Is cord cutter feasible for Canadians? Absolutely! We have cut the cords since 2013 and rely of online streaming services. Throughout the past 7 years, we have tested many services and learned a lot from our experiences. If you are planning to cut the cord to stretch the dollars or wanting to try to watch something new during social isolation. Read on…
Prerequisite: Good VPN service (plus a backup would be nice). The goal of this is to be able to access streaming services, complete online privacy is not the focus. I will not get into the technicalities of VPN’s privacy here.
- Top pick – Windscribe (Paid/Free 10GB)
- Second pick – IronSocket (Paid) 50% off now using coupon code “IRONVPN50”
- Backup pick – GetFlix (Paid)
The above VPN services provide options to access Geo-Restricted contents such as Hulu, NetFlix, Disney+, or PlutoTV. Each of the service has comprehensive setup guide and Windscribe is by far the easiest to use as the app works for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and even via browser extensions.
Windscribe’s generous 10GB/month free tier also include streaming services and it is still working with Hulu and Netflix as of this writing. IronSocket and GetFlix on the other hand offers SmartDNS for streaming for those who do not need full tunnel VPN. Each has their pros and cons in the years I have learned. My favorite still go to Windscribe due to stability and usability.
None of the 3 are ultra fast VPN, in my tests, they average around 30-50M download so they are more than sufficient for 1080p streaming. If you are planning to stream 4K or want 100M+, these are not good for you.
We also switched internet service provider a few times, we are ended up on Telus because of corporate discounts. With VPN services, you get what you paid for, Telus has consistantly 1 to 2 ms quicker compare to cable providers that we used before.
Tip: To get a better deals out of Shaw or Telus, reach out to their outbound salespeople. These can be found in Buy/Sell forum. They can offer significantly better deals for new customers. We found our previous deal from a Chinese immigrant forum.
Once VPN is setup, feel free to sign up for service trials. Many of them offer extended trial for COVID 19. As for payment, many takes PayPal or in the case of Hulu, you can buy e-gift cards from online retailers like Walmart.
We are able to access global contents with the use of Windscribe VPN:
- Netflix (use https://www.unogs.com to check content region and change VPN country accordingly)
- Hulu
- CBS Access
- PlutoTV
- Amazon Prime (UK, US, Canada)
- ViuTV (Hong Kong)
On average, we are paying about $20 a month for all of the services above because we paid annually during their sales around Black Friday. Our Telus Internet 75 is around $40/month, VPN is about $5/month and we still have a indoor antenna to access the local TV broadcasts.
Although streaming services became a royal mess with many major services and exclusives, the use of VPN allow one to stretch the dollar to access more contents. We are happy with our setup and is telling others our success stories – YES, cord cutting for Canadians is very possible if you are willing to go through the initial setup.