Networks and sources

QuébeConnect shows the predicted cellular coverage of each network, everywhere in Québec. How it is calculated, and why it is a prediction rather than a measurement: see How the map is made.

Networks and providers

Many providers have no antennas of their own: they use the network of a licensed carrier. Their coverage is that of this network.

Roaming between networks (a Vidéotron customer outside its network, for example) is not shown.

How networks are ranked

For an address, the score out of 100 combines the hexagon that contains the point (60%) and its immediate surroundings (40%). For an area or a trip, it weights each level over the whole area or length: excellent 1, good 0.85, fair 0.65, weak 0.35, marginal 0.15, none 0. Each hexagon also counts in proportion to its covered share: a hexagon where the network reaches only 10% of the calculation points weighs ten times less than a fully covered hexagon, even if its best point has an excellent signal. A 3G network has its score multiplied by 0.6. For a home–work commute: 40% home, 30% work, 30% commute.

The situation selector at the top right of the map (Outdoors, Car, Indoors, Deep indoors) removes an average loss of 0, 7, 15 or 25 dB from the predicted signal before ranking the networks.

Coverage gaps

The “Coverage gaps” tab crosses predicted coverage with the human activity recorded in each hexagon: kilometres of numbered roads, kilometres of roads in total, and units in buildings (dwellings, but also businesses, institutions, farms, industries, hotels). These figures come from the addresses (number of units and type) and the road network published by Adresses Québec in September 2026, projected onto the map’s hexagons.

The coverage of a hexagon is judged on mobile networks only (Xplore, which serves fixed Internet only, is excluded):

• no network;
• 3G only (Ice Wireless or i-Mobile);
• weak or marginal 4G: the best network is below −105 dBm;
• only one network fair or better: served, but with no redundancy;
• well covered: at least two networks fair or better.

An area is called poorly covered in the first three cases. The map shows the density of activity per km², so that the colour scale stays the same at every zoom level. Totals by region and by regional county municipality (RCM), and the list of poorly covered hexagons, can be downloaded from the tab. Since coverage is predicted, a flagged area is a lead to verify in the field, not a finding.

Trips

Routes are calculated on the Référentiel québécois du transport terrestre (RQTT), Québec’s land transportation reference dataset: road network (including drivable forest roads), snowmobile trails of the Fédération des clubs de motoneigistes du Québec and the Route blanche, ATV trails of the Fédération québécoise des clubs quads. The RQTT does not give traffic direction: travel times are indicative. You can also import your own GPX track.

Sources and licences

• Radio sites: ISED, Terrestrial Spectrum Licence Site Data Extract, Open Government Licence – Canada.
• LiDAR terrain: Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts du Québec; MRDEM: Natural Resources Canada.
• Addresses: AdressesQc; roads and trails: RQTT; place names: Commission de toponymie (official place names). Données Québec, CC BY 4.0 licence.
• Coverage gaps: addresses (units and type) and roads from Adresses Québec, September 2026, projected onto the resolution-9 H3 grid. Données Québec, CC BY 4.0 licence.
• Basemap: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), rendered with Protomaps; Noto fonts (SIL OFL).

Contact

An error in the content, a provider attached to the wrong network, a question about the map? Write to contact@quebec3d.org.