Fido No Longer Has Home Internet, but These Cheap ISPs Do

The internet service provider Fido stopped selling new plans in October 2023. More recently, the ISP announced that all current customers have until June 2, 2024 to find a new provider. Unsurprisingly, Fido’s communications with customers direct them to switch to a plan with its parent company, Rogers. That may be a good option for some households, but it’s certainly not the only option.

I was impressed with Fido’s home internet options in my review of the Ontario ISP, comparing their affordable family options to their budget-friendly mobile plans. Now that Fido’s internet arm has effectively been discontinued, I wanted to find some comparable alternatives beyond the Rogers plans currently being suggested to Fido customers. Thanks to the WhistleOut search, it wasn’t hard to find a number of cheap providers offering what Fido once did.

Read on to learn about why Fido stopped providing home internet, how to get in touch with their customer service, and where to find a new cheap internet plan.

Fido discontinues home internet service

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Fido’s discontinuation of its internet service surprised the Ontario ISP’s over 182,000 subscribers. While the ISP stopped selling new plans in October 2023, many customers weren’t informed service would be discontinued until they began receiving confusing emails from Fido.

Users on Fido’s official forum posted emails informing them that their modem would no longer provide internet after May 6, 2024. More recently, some Reddit users received emails claiming they were being upgraded to Rogers Ignite internet, including faster speeds at the same price. The fine print, though, was telling. The switch would require customers to enroll in a two-year contract and would only guarantee that low price for that two-year term.

That wasn’t the only way that email was a bit misleading. “Upgrading” suggests automatic enrollment, though that’s not the case with Fido’s discontinuation. Fido customers still need to choose to switch to Rogers. If they don’t, their service simply ends.

Data Sharing

Neither Fido nor its parent company, Rogers, have explicitly stated why Fido is no longer offering home internet plans. A look at Rogers’ broader corporate strategy, though, offers some insight.

After Rogers acquired Shaw in April 2023, the company gutted Shaw’s mobile division and absorbed its internet division, rebranding it as “Rogers together with Shaw.” Now, it looks like something similar is happening with its flanker Fido. Fido’s home internet options were limited to begin with; in total, the ISP offered three modest plans. It’s likely Rogers didn’t think the investment in a low-cost provider was worthwhile, especially considering Fido internet customers only accounted for a fraction of its total internet consumer base, according to a press release.

Rogers Ignite plans to replace Fido

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Rogers is offering discounted Ignite internet plans to Fido customers, allowing them to snag the Ignite 150 plan for $45/month when they sign a two-year contract. (After that, their monthly price will likely double.) The Ignite 150 plan is also available for non-Fido customers, though its price is a bit higher at $109.99. The only way for non-Fido customers to grab this plan at a discount is to purchase during one of Rogers’ Days to Save promotions, which allows customers to grab internet plans at steep markdowns.

There are additional Ignite plans, though they’re considerably more expensive than any plan Fido ever offered. That said, they’re also considerably faster than Fido’s average speeds. Ignite 500 offers 500Mbps downloads, 30Mbps uploads, and unlimited data. Ignite 1.5 Gigabit provides 1.5Gbps downloads, 50Mbps uploads, and unlimited data, a package that offers the second fastest internet plan in Ontario.

Fido is asking customers who want to switch to Rogers to call its customer service line. Customers have reported long wait times, with some users saying they were on hold for over an hour before speaking with a human. We recommend sitting down with a crossword when you place your call.

The 3 best cheap ISPs to replace Fido home internet

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Although Rogers is offering discounted plans for Fido internet customers, signing a two-year contract with a member of the Big Three isn’t ideal for every household. If you’re looking for something that’s identical to your old Fido plan, you won’t find it at Rogers. We’ve found the three best replacements for Fido home internet, with an analysis of what you stand to gain and lose by signing up with a new flanker.

1. oxio | Plans from $48/month

oxio understands that Canadians are tired of hidden fees and extended contracts. With their plans, what you see is what you get, and we like what we see. oxio offers fantastic alternatives to exiled Fido customers, with options that offer more speed for less money. Look no further than their 75Mbps plan, which gives you 75Mbps downloads, 30Mbps uploads, and unlimited data for $50/month.

If you want to upgrade from the limited speeds of your old Fido plan, oxio also has high-speed internet plans. You can grab 300Mbps downloads, 30Mbps uploads, and unlimited data for $79/month or 1000Mbps downloads, 50Mbps uploads, and unlimited data for $85/month.  While those plans are definitely more expensive than Fido’s affordable prices, they include some nice perks, including a free modem and router, free installation, and a guarantee your monthly payment won’t jump at the end of two years. We can’t say the same for Bell and Rogers.

2. Virgin Plus | Plans from $45/month

Virgin Plus was one of Fido’s primary competitors. In many ways, Virgin Plus is close to a Fido clone, though the ISP’s plans feature some delightful distinctions, namely pricing (cheaper) and connection type (fibre, the industry gold standard, rather than Fido’s cable).

Virgin offers two plans that will look familiar to Fido customers. The Unlimited Internet 50 plan offers 50Mbps downloads, 10Mbps uploads, and unlimited data for $45/month. The Unlimited Internet 100 plan, meanwhile, offers 100Mbps downloads, 10Mbps uploads, and unlimited data for $50/month.

The outlier is the Unlimited Internet 300 plan, which is three times faster than anything Fido offered, with 300Mbps downloads, 100Mbps uploads, and unlimited data for $55/month.

3. Koodo | Plans from $65/month

Rogers may have pulled Fido from the internet space, but Telus has gone the opposite direction, rolling out a few budget plans through their flanker Koodo. The nearest thing Koodo has to a Fido replacement is the Unlimited Internet 100 plan, which gives you 100Mbps downloads, 30Mbps uploads, and unlimited data for $65/month.

You can grab faster speeds with their Unlimited Internet 500 and Unlimited Internet 1 Gigabit plans, though those plans’ prices aren’t much different from the other ISPs in Ontario. The math changes if you’re a Koodo mobile subscriber, though: Koodo’s Happy Stack allows you to bundle internet, mobility, and streaming together, allowing you to save $21/month. A deal like that might be enough to make you consider switching your internet and your cell phone plan.