Three brands and subsidiaries) have streamlined their offerings into the same collection of more or less identical plans, prices, and provisions. All the technical barriers are gone, all the legal barriers are gone, no more single-province exceptions need to be made.

Why do Quebec subscribers continue to receive different treatment from everyone else in Canada?

QCAB, BC, MB, NB, NL, NS, NT, NU, ON, PE, SK, YT

[Korth_]

---

@softech wrote:

Videotron and Fizz are the main reasons

Fizz is coming West now and see if it will make any difference in BC 

Why are Quebec cell phone plans cheaper?

Prices from major carriers including Fido, Koodo, and Virgin Mobile are cheaper in Quebec due to the presence of strong competition from Videotron. Our data tracking team typically sees plans offered by these three carriers that have comparable talk time and data packs cost $5 per month less than in other parts of the country. Even premium cell phone service providers like Bell, Telus, and Rogers offer plans for $10 less, although they typically include a lower data cap

---

Fizz and Videotron are both owned by Quebecor. Who also also owns Wind/Freedom, or whatever's left of Freedom after Shaw and Rogers gutted it. (Rogers apparently sold Freedom rather than completely absorb/destroy it because they don't want to eliminate a "competitor" from the market.)

Videotron and Rogers Wireless formed a 20-year network sharing agreement in 2013 (and the CRTC ruled that the deal is still valid when it was challenged by Roger's sale of Freedom to Quebecor in 2023). Part of this agreement specifies that Videotron will use the Rogers LTE network in BC and AB but also cannot deploy its own LTE network in those provinces for the duration.

So Quebecor already has remnants (and spectrum licenses) from the Freedom network "zones" in Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary metro areas, along with a scattering of small by-the-road deployments. And Quebecor owns Videotron which is offers shared network coverage but is prohibited from building an LTE network in BC and AB. And Quebecor owns Fizz - or rather, is inventing and positioning Fizz as its "flanker" brand, or so sources say - but Fizz has no actual presence anywhere aside from a website where people can sign up to order SIMs and design their plans on a beta pilot program. Fizz might be a huge thing or Fizz might be vaporware. And Quebecor owns three subsidiaries which are forced (by various agreements and restrictions) to compete with each other? I don't see a real challenge which will disrupt the market, I see a lot of excited hype and a tenuous mess which is basically evolving into a Rogers-network MVNO. I hope I'm wrong ... but it seems to me that Quebecor is a little piranha nibbling at leftovers while Rogers is the biggest whale in the ocean.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_network_operators_in_Canada

https://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/cancellsites.html

[HALIMACS]

@softech 

I believe it is correlated.

Politics absolutely drives the market the same as market drives politics.

There has always been a softer approach with Quebec, not just with mobile service plans.

Why is that?

[softech]

@Korth_ 

Videotron and Fizz are the main reasons

Fizz is coming West now and see if it will make any difference in BC 

https://www.whistleout.ca/CellPhones/Guides/Best-Cell-Phone-Plans-in-Quebec#:~:text=Why%20are%20Queb....

Why are Quebec cell phone plans cheaper?

Prices from major carriers including Fido, Koodo, and Virgin Mobile are cheaper in Quebec due to the presence of strong competition from Videotron. Our data tracking team typically sees plans offered by these three carriers that have comparable talk time and data packs cost $5 per month less than in other parts of the country. Even premium cell phone service providers like Bell, Telus, and Rogers offer plans for $10 less, although they typically include a lower data cap

[Korth_]

---

@softech wrote:

The market is just different from the rest of the country 

---

I was trying to ask "why"?

They have the same networks, the same technologies, the same brands, the same licensing auctions, the same humans paying the same money for the same phone calls and texts and data.

If anything, they would have to pay a little bit more than us because of the ancillary expenses associated with translating all that American and Euro tech stuff from very-global-international English to not-quite-as-international French.

So I see no technical barriers preventing the same plans and same prices from being available on all across Canada in and out of Quebec.

[softech]

hi @HALIMACS I have to repeat, this is nothing political with this but just competition. The market is just different from the rest of the country 

[Korth_]

I am forced to agree. Sadly. Canada is two great nations. And one of them gets preferential treatment.

[HALIMACS · Accepted solution]

@Korth_ 

you are certainly broaching a subject which is purely political.

There’s nothing more to it.

But you’ll never get that spoken by any of the mobile service providers, nor any political body.

[Korth_]

---

@softech wrote:

Why Quebec get a bigger selection of plans and cheaper plans?  nothing to do with politics but Competition.  And it is not a PM's or Telus' thing, other carriers offer a different plans to Quebec residents due to competition as well

---

We know the "competition" is really an oligopoly run by the Big Three oligarchs.

Even so, Public Mobile and its "competitors" do indeed offer greater selection and lower prices in Quebec. All of them offer greater selection and lower prices in Quebec. None of them do it outside Quebec.

Why is it this way? And why must it stay this way? Has nobody ever demanded real answers or challenged this privileged status quo before?

I'm sure Canadians in twelve of Canada's thirteen provinces/territories would be interested in having access to those plans and those prices ... or proper explanations and answers about why they must be denied those plans and those prices.

[softech]

just to add,

they do have other regional offer due to competition before, too.  PM has given extra add-on bonus copule years ago to West Coast customers in response to some other promos offers from Shaw.   

I do agree we need more competition in Canada to help to bring price down.  I was always happy seeing CRTC giving more licenses out and some new players joined, but said to see these small carriers eventually got bought back by the Big 3.   

[softech]

@Korth_ 

getting a Quebec phone number won't let you access to Quebec plan.  In fact, choosing phone number comes AFTER a payment is made during activation.

To get a Quebec plan, you will need a credit card that links to a Quebec address

Why Quebec get a bigger selection of plans and cheaper plans?  nothing to do with politics but Competition.  And it is not a PM's or Telus' thing, other carriers offer a different plans to Quebec residents due to competition as well

[Handy1]

@Korth_  I think if one to do as you suggest they would have to keep that Quebec number because the tax rate and plan rates are determined by the area code . And there’s also the problem of the credit card you use needs to have a Quebec postal code attached to it 

[Korth_]

Yes, well I think it's fair to say Quebec's privileged status does not make them very popular with the rest of Canada.

But that's a political debate I'd rather not ignite or fuel here. This forum is not for that, other forums (like reddit) are for that.

I just want to know why Public Mobile gives Quebec residents those offers and does not give the rest of Canada those offers.

Unless I'm given factual reasons why it won't work, I am going advise my future referrals to activate numbers on Quebec plans from now on - since they are consistently more for the money or same for less money - then port their BC-based numbers to them. And I'll recommend the same to anyone on this forum who asks about the best plans and promos. If Public Mobile (Telus) offers better deals to some customers then I don't see any reason a savvy customer should choose to be one the wrong side of that deal. All it takes is changing your region to Quebec on Public Mobile's website (or in your VPN, if Public Mobile wants to try stepping into that minefield, lol).

[Handy1]

@Korth_  It’s always been this way Quebec gets better deals . Worst part  is all the plans are Canada wide calling and it’s 2024 these plans should be offered to everyone across Canada not just one province that has repeatedly threatened to separate from Canada and gets better deals but cry’s wolf when they have ice storms and need rest of country to bail them out . I say let em separate and with any luck the maritimes will become  the 51 state of America . Then we have cheaper everything here in the maritimes and most importantly some pride 

[HALIMACS]

@Korth_ 

Quebec is a consumer protection market - this would be one step above the socialist or former socialist market of SK when SaskTel was thing.

The capitalist will always sell the idea of competition while buying up the competition and creating a monopoly. 

The Quebec way is to protect the Quebecois by ensuring their success so CEGEP before university etc when CEGEP is public and free ensuring you get a skill before you reach University etc.

Protect Quebecois, you protect Quebec sovereignty!