Discount wireless brand Fizz expanding to four provinces
Quebecor Inc.'s Fizz is expanding to Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and B.C. through a framework that allows regional cellphone providers to compete across Canada using networks built by its larger rivals.
The flanker — a term commonly used to describe discount brands owned by major carriers — says it will offer introductory plans starting at $14 a month in certain regions of those four provinces.
Since launching in 2018 as a discount carrier in Quebec, Fizz has served as Quebecor's alternative to its traditional wireless carrier Videotron.
The expansion outside Quebec follows a four-month trial. Fizz says new customers in the four provinces will be able to keep their plans and rates for as long as they like, as the company is promising “no end dates” and “no haggling ” on its part.
It's also planning to extend its reach to more towns and regions of those provinces within a few months, with the goal of eventually offering service to 90 per cent of the Canadian population.
The expanded service will, in part, operate using Quebecor's current infrastructure, which exists in mostly urban areas of Ontario, Alberta and B.C.
In less dense regions of those provinces, as well as Manitoba — where the company has not built its own network — the service will operate through rival carriers' networks under Canada's mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) framework.
In 2021, the CRTC announced a policy allowing regional providers to compete as MVNOS using networks built by large companies. Then in May of last year, the federal telecommunications regulator ordered major carriers to negotiate access agreements to their networks.
The CRTC said the move was meant to increase cellphone competition, giving regional carriers a presence in parts of Canada they did not previously serve. Regional competitors are required to then build their own networks in those areas within seven years as part of the framework.
Martin Gendron, general manager of Fizz, said the expansion's trial run allowed the company to test cellphone coverage when transitioning from one network to another. He said Fizz made minor tweaks to ensure the process is seamless.
“Outside the urban areas, we are using the other incumbents' networks and it works fine,” Gendron said in an interview. “It's definitely an enabler for us to expand across Canada.”