A New Internet Provider Is Knocking: How to Compare Offers and Set Up Safely

Digital Confidence Canada

A reader asks

A reader in Hamilton wrote: “Since the CRTC changed the rules, I’m getting calls and mail from Internet companies I’ve never heard of. Some promise lower prices than what I pay now. How do I tell a genuine offer from a sales pitch, and what should I check before I switch?”

This is timely. On April 24, 2026, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission finalized its approach to help Canadians benefit from more choice and affordability in high-speed Internet services. The CRTC’s announcement on affordable Internet services explains the change.

Since February 2025, competitors across Canada have been allowed to use the largest telephone companies’ fibre networks to sell home Internet, television, telephone, and smart home services. Competitive providers have announced plans to deliver new choices for up to 8.5 million Canadian households, according to the published release about the CRTC’s decision.

More choice can be useful, but it does not turn every sales approach into a trustworthy offer. This issue focuses on one reader task: compare a new Internet offer with your current service, then set up the new connection safely if you decide to switch.

What matters

The policy change is real, but it is not an endorsement of a particular company. A caller who says a provider is “approved by the CRTC” is making a claim that you should verify independently. Scammers can also borrow genuine news to make an unsolicited call sound official.

Caution is reasonable. The Get Cyber Safe Awareness Tracking Survey: 2026 Final Report reports that 56 percent of online Canadians worry about becoming a victim of cybercrime, while 73 percent worry about AI-related cybercrime, up from 65 percent in 2024. Concern about becoming a victim increases with age. The same report says 34 percent rely on other people for advice about being secure online, and 31 percent rely on others to help spot possible scams or phishing messages. Asking someone you trust to sit with you is a practical safety step, not a failure.

The survey covered 2,330 Canadians aged 18 and over from January 9 to January 29, 2026. Its reported margin of error is plus or minus 2.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20; subgroup margins are wider. These figures describe a survey, not your personal level of risk.

Practical steps

Use this process before agreeing to anything.

• Write down your current provider, monthly price, advertised speed, contract end date, equipment charges, and any other recurring fee. Your bill or account page can help. If you cannot describe your current service, comparison will be guesswork.

• Ask for the total monthly cost. Check whether the advertised amount is promotional, when it rises, whether equipment rental is extra, and whether installation or activation fees apply. Ask whether the price includes taxes, but confirm the final amount in the written offer. Record the answers rather than relying on memory.

• Check what is actually available at your address. The CRTC announcement describes a national market change; it does not establish that every provider or speed is available in every home. Use a provider’s independently located website or a number you find yourself, not a link or number supplied in an unexpected message.

• Slow down an unsolicited approach. Do not provide account passwords, banking information, government identifiers, or a one-time security code to a caller. Do not install software so a salesperson can “check” your device. Take the company name and offer details, end the call, and verify them through a separate route. A legitimate offer should survive one night’s delay.

• Compare like with like. Put the current and new service side by side: monthly total, speed, contract or cancellation terms, equipment, installation, promotional period, and what happens after that period. If the provider will not answer basic questions clearly or will not give the terms in writing, stop.

• If you switch, keep the old service until the new connection works. Change the default Wi-Fi password on the new equipment to a strong, unique password before connecting devices. Keep confirmation numbers, the offer, and your old bills until the final bill arrives. Check that final bill for unexpected charges.

The Statistics Canada digital economy and society information explains that digital-economy statistics help policymakers understand reliable, affordable high-speed Internet and barriers to digital technology. That context matters: affordability and access are important, but a lower advertised price is not automatically a better or safer service for your household.

Where to get help

Ask a family member, friend, public library, or community organization to review the written offer with you. A library can be a neutral place to get help with everyday technology questions, although staff cannot decide whether a contract suits your circumstances.

For broader background on how Canadians use online services and the barriers they encounter, see Statistics Canada’s Canadian Internet Use Survey. For security advice, use the government’s Get Cyber Safe program through its official site, and for a suspected fraud attempt use the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s official reporting service. Those exact help-page URLs were not supplied in the research context, so search for the organization by name rather than trusting a link in an unsolicited message.

Limits

This is general information, not individualized advice about your contract. Whether switching makes sense depends on your address, available speeds, equipment, and the terms of your current agreement. A disputed charge or legal disagreement belongs in the provider’s complaint process or with a qualified professional, not in this newsletter. No provider has been evaluated, reviewed, or endorsed here.

If you suspect fraud, preserve the message or caller details and seek help through an independently found official reporting route. Do not send money or personal information to keep an offer alive. Waiting a day costs nothing; an offer that disappears under ordinary verification is not a safe basis for a decision.