Hit with a $75 charge on your Rogers/Fido bill? Here’s why

Update July 31, 2025 at 10:36a.m. ET: Rogers has now pushed back the 3G shutdown until August 7, 2025. Read our full story to learn more.

If your July cell phone bill was a lot more expensive, you’re not alone. Rogers and its flanker brand Fido added a $75 fee for 3G users last month, and it looks like the first round of bills with the new fee have gone out.

Frustrated customers took to social media to complain about the new fee, which Rogers announced last month. The company said it would charge a one-time $75 fee to customers using 3G (or older) networks for a full billing cycle. Rogers also said it sent notices to customers who might be charged, with the charge set to appear on bills for customers still exclusively using 3G on June 30, 2025.

Further, Rogers warned that customers who continue to use 3G after June 30 won’t be able to text or receive calls.

Rogers said the fee, which is in addition to another $3 monthly fee, would help “cover the cost of our 3G transition efforts.” The company is working toward shutting down its 3G network on July 31, 2025, and pushing customers to upgrade their devices to get off the 3G network.

The core issue with devices centres on voice over LTE (VoLTE) support, as phones without VoLTE will fall back to 3G networks for services like voice calls. Customers with devices that don’t support VoLTE, or with devices capable of VoLTE but not compatible with Rogers’ network (like some OnePlus phones), will need to upgrade their devices to avoid further fees and service degradation. If you’re not sure whether your device is compatible with Rogers’ networks, you can use the company’s device compatibility tool to check.

Rogers is offering special $0 upgrade options to impacted customers. Depending on the offers and your personal needs, it might make more sense to switch providers and get a new phone that way, or even to buy a new phone outright.

However, I wouldn’t recommend people switch just to avoid Rogers’ 3G shutdown. Bell and Telus started to ramp up their own 3G network shutdowns, with the latter also charging a 3G fee. In other words, if you take your current non-VoLTE phone to Bell, Telus, or their subsidiaries, you might only buy yourself another couple months before they shut down their 3G networks.