Article Summary
The majority of Quebeckers live along the St. Lawrence seaway and up the Saguenay, where there's excellent coverage by four major carrier networks. This competition gives the province some of the best prices in the country. Towns, settlements and mining camps throughout Nord-du-Québec enjoy coverage from Bell and Telus, but the spaces between are usually dead zones.
Quebecor-owned Videotron has offered mobile service to the province since 2010. This additional competition means the major networks offer prices exclusive to Quebec. You can usually get more data for far lower prices than elsewhere in the country.
All four networks offer sub-brands that let you access their networks to get even lower monthly or prepaid rates. Carrier brands like Koodo, Fido, Virgin Mobile, Public Mobile and newcomer Fizz Mobile offer unique features and low prices while providing the same service as the major networks.
Overall coverage scores for the province are low, but that's more a reflection of Quebec's vast and sparsely populated wilderness. As Canada's largest province by area, its mostly beautiful northern country and that's difficult to cover with mobile signal. There's good coverage up the Saguenay, but Nord-du-Quebec, Cote-Nord and Gaspé Peninsula offer spotty service.
Coverage in Québec At-a-Glance
Coverage in Québec earns a low score of 12 out of 100, but keep in mind that this score reflects the entire area of the province which includes massive amounts of wilderness. Both Quebec City and Montreal have their own coverage guides and both score over 80 out of 100 with excellent coverage.
What we love
- Telus and Bell provide the best coverage in the province
- Rogers and Videotron provide good coverage in urban and suburban areas
What could be improved
- Bell and Telus are the only choices for Quebec's north
- Coverage between smaller towns can be difficult to come by
12/100
Carrier Network Coverage by Carrier
Telus and Bell provide the best service to Québec. Rogers and Videotron offer excellent coverage over populated areas, but as you go further out of urban centres service becomes spotty long before you'll lose signal on the Bell/Telus networks.
Best Coverage in Quebec, Canada by Network
| Network | Covered Area % |
|---|---|
| Bell | 12.05% |
| Rogers | 7.50% |
| Telus | 12.05% |
| Videotron | 5.99% |
Cell Phone Coverage on St. Lawrence Corridor
There are more than 8 million people living in Quebec, but more than 7 million live along the St. Lawrence corridor. From Ottawa-Gatineau, through Montreal and Quebec City you'll find excellent coverage by Telus, Bell, Rogers and Videotron.
Gatineau - Montreal - Quebec City Coverage
Whether you travel to Ottawa or Southern Ontario you'll get full coverage by Bell,Telus, Rogers and Videotron along Highways 20 and 40. Coverage is strong and solid with no large dead zones through Montreal, south to Sherbrooke, and east to Quebec City.
Côte-Nord, Gaspé Peninsula and the Magdalen Islands
On the northern shore past Quebec City, service remains along the coastal highways by all four networks. Signal becomes spotty on Videotron and Rogers with dropouts and dead zones until Baie Comeau. After that, signal is only available from Telus and Bell in populated areas.
On the southern side the highways receive complete coverage by Bell, Telus, Rogers and Videotron networks whether you're travelling to New Brunswick or to the US for the weekend. Videotron covers you downstream until Rimouski but has no coverage on the peninsula. Rogers also doesn't cover the peninsula except where it's close enough to New Brunswick coverage.
The shoreline of the Gaspé Peninsula as well as Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine have full coverage by Bell and Telus, but Rogers and Videotron have no cell networks there.
Northern Quebec
With extensive wilderness covering most of the province, Quebec's tourism industry thrives on trips deep into the interior. Whether you're skiing in Mont-Tremblant, cruising the Saguenay, or riding your bike through beautiful Nord-du-Quebec you'll want to know if that photo can be posted to Instagram or you can call for help when you get lost.
The Laurentian Mountains and Eastern Quebec
All four carriers provide service on your drive to the spa in the beautiful Laurentians. Your ski trip can be live-broadcast to social media in real time with full coverage by all four networks.
Bell and Telus will continue to cover you for your drive up to Timmins along Highway 117 but Rogers and Videotron suffer a dead zone on the 117 through La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve.
Saguenay and Lac Saint-Jean
Your wireless signal won't drop from Quebec City to Saguenay when you drive along Highway 175 as there's strong coverage by Bell, Telus, Rogers and Videotron mobile networks. If you're going down highways 170 or 172 you'll want to be on Bell or Telus. There's no Rogers nor Videotron service on those roads.
All four networks cover Lac Saint-Jean, but that's about as far north as you'll find any signal by Rogers or Videotron in Quebec. After this, it's all Bell and Telus.
Nord-du-Quebec
Both Rogers and Videotron offer extended network services. This usually means you can still make calls and maybe text, but data may be limited or completely off the table. Check with your carrier before you go north as there's not a single cell tower by either carrier in northern Quebec.
Bell and Telus offer full LTE cell service to about a dozen towns, villages and even a mining camp north of Saguenay, near James Bay and Labrador City but travel between them is without any signal whatsoever.
Cell Phone Coverage in Quebec by Area
Quebec encompasses 1,509,752 square kilometers with Telus and Bell covering the largest portion of it (though just a bit over 12%). Rogers is the next closest competitor with 7.50% coverage and Videotron at just under 6%:
Geographic Area Covered in Quebec, Canada
Quebec Network Coverage Maps
Numbers on a page are one thing, but the coverage maps tell the full story. Fortunately, you don't have to go to all of the carriers' websites to get this information--you can see what the coverage is like from the four majors below:
The maps confirm that Telus and Bell provide the most robust coverage in Quebec. Videotron and Rogers offer good 4G-LTE coverage while Rogers offers a bit further coverage with their legacy 3G network.
Big Carriers vs. Small Carriers in Québec
There are over a dozen small carriers that run on the major networks, but charge a fraction of the price for service. These companies are known as Mobile Virtual Network Operators, MVNOs for short. MVNOs purchase network service from the major providers at wholesale prices, then pass the savings on to consumers.
For example, if you're interested in Telus's industry-leading coverage but are looking for a better deal, PC Mobile, Koodo, Public Mobile, and PhoneBox are just a few of the smaller providers you'll want to check out.
Getting the Best Plan & Coverage
WhistleOut's new coverage check feature supercharges an already robust comparison engine by allowing you to instantly see what coverage is like at your location. All you have to do is punch in your address and we do the rest. This feature is the first of its kind, and empowers consumers to make better decisions when it comes to wireless.
In addition to showing you a map of your area with the coverage from all four major carriers, we filter through the available cell phone plans and present only those from carriers who provide good reception to you.
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