When you Winnipeg residents talk about their city, some of the phrases you’ll frequently hear include “small town feel,” “growing,” “flat,” and, of course, “cold.”
While all of these are true, they only partially clue you in to what life is like in Winnipeg. The city has a surprising amount to offer beneath its cold, flat exterior.
Let’s start with culture: the city was named the Cultural Capital of Canada in 2010 for a reason. Historic buildings, galleries, and museums are scattered throughout the city, plus there are a number of festivals throughout the summer.
And sports. Boy were ‘Peg residents thrilled when their Jets returned to town in 2011. Winnipeg’s also got the Moose (AHL), the Blue Bombers (CFL), and the Goldeyes (minor league baseball).
And the outdoors. Winnipeg sits not far from the Canadian Shield, home to miles and miles of pristine forests and lakes. If you’re looking for something to do closer to town, the ‘Peg also boasts a plethora of idyllic parks.
Another advantage of living in Winnipeg? The cell phone coverage. The major carriers generally provide solid to excellent coverage to the city. Read on to learn more about the ins and outs of cell phone coverage in Winnipeg.
Coverage in Winnipeg At-a-Glance
Winnipeg comes in with an excellent coverage score of 86 out of 100. Check out this guide to coverage for the entirety of Manitoba.
What we love
- Three of the major carriers provide amazing service to Winnipeg
- MVNOs running on the majors available in Winnipeg as well
- 4G LTE widely available
What could be improved
- Coverage less reliable the further you travel from the city
- Coverage can be tricky in remote natural areas or by rivers or lakes
86/100
Carrier Network Coverage in Winnipeg
If you live in Manitoba, the letters "MTS" are likely quite familiar to you. They used to stand for Manitoba Telecom Services, until the company's recent purchase by Bell Canada Enterprises (the company is now known as BellMTS). Since it occupies the same network space as Bell, you can apply Bell's 100% citywide coverage to BellMTS as well.
Bell, Telus and Rogers perform perfectly throughout Winnipeg. This means you can join any them—or the multitude of smaller carriers that run on their networks—to get great coverage.
Best Coverage in Winnipeg by Network
| Network | Covered Area % |
|---|---|
| Bell | 100.00% |
| Rogers | 100.00% |
| Telus | 100.00% |
Cell Phone Coverage in Winnipeg by Area
The Winnipeg region encompasses 873 square kilometers and the most robust local carriers, Bell, Rogers and Telus, cover every bit of it:
Geographic Area Covered in Winnipeg
Big Carriers vs. Small Carriers in Winnipeg
When choosing a cell phone providers, there's no need to limit yourself to the big companies. There are dozens of smaller carriers that run on the major networks, but charge a fraction of the price for service. Known as Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs for short), these carriers purchase network service from the major providers at wholesale prices, then pass the savings on to consumers.
Getting the Best Plan & Coverage
WhistleOut's industry-leading coverage check feature supercharges an already robust comparison engine by allowing you to instantly see what coverage is like at your location. Just punch in your address, and we'll do the rest.
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.
Cell Phone Carriers in Winnipeg
Here's the full list of wireless carriers (big and small) in Winnipeg, and the network that each belongs to. Note that the smaller carriers—PhoneBox, Fido, etc.—utilize the networks of the major carriers.
| Carrier | Network | Available in Winnipeg | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bell Mobility | Bell | Yes | |
| BellMTS | Bell | Yes | |
| Chatr Wireless | Rogers | Yes | |
| Cityfone | Rogers | Yes | |
| Fido | Rogers | Yes | |
| Freedom Mobile | Freedom | Roaming only | |
| Koodo Mobile | Telus | Yes | |
| PC Mobile | Bell/Telus | Yes | |
| Petro Canada | Rogers | Yes | |
| Public Mobile | Telus | Yes | |
| Rogers | Rogers | Yes | |
| SaskTel | Bell/Telus (partner) | Yes | |
| Telus | Telus | Yes | |
| Videotron | Rogers (partner) | Yes | |
| Virgin Mobile | Bell | Yes | |
| 7-11 SpeakOut | Rogers | Yes |
One More Thing: Using Public WiFi in Winnipeg
Winnipeg offers free WiFi in a variety of public spaces. Check out a few of the places offering free WiFi below. This is handy when you want to save your cellular data.
- Winnipeg International Airport
- Winnipeg Public Library
- 12 city busses (2018)
- Second Cup
- Cafe 22
- Star Grill
- Tavern United
- Twist Cafe
- Starbucks
- Lobby on York
- Sam's Place
- Yellow Dog Tavern
- Linlan Grocery
- Flat Land Wrap
- Tim Hortons
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