Yep, even trying to “vote with your wallet” doesn’t help. Fizz couldn’t even port my number due to technical issues — no working eSIM, no service, and refund still pending. They do allow limited refunds within a trial period (15 days, once per year), but that didn’t stop the headache. Public Mobile worked but wasn’t great either. The issue runs deeper than just price.

I agree that most Canadian plans aren’t great unless you’re a heavy user. I actually use very little talk and SMS — mostly just for 2FA and phone verification for apps.

That said, Fizz didn’t work for me at all. They failed to initiate the porting process due to technical issues on their end. I never received a working eSIM, and even though I requested a refund (they allow it with limited cases, such as within the 15-day trial window and only once per year), it’s still pending ticket resolution. No service was ever usable.

I also tried Public Mobile, and while it technically worked, the overall experience and value still didn’t meet my needs.

Just putting this out there in case anyone else is considering these providers — your mileage may vary.

Totally fair — fixed infrastructure costs are real, and urban users likely do subsidize the broader network. But even within cities, the lack of options (like true PAYG or small data tiers) feels unnecessarily rigid.

The issue isn’t solely about cost — it’s how little flexibility or fairness is built into the plans, even for light users.

Yeah, population density gets blamed a lot — and while it explains some issues, it doesn't justify:

• No true pay-as-you-go (even in cities and urban areas)
• 60+ GB minimum plans for light users
• No public access to Text-to-911 (even when dangerous moments happen)
• Inflexible vacation suspensions (with mandatory 30 days minimum)
• Daily roaming access fees (yes, even with no usage, as long as a foreign tower is connected) from so called marketing such as Roger's Roam Like Home™, Telus Easy Roam®, and Bell Roam Better

The Big 3 hide behind geography while keeping margins high and MVNOs out.

Who to pressure? Well...... it's basically no one at the moment.

• CRTC says it can’t touch pricing or service terms
• CCTS won’t challenge policies (see Section 4.3)
• I even contacted OpenMedia, CBC, CHEK, and CTV, but it feels like shouting into a void. The mainstream Canadian media ignore such issues especially for temporary residents like me.

Not asking for freebies — just flexible, fair options that reflect how people actually use mobile services.