A Guide for Canadian Youth
In our modern day lives, much of what we do is dependent on our internet access. Whether we’re streaming our favourite shows on Netflix, chatting with our friends through an online service, or studying material posted by our teachers, we rely on our connection to the internet. We use our devices so much that it seems like second nature. As Youth, we often take our connection to the internet for granted and don’t think much about how much it is costing us. However, as exam season comes to a close, and we look towards our future, we start to realize the responsibilities we will have. In addition to paying taxes, paying rent, and managing our education, we will have the responsibility of managing our own internet plan. You might be surprised by how expensive being connected to the internet can be. For some of the most basic plans, the average user can be charged upwards of 100$ monthly by major Internet Service Providers (ISPs). For Youth, who spend much more time on the web than other age groups, internet plans easily exceed 100$! Adding that on top of one’s phone plan, and it’s easy to see how quickly the costs can rise. It is quite common to see people spending thousands of their hard-earned Canadian dollars on an internet plan yearly. Many people just accept that the internet is expensive and always will be. They couldn’t be more wrong.
Here are some ways you can save money on your internet plan!
1. Negotiate with your ISP
An Internet Service Provider is a business. A business wants to keep its customers. So some good ol’ negotiating can help you save 5-15$ on your internet plan. 15$ may not sound like much, but over the course of a year, that 15$ you save monthly turns into 180$! The downside to negotiating with your ISP is that it is quite a hassle. Major Internet Service Providers are overloaded with customers, and often their customer support service is not the best. It will take time and effort to negotiate for a discount. However, if you’re locked into a contract, or don’t want to change internet plans, this might be the best way to go. That being said, here are some tips on how you can negotiate with your ISP:
When negotiating with your Internet Service Provider, make sure to be patient, persistent, and courteous. It may become very frustrating, but patience pays off, the longer you negotiate, the more likely they are to give you a discount. Being courteous is also important. At the end of the day, customer service representatives are people too. If you nicely explain how you’d like a discount, they are more likely to offer one for you.
If asking for a discount does not work, another way to get a discount from your ISP is by threatening to move your business (but nicely). Explain to them how their competitors have a much better price, and ask them to lower theirs. Internet Service Providers often offer short term discounts of 5-15$ monthly as an incentive for their customers to stay with them. You can take advantage of this.
The one big downside to taking this route is that it can become a huge hassle. Furthermore, these short term discounts are not guaranteed. So, if you’re looking for a longer term solution, this will not be the way to go.
2. Change your Internet Service Provider
If you’re tired of having to negotiate all the time to keep your prices the same, consider changing your ISP. This is much easier than it sounds. In 2015, the Canadian Radio Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) forced the major cable companies (like Bell, Shaw, etc.) to offer internet access to third-party resellers. Because of this ruling, Canadians now have a wide variety of plans to choose from that are often much cheaper than those from the major ISPs. The CRTC even has a helpful tool on their website that helps you find Internet Service Providers for your location. It’s called “Service Providers Near Me” which can be found here. It’s an easy tool to use. Just type in your city, and it will show you all the service providers who provide service in that city. This makes it extremely easy for you to compare and find the best service provider for you.
Here are some tips for comparing service providers:
- Many Internet Service Providers require their customers to buy the Modem and/or Router from them if they do not have one that is compatible with their network. Make sure to check if the ISP you are considering requires such.
- Make sure to check the internet speeds that they are offering. It’s important to note that Mbps/s is the standard metric used by ISPs to measure internet speeds. Mbps/s is NOT Megabytes per second. One Mbps is equal to 0.125 Megabytes per second.
- Check if the ISP you are considering has and Data Caps. Most major ISPs have a cap, it can get extremely expensive if you accidentally go over. Check how much they charge for overage. Best case scenario, they don’t have a cap! Even if you probably won’t go over your data limit, it can be stressful.
- READ REVIEWS. This is extremely important. Make sure you read reviews to make sure you aren’t signing up for a sub-par ISP.
- Don’t be afraid to talk to their sales representatives. Any unanswered questions about installation, internet speeds, prices, anything, they will tell you. Don’t be afraid to talk to them!
Conclusion
The task of managing your internet service may look daunting. But I promise it is not. Canadian youth do not learn how to find and manage their internet service in school even though it is a vital part of Canadian life. Hopefully, this has helped shine some light into the unknown as well as help save you some money.