Rogers operates GSM, UMTS, LTE, and 5G NR networks in all of Canada's provinces and offers roaming in Canada's territories.
Rogers previously operated an AMPS/D-AMPS network in the 850 MHz and 1900 MHz bands in Canada. The network was shut down on May 31, 2007.
Since 2002, the company's 2G GSM network with EDGE has operated in Canada. It provides compatibility for GSM-based devices, including those frequently used by international travelers. However, this technology is limited to speeds up to 236 kilobits per second, which is only about four times the speed of dial-up.
The 1900 MHz PCS network was shut down on June 7, 2021. 850 MHz was retired on December 31, 2021, for business class IoT devices. The GSM network will be fully decommissioned by November 30, 2027.
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UMTS
In 2006, Rogers became the first Canadian carrier to operate a 3G UMTS/HSPA network, which was upgraded to HSPA+ in 2009. Enhancements included download speeds of up to a theoretical 21 Mbit/s. Further enhancements increased the download speeds up to a theoretical 42 Mbit/s. Rogers' UMTS network coverage was in all Canadian provinces and operating on 850 MHz but is in none of the territories. It is impossible to travel between the Pacific and Atlantic coasts in Canada without encountering a gap in cellular coverage as there are areas lacking cellular coverage in both British Columbia and Ontario. The 1900 MHz PCS network was shut down on June 7, 2021 and the 850 MHz network was shut down on August 7, 2025.
LTE
In July 2011, Rogers was the first Canadian telecom operator to launch a commercial long-term evolution (LTE) network. In May 2013, Rogers deployed LTE service on its 2600 MHz spectrum in some markets, which the company began marketing as LTE Max. LTE Max is available in a fraction of Rogers' LTE coverage area. On April 17, 2014, Rogers launched LTE service on its 700 MHz spectrum. Rogers has not announced its goals for expanding LTE coverage across Canada, but announced plans in June 2014 to have LTE coverage expanded to 98.3% of the population of British Columbia by the end of 2016. According to Rogers, as of December 31, 2016, its LTE coverage reached 95% of the Canadian population. On March 31, 2015, Rogers Wireless launched voice over LTE (VoLTE), the first carrier in Canada to offer this service. Cat-6 LTE-Advanced has been available since January 2015, through carrier aggregation of band 4 and band 7, with a maximum download speed of 225 Mbit/s.
5G NR
Rogers launched its 5G network in January 2020 and uses Block I from the 2500Mhz Frequency Block Plan. The company stated that rollout will expand to use its further reaching 600 MHz spectrum later in the year for improved 5G coverage. As of December 16, 2020, Rogers offers both NSA mode and SA modes in select markets. Rogers was the first Canadian carrier to offer 5G service.
Rogers partnered with Swedish Telecom giant Ericsson to launch its 5G wireless technology. Today, Rogers's 5G network is live in more than 160 communities across Canada, including Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, and Montreal.
Radio frequency summary
The following is a list of known frequencies that Rogers employs in Canada:
Products
Rogers Wireless carries feature phones, and smartphones that support either Android OS or iOS.
Services
On Demand Mobile
Customers with select smartphones, tablets, computers, LG Smart TVs, Xbox 360 and Xbox One gaming systems can use the Rogers On Demand mobile service, which was renamed Rogers Live before its current incarnation, Rogers Anyplace TV. Rogers Anyplace TV offers TV shows, movies and sports on demand.
Discontinued services
Rogers Pay As You Go prepaid services were launched during the Cantel AT&T era and maintained under Rogers Wireless. In October 2024, Rogers announced the upcoming closure of its prepaid services, including those under its Fido brand, and recommended its prepaid subsidiary Chatr for new customers. On February 20, 2025, all prepaid services from the Rogers and Fido brands were discontinued, with existing accounts transferred to Chatr.
Subsidiaries
Fido
In 2004, Rogers bought Canada’s first and, at the time, only other GSM provider, Fido, along with Fido’s partner, Sprint Canada, for a total of $1.4 billion. At the time, Fido had nearly 1.3 million customers. In 2008, Fido was rebranded as a discount mobile virtual network operator with a new logo and cheaper plans.
Chatr
Rogers launched the Chatr Mobile brand in mid-2010 in response to the emergence of new phone carriers Mobilicity, Public Mobile, and Freedom Mobile (previously Wind Mobile) to directly compete with the new carriers in their coverage areas. Chatr became a cheaper option than Fido, making Fido more of a mid-range offering.
Retail presence
Rogers has its own corporate retail stores, known as Rogers Plus, and also allows third parties to become exclusive dealers. Best Buy and Walmart stores in Canada provide Fido products along with prepaid and postpaid services. Additionally, Loblaw Companies stores sell prepaid feature phones and top-up vouchers. Loblaw stores have a special booth, called The Mobile Shop, where the phones are displayed.
Former retailers
While Shoppers Drug Mart carried only Rogers Wireless prepaid phones at one time, the stores temporarily partnered with Rogers. As a result, Shoppers stores added both prepaid and postpaid products and services for Rogers and its two other brands, Fido and Chatr. As of March 2011, however, Shoppers stores ended their partnership. They only sell prepaid top-up vouchers for these providers.
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