Big 3 offer twice the data in new low-cost plan proposals

BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. have each proposed a set of new-and-improved low-cost wireless data plans to the CRTC that would be available through their flanker brands and effectively double their original data offers. That comes in response to the CRTC’s request from July that the big carriers provide cheaper plans than what they originally pitched to the regulator. The major telecom companies touted their upped-antes as both affordable and reasonable in documents filed with the regulator Monday. Bell and Rogers also included new plans at about half the price of those they originally proposed -- $15 a month -- though those would only be available at 3G speeds. Each of the Big 3 is offering a set of new plans, including at least one offer running at about $30 for a gigabyte of data per month – similar to what Shaw Communications Inc.’s Freedom Mobile offerings launched back in July, which at the time beat out the other low-cost proposals on the table. Telus is proposing two new monthly low-cost, data-only plans at $30 a month for 1 GB of data at LTE speeds, available through its flanker brands. One would be a postpaid plan delivered through Koodo, while a prepaid plan would be on offer through Public Mobile. “The cellular data allotment of 1GB that Telus now proposes far exceeds what would reasonably be necessary as a complement to primary WiFi use, and will enable customers to meaningfully participate in the digital economy,” the response said. Telus had originally pitched that Koodo would run a $30 a month 500 MB plan, with Public Mobile offering various other options. Bell outlined three new proposed plans: two from Virgin Mobile and an additional lower-cost plan through Lucky Mobile. The two under Virgin would both run at $28 a month for 1 GB on LTE network speeds, with the difference being an option for pre-payment or post-payment. Bell had also originally proposed that it could offer $30 for 500 MB through Virgin Mobile. Bell said the new proposals provide “twice as much data as the plans in our original proposal at less than half the price per .” The new Lucky Mobile plan would be prepaid at $15 a month for 500 MB, and like the other plans available through the Lucky Mobile brand, it will have 3G speeds. “This allows us to offer the same amount of data as in our previous proposal, but at half the price,” Bell’s response said. Rogers is proposing three new lower-cost, data-only plans through Fido, and two lower-cost plans through Chatr. The first would run at $15 for 250 MB and include “100 outgoing Canada-wide voice calling minutes, unlimited incoming calls, unlimited Canada-wide text and picture messaging.” The second runs at $25 a month for 1 GB after subscribers enrol in an automatic payment plan. That plan would include “unlimited incoming voice calls, unlimited Canada-wide text and picture messaging.” Like its regular Chatr plans, those two low-cost options would be offered over a 3G network. When it initially ordered the companies to propose the low-cost options, the CRTC specified that they be available “on the latest mobile wireless network technology, (i.e. not limited to the third-generation network).” Rogers said in its submission that though the “offers do not meet the technical requirement set forth by the Commission to provide service over LTE networks, Rogers feels these plans will provide a very worthwhile additional complement to the three plans described above." The Fido plans, all of which have prepaid and postpaid options and come with unlimited text and picture messaging, include one at $15 for 250 MB, another at $25 a month for 500 MB, and another set at $30 for 1 GB – each running on LTE speeds. Rogers had originally proposed $25 for 400 MB per month. “Unlike some of the prices and rates proposed by interveners in this proceeding, the new plans proposed are both affordable and reasonable,” Rogers said. The CRTC asked the carriers to begin offering low-cost wireless plans back in March, an apparent trade-off in affordability options instead of the CRTC pursuing mandated roaming access by WiFi-based mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). The major carriers responded with proposals for cheaper data-only plans ranging from 400 MB to 600 MB, costing between $25 to $30. But critics charged those first proposals weren’t affordable, and the CRTC asked the carriers to try again. Submissions to the CRTC from advocacy groups proposing that major telecom companies should offer-up lower-cost plans had recommended even cheaper plans still than what the Big Three have most recently proposed. The Forum for Research and Policy in Communications suggested a $7 a month plan that provided 1GB of data. A proposal from the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) and OpenMedia suggested about $2 per GB, while the Manitoba Branch of the Consumers' Association of Canada suggested a “flex” proposal running $20 a month for 1GB of data. Meantime, Shaw’s submission said it opposes any mandated condition of service that forces national wireless providers to create a “defined lower-cost data-only plan available in the mobile wireless market under any circumstance, particularly under a price ceiling and capacity floor.” “It is inefficient and disproportionate and should not be engaged,” the document said. Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. (SaskTel) warned that if mandated lower-cost plans become popular, they would “greatly reduce incentives for other providers to enter the market” and entrench the incumbents’ market dominance. The Competition Bureau’s submission reiterated its position that the CRTC should impose regulations forcing adoption of low-cost plans as a “temporary solution to competitive issues” in the telecom sector, “given the historical inability of market forces to deliver effective lower-priced options for Canadian consumers.” “Doing so could increase economic welfare and wireless penetration in Canada.” — With reporting by Kyle Duggan at kduggan@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect the fact that Rogers' Fido plans would offer unlimited text and picture messaging.

Big 3 offer twice the data in new low-cost plan proposals

News | September 11, 2018

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