Videotron-owned Freedom Mobile has expanded its wireless network into Quebec as of today, July 19, according to information obtained by iPhone in Canada.
Alongside this expansion, Freedom Mobile also plans to introduce a seamless roaming feature from July 24, enhancing the handoff from the Freedom network to the Nationwide network.
The Quebec network expansion will provide Freedom customers with an automatic update that integrates Videotron’s wireless network into the Freedom network. This addition will significantly broaden the network’s current scope, previously grouped under Nationwide. The rollout of this update will span a few weeks to ensure all Freedom customers receive it.
The seamless roaming enhancement will improve service for customers transitioning from Freedom’s coverage area to the Nationwide network. Currently, as customers exit Freedom’s coverage, their devices disconnect from the Freedom network before connecting to the Nationwide network. This disconnection often leads to dropped calls or data interruption.
However, with the introduction of the seamless roaming feature, customers will experience a smooth transition to the Nationwide network without any disruption in their calls or data service. This update is set to reach all Freedom customers within a week of the rollout.
As part of Rogers acquiring Shaw this spring, the latter sold Freedom Mobile to Videotron’s parent company Quebecor, to satisfy regulators.
Let us know if you’re seeing seamless roaming on the Freedom Mobile network soon.
Update July 19, 2023, 10:19am PDT: We can confirm that only the Freedom Mobile wireless network is debuting in Quebec, but not the company’s operations or retail network.
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Great news!
The bigger benefit is people who signed up $99 prepaid yearly (50GB unl talk and text plan) on Freedom Network only and 5G on they way will be able enjoying benefit having a high speed data across Canada Without interruption thank God I locked in that price last year
We will never see this kind of prepaid plan unless they bring it back Back To School or Black Friday we gonna see a lot of mass sign up even though if you’re have a contract with another carrier, you could lock this price and once your contract is done, you can port your number to freedom prepaid.
I think it will benefit all customers equally, especially the seamless roaming.
If you’re referring to the coverage in the Gatineau area, this is nothing new. Freedom has always had service in that area, going all the way back to the Wind Mobile days. Gatineau and Ottawa are part of the same block of spectrum at auctions since it’s one metropolitan area.
The only thing of note here is the seamless handoff when roaming.
No this is completely different. This is using all of Videotrons network from Quebec and Ottawa. No more roaming in Quebec and it should improve the network in Ottawa.
Ah okay. The coverage map doesn’t look any different than what it already was, so I was confused.
I don’t care much about seamless transitions. I want to be able to use my Freedom data on Nationwide.
Well apparently you will.
https://www.iphoneincanada.ca/2023/07/22/freedom-mobile-merge-nationwide-freedom-data/