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49-404: Inukshuk Internet, a predecessor to Inukshuk Wireless, was originally formed in 1999. Inukshuk was acquired by Microcell in 2001, which was acquired by Rogers in 2004. The spectrum and technology was merged into the joint venture with Bell in 2005. Until November 7, 2008, Bell Internet Portable was referred to as Sympatico High Speed Unplugged or Bell WiMAX Unplugged. Likewise, Bell Internet Rural

98-554: A BlackBerry , feature phone , mobile broadband modem , or smartphone . Unlimited mobile Internet access is only available on feature phones. It is no longer possible to pay per month for such access, as only daily and weekly Internet add-ons are unlimited. Smartphone add-ons, except for those BlackBerry-related, can be used on a feature phone. Smartphones can browse the Internet with a tiered add-on. This includes 100  MB for CA$ 10 and 2  GB for CA$ 25 . If this allowance

147-460: A $ 10/month plan (50 minutes/50 texts) from August 2018 until March 2019 which was discontinued by June 2019, after which the cheapest plan was instead $ 15 for 100 minutes / unlimited texts. Announced 22 May 2019, on 22 June 2019 is a scheduled changed to the terms of service so that inactive accounts (and their sim cards) would expire after 90 days inactivity instead of the previous policy of allowing 180 days inactivity before pruning them. Money on

196-503: A cost of $ 35 per month and are available in ten select CityFido zones throughout Canada. Unlimited features included incoming calls, outgoing local calls , international SMS text messages and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service while inside any CityFido zone. In January 2016, Fido announced the termination of the FidoDOLLARS program. The earning of FidoDOLLARS ends on or shortly after April 6, 2016, for non-term monthly plans, and ends at

245-570: A customers received 4% (previously 5% before September 6, 2012) of the pre-tax total in FidoDOLLARS. This currency would be used towards the purchase of a new device, purchase add-ons such as premium voicemail to text ( CA$ 4 ), name display ( CA$ 2 ) or #auto ( CA$ 5 ) for a total of two months. As well as they were used to purchase travel packs as long as you had the full amount of fido dollars to do so. Prepaid customers would also use their FidoDOLLARS to purchase top-up credits. FidoDollars had no cash value and were non-transferable, except when transferring

294-514: A jumping dog and saying "regrettably, only from Fido". As of 2017, the tagline is "Go get it." Fido pioneered the concept of providing unlimited service in select Canadian cities. Fido was the first carrier in Canada to launch a GSM -based network and the first wireless service provider in North America to offer General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) on its network. The original development of Fido

343-454: A new device if interested as well as how much of the device cost they like to pay upfront. Device costs are spread out over a 2-year term. This means that user has to pay a fixed amount for their new device over the term. Once the term expires, monthly payment will decrease to the rate plan portion of the payment that has been made. Fido offers several plans and add-ons for customers wishing to access Internet content via its mobile network using

392-715: A nickname (for example, "The Performer" or "The Steal") until its rebranding in 2015. SIM cards from Chatr (available in Mini , Micro , and Nano sizes) are compatible with any GSM or HSPA+ device, such as those designed to be used with Rogers Wireless . This includes devices from Rogers itself, plus its mobile virtual network operators such as Fido and 7-Eleven Speak Out Wireless . Around June 2017, many retailers stopped advertising Chatr's $ 10 SIM card, and began offering it for sale online at Chatr's SIM card page. Several controversies regarding Chatr received mainstream media coverage. The company received two accusations of breaching

441-547: A pre-tax Fido monthly bill when combined with one or more Rogers services, but Fido is now listed as a "service[] that do[es]n't qualify for the Better Choices Bundles Program". Couples plans were replaced by Circle Calling in 2011. Fax messaging was discontinued on September 22, 2007, but fax numbers could be ported out until December 22 of that year, and a similar service is still available at competitor Mike . The Mobile TV service offered up to 25 channels, but

490-465: A selection of rewards to loyal customers. (FidoDOLLARS are equal to 4 percent of a customer's invoice before service charges (NSF, re-activation fee, administrative fees and taxes). As of April 2016, Fido phased out the FidoDOLLARS program. Fido also offers several plans and add-ons for mobile Internet access. On November 4, 2008, Fido announced a re-branding and subsequent relaunch of their services due to competition from Koodo Mobile . This re-positioned

539-564: A special booth, called The Mobile Shop , where the phones are displayed. While Shoppers Drug Mart carried only Rogers Wireless prepaid phones at one time, the stores temporarily partnered with Rogers. As a result, Shoppers stores added both prepaid and postpaid products and services for Rogers and its two other brands, Fido and Chatr . Customers could also try out the iPhone 4 . As of March 2011, however, Shoppers Drug Mart stores ended their partnership. They now only sell prepaid top-up vouchers for these providers. Chatr Chatr Mobile

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588-520: A telecom services reseller that was an MVNO partner with Microcell. As of May 2013, Fido had a customer base of 3,372,763 customers, making it Canada's fourth-largest wireless carrier. Within Rogers Communications, Fido has been re-positioned as a mid-range brand, with Rogers Wireless as the full-service brand having the widest coverage and longest service hours, and Chatr as the entry-level offering that offers mostly prepaid plans and has

637-1115: A wide range of services which it no longer offers. These have been discontinued either following the purchase of Fido by Rogers, or during "The New Fido" rebranding era. Unlimited mobile broadband while in Canada or the United States , older CityFido plans and Sprint Canada bundles were some of the plan options removed after Rogers purchased Microcell. The unlimited mobile Internet access plans were replaced by tiered and rationed Internet access options, although feature phones were still eligible for unlimited access until early 2012. Only some legacy CityFido plans were grandfathered , and Fido now has new CityFido offerings . Sprint Canada bundles with Fido were temporarily replaced by Better Choices Bundles after Rogers purchased both companies. Better Choices Bundles, couples plans, Danger Hiptop service, fax messaging, FullFido plans and mobile TV were all discontinued after "The New Fido" re-branding. Only some existing FullFido customers were grandfathered. The Better Choices Bundles program once offered up to 15% off

686-481: A winddown and termination of the FidoDOLLARS program. See the next section for more details. As the FidoDOLLARS program was wound down, July 2017 saw the introduction of Fido's +5 Hours of Data, allowing customers on a pulse plan to enable 1 free hour of data, 5 individual times during each billing cycle. In May 2018, Fido introduced Fido XTRA which provides customers with perks from various retailers every Thursday, but Fido XTRA discontinued in 2023 . Fido once offered

735-777: Is "No worries, talk happy." During the Christmas and holiday season , the slogan used instead was "No worries, gift happy." Both resemble the name of the song Don't Worry, Be Happy , and a whistled version of this song is used in Chatr commercials. The slogan is now "Let's Get Going." In 2017, Chatr was awarded two silver CASSIES advertising awards, in the categories of Brand Reawakening and Targeting. Best Buy , Costco , London Drugs , Tbooth , Walmart , WirelessWave , and Wireless Etc. sell Chatr prepaid products and top-up cards, as well as inexpensive SIM cards which allows any unlocked GSM phone with 850/1900 mHZ frequency to be activated on

784-488: Is a Canadian mobile network operator owned by Rogers Communications . Since its acquisition by Rogers in 2004, it has operated as a Mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) using the Rogers Wireless network. Fido's logo is a yellow doghouse . The name, "Fido," was suggested to Microcell Solutions, the first importer of GSM technology from Europe to Canada, on the recommendation of its marketing-communications agency at

833-999: Is a Canadian mobile virtual network operator owned by Rogers Communications Canada targeting entry-level customers. It is one of three wireless brands owned by Rogers Communications , including Rogers Wireless , and Fido Solutions . The provider launched its service in Toronto , Ottawa , Calgary , Edmonton , Vancouver , Quebec City , and Montreal under the name Chatr Wireless on July 28, 2010. The company re-branded to its current name in 2015. The carrier initially launched by limiting plan features to only specific regions of Rogers' network, dubbed "chatr zones". The company now offers coverage for most urban areas of Canada , and additional plans for certain cities. The chatr network includes coverage comparable to other major Canadian wireless carriers. It previously had "local talk zones," whereby calls not made in-zone were billed as roaming calls. It now offers Canada-wide calls from anywhere. Only

882-472: Is a re-branded Rogers Hi-Speed Internet , offering a 30 Mbit/s package with a 300 GB bandwidth cap, with discounts as part of bundles with Fido post-paid mobile services. Fido internet is available to markets in Ontario that are served by Rogers' internet. The service is primarily aimed at millennials . Fido had a loyalty rewards program known as FidoDOLLARS. For every Fido monthly bill or prepaid top-up,

931-454: Is currently being reviewed by the CRTC. December 5, 2018, Fido confirmed customers are able to purchase wireless plans with eSIM. Customers with the eSIM enabled smartphones and devices can purchase the eSIM voucher online and connect to the network. As of November 2019, Fido' allows customers to pick a rate plan with different usage limits for talk, text and data. After which the user can choose

980-435: Is exceeded, usage-based billing begins, costing CA$ 5 for an amount equivalent to that initially included with the add-on. Unique BlackBerry Internet Service options are available for BlackBerry smartphones. Unlimited BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) is included on all plans CA$ 35 or more, such as CityFido Unlimited. For all plans, it is also possible to pay an additional fee to add 100 MB or 2 GB of data. Note that

1029-577: Is now only available in Gatineau , London, Ontario , Ottawa and Toronto . It was previously offered in Quebec City , Montreal , Winnipeg , Calgary , Edmonton , Vancouver and Victoria . Customers in these cities must now pay a $ 10 monthly surcharge to obtain a nearly identical "with no zone restrictions plan". Fido discontinued the CityFido plan for new postpaid customers. Fido Wireless Home Phone service

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1078-533: The 100 MB option for BlackBerry devices costs CA$ 5 more than the regular smartphone add-on. Fido has been heavily criticized for discontinuing its unlimited Internet access plans and add-ons for devices other than feature phones. In response, the company occasionally releases a popular add-on, providing 6 GB of data for $ 30/month . It requires a voice plan and hence cannot be used with an Internet access stick. In November 2015, Fido began to offer cable internet services in selected markets. The service

1127-545: The Caller ID , a basic voicemail service (mini voicemail), call waiting and conference call features, plus unlimited outgoing and incoming text (SMS) and picture/video (MMS) from the Fido network to standard numbers worldwide, at no extra cost. The Rogers-pioneered WhoCalled feature is available for an additional CA$ 7 monthly fee with the "Value Pack" add on. Circle Calling is also included, which allows "free calls between people on

1176-486: The Competition Act in Canada. Chatr has been accused of violating the Competition Act because it is a fighter brand created by Rogers. Some years ago Chatr's pricing policy closely reflected that of Wind Mobile . Mobilicity's former chairman, John Bitove, said that "[Rogers is] leveraging the other parts of their business to kill the competition […] If they succeed in killing us off there's no question they'd kill

1225-645: The Chatr brand off". Moblicity was later purchased by Rogers and incorporated into Chatr. Shortly after its launch, Chatr published many advertisements claiming that their network has "fewer dropped calls than new wireless carriers." Following a complaint by wireless carriers Wind Mobile and Mobilicity, the Federal Competition Bureau has asked the Ontario Superior Court of Justice under the Misleading Advertising Provisions of

1274-565: The Chatr network. Additionally, Chatr once ran its own self-branded retail stores , consisting of a network of kiosks from which customers could purchase phones, accessories, plans, top-ups, and more. Almost all of these have either closed or have been converted to WOW! mobile boutique stores, which provide services for several carriers, including Chatr. Earlier, all seven Chatr kiosks in Montreal were converted to Fido kiosks in May 2012. This did not affect

1323-474: The Competition Act to order Rogers to: The Bureau has accused Rogers of: According to the court documents from the preceding, the bureau found that, on average, there is no significant difference between the number of dropped calls on Chatr and new carriers. Furthermore, in the cases of Ottawa and Toronto , new carriers experienced slightly fewer dropped calls than did Chatr. Chatr Wireless' slogan

1372-474: The Wireless Home Phone is offered at a discounted rate of $ 10/month . Starting in 2018, Canadian wireless carriers, including Fido, changed the way they offer plans and devices, by separating the cost of each aspect. Previously, plan and device costs were bundled together as one price. This reduced transparency for consumers and made it difficult to understand. However, this new idea of "device financing"

1421-433: The account less than the amount required to buy a new month of service would be lost, whereas previously the account would not be closed unless $ 0 remained on it. All Chatr plans include unlimited incoming texts, call display , call waiting , call forwarding and group calling features. Features specific to each plan are listed below: Extra charges for additional features in each Chatr plan are as follows: When Chatr

1470-509: The carrier's least expensive subscription plan lacks unlimited Canada-wide Talk as a feature. As of 10 March 2020, new customers activating a Chatr line on a Nation-Wide Plan are provisioned to the LTE network. Existing Chatr customers were also migrated over to the LTE network. In July 2022, as part of the Rogers Communications outage, many Chatr customers experienced issues with (and in some cases complete cessation of) their mobile services. The issue

1519-465: The company as a discount wireless brand, offering postpaid plans virtually identical to those of Koodo with no system access fee or carrier-charged "911 fee". Clients using legacy plans, however, may keep them only if they continue to pay both fees. Current plans include 100, 200, 300, 500 or unlimited minutes incoming and outgoing calls (Canada-wide calls). The $ 50 unlimited plan replaces the previously available CityFido plans. All current plans include

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1568-460: The company's inception, Fido offered unique services to differentiate itself from its competitors. Notably, its CityFido plans include either multiple or unlimited local calling minutes in certain zones throughout Canada. Fido was also the country's first and last mobile service provider to bill postpaid airtime by the second, while other companies round up calls to the next minute except for some grandfathered customers. The FidoDOLLARS program offers

1617-409: The end of the current term for those FidoDOLLARS-earning plans that are on a contracted term. The non-term monthly customers were then told to use up (redeem) their FidoDOLLARS by July 6, 2016, whereas customers on a FidoDOLLARS-earning contracted term could redeem their FidoDOLLARS by July 6, 2018 (or else lose the FidoDOLLARS balance in both cases). Fido customers with multiple lines are deemed to be in

1666-479: The flanker brands Virgin Mobile Canada and Koodo Mobile , which complement full-service providers Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility In July 2022, during the Rogers Communications outage, many Fido customers experienced issues with mobile services. The issue was eventually resolved on July 8 and compensation was promised to customers. Fido now operates as an MVNO of Rogers. Fido customers will see "Fido" as

1715-540: The network name, and Rogers customers will see "ROGERS" as the network name. Since its inception, the Fido network ran on GSM . This GSM compatibility continues to exist today. The current result is the integration of the Fido network into the Rogers Wireless network after the acquisition by Rogers. Fido is phasing out older technologies (1900 MHz) on their 2G and 3G networks; despite this matter, Fido network continues to support 2G devices on 850 MHz band only. Since

1764-657: The portable ("Unplugged") product, except the modem itself was mounted to a user's home in the direction of the tower it would have connected to. Hence, it was not designed to be portable. Bell also offered "Unplugged" service for businesses. Inukshuk Wireless throttled peer-to-peer (P2P) traffic on its network during peak times of the day. For Bell customers, downloads and uploads were throttled to 512 kbit/s from 16h30 to 17h59 EST, then to 256 kbit/s from 18h00 to 23h59 EST, and again to 512 kbit/s from 0h00 to 1h00 EST every day. No throttling occurred from 1h00 to 16h30. Fido Solutions Fido Solutions Inc.

1813-493: The responsibility of a number/contract from an account with only one line. With the release of Fido's new Pulse plans, FidoDOLLARS are no longer accumulated but existing FidoDOLLARS will remain on your account. However, if you are not on a Pulse plan you will continue to accumulate FidoDOLLARS as normal. To make up for the lack of FidoDOLLARS, Spotify Premium and Daily Vice are offered free of charge for 2 years ( CA$ 239 value) in all new Pulse plans. In January 2016, Fido announced

1862-434: The same account", with a maximum beds of five people per account. They also offer a minute tracker, similar to the one used by Virgin Mobile Canada , to remind customers when they have used 75% and 100% of their monthly minutes. The CityFido Prepaid plan is now called the "in zone plan". It includes unlimited local calling while in the city of activation, plus unlimited text messages sent to standard Canadian numbers. The plan

1911-863: The second category if at least one line is on a FidoDOLLARS-earning contracted term that goes beyond April 6, 2016. Many users in their community expressed dissatisfaction at the "scam" that their value had been arbitrarily taken by the company, or the only viable redemption option required a further contract. In October 2024, Rogers announced that all Rogers and Fido prepaid services will be discontinued effective December 16, 2024, with customers directed to postpaid products and Chatr . Fido has its own corporate retail stores, and also allows third parties to become exclusive dealers. For example, Best Buy , Costco , Tbooth , Walmart and WirelessWave sell Fido products along with prepaid and postpaid services. Additionally, Loblaw Companies and Zellers stores sold prepaid feature phones and top-up vouchers. Loblaw stores have

1960-439: The smallest coverage. Although there is some overlap between Fido and Rogers Wireless, Fido tends to offer a greater selection of Bring your own device plans, while offering less subsidies for devices on contracts , and having a delayed launch of the latest phones. Fido's subscriber base appeals largely to millennials, whereas Rogers Wireless caters to traditional clients including corporate customers. Fido's direct competitors are

2009-416: The ten Industry Canada licensed areas. Activation, however, is only available in certain rural regions. Bell only allowed customers in the following regions of the province of Ontario to subscribe to Portable or Rural Internet: Monthly bandwidth limits for customers were not tightly enforced, and simply existed to protect against network abuse. Bell's Rural ("In-home") service used the same technology as

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2058-462: The third-party retail presence of Chatr in Montreal. In Fall 2016, Chatr converted 54 Mobilicity stores and kiosks to Chatr-branded locations. While Shoppers Drug Mart carried only Rogers Wireless prepaid phones at one time, the stores temporarily partnered with the network operator to carry both prepaid and postpaid products and services for Rogers and its two other brands, Fido and Chatr. There

2107-449: The time, BOS (Beauchesne, Ostiguy, Simard) of Montreal (now DentsuBos). The agency had been searching for a name that would appeal to both French- and English-speaking consumers. The brand name "Fido" inevitably led to the use of dogs in its commercials, which became the brand's informal trademark in TV advertising, starting in 1995. During the 2000s it ran ads where the narrator finished by catching

2156-505: Was discontinued due to a lack of subscribers. Competitors Bell Mobility and its MVNO Virgin Mobile Canada both offer a very similar feature called Bell Mobile TV . Per-second billing on Fido's postpaid monthly plans was discontinued on July 4, 2012. Customers with plans created and activated before that date are kept on per-second billing until they change to a newer plan. The company changed their plan offerings, now bundling data with their Smart plans, and Max Plans. CityFido plans had

2205-589: Was eventually resolved on July 8, and compensation was promised to customers. Chatr offers plans ranging from $ 15 to $ 70, most of which include unlimited Canada-wide calling and international SMS texting. Included mobile data ranges from 0.5   GB to 20.0   GB per month (depending on plan) at 3G speeds; once data allowance has been exhausted, subscribers may continue using data at no extra charge (albeit at much reduced speed) or may optionally purchase more data until their next anniversary date. Sometime after February 2018, chatr's Regular Plans briefly offered

2254-572: Was funded in part by Voicestream, now T-Mobile US . Fido was the first provider in Canada to offer a network with the GSM standard. In November 2004, Microcell was acquired by the other competing GSM carrier, Rogers Communications, for an estimated CA$ 1.4 billion . At the time of acquisition, Fido had 1,275,094 customers. The company's name was changed to Fido Solutions shortly thereafter. Fido has retained its data roaming service with T-Mobile. Shortly thereafter, Rogers Communications also bought Sprint Canada ,

2303-473: Was launched in mid-2013. Designed as an alternative to landline telephony, the service uses a ZTE access point to provide a connection between wired phones and Fido's network. The monthly plan features unlimited calling to and from Canada, Caller ID and voicemail. It costs $ 30/month on its own, but Fido postpaid customers pay $ 18/month instead. In the midwestern provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and in Quebec,

2352-530: Was launched, it initially only sold feature phones . It began introducing smartphones in conjunction with its launch of mobile data in 2011, although feature phones continue to make up a significant portion of the company's phone offerings. Additionally, Chatr SIM cards allow other GSM-based handsets to be used. Currently available devices are made by Samsung , ZTE , Motorola , Alcatel . In 2018, Chatr also added devices from Samsung to its line up along with one device from Huawei. Chatr formerly gave each phone

2401-587: Was referred to as Bell WiMAX In-home. Bell had announced termination of its Portable Internet service on February 14, 2012. Rogers had announced termination of its Portable Internet service on March 1, 2012. The 30 Mhz slice of 2300 Mhz spectrum was transferred to Orion Wireless Partnership, for a fixed wireless LTE national network. The Inukshuk network was built using pre- WiMAX technology provided by Expedience solution from Motorola, now Nexpedience Networks. The network provides connectivity to 45 major cities and more than 120 rural communities throughout

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