Freedom ups the ante with 100 GB of data offer

Shaw Communications Inc.’s wireless division is stirring the piping hot industry pot once again, as it announced Monday that it is giving existing and new customers of some plans a one-time, additional 100 GB of data on top of their monthly allotment. The Big Binge Bonus plan will give an unprecedented 100 GB of additional LTE data to customers signing-up for a Big Gig plan, which has a base of 10 GB for $60 per month with a new device on a two-year term. The 100 GB will last for as long as they’re a customer of eligible plans and will automatically begin when the user goes over their monthly limit. The move comes ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend later this month and is in-line with the company’s promised ad campaign launched in the summer focusing on data usage and its lack of overage fees (speeds are throttled when users go over). It also comes a month after it began deploying its 700 MHz spectrum, starting in Calgary, Alberta, adding credence to its seriousness as a competing player. It also represents another potentially industry-altering offensive for the company. Last holiday season, it caused a ruckus when it launched the Big Gig plans that gave Canadians the base option of 10GB of data for $50 per month, a relatively large amount of data compared to existing plans in the industry at the time. The Big Gig forced the hands of the Big Three -- Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc., and Telus Corp. -- all of whom responded with their own 10GB deals for $60. The subsequent fallout ignited a price war that affected Telus’ churn and Rogers systems. Earlier this year, the company again launched a preemptive strike on low-cost data plans proposed by the Big Three to the CRTC by upping data allowances in similar cost brackets that trumped the offers from the bigger competitors. Rogers, Bell, and Telus responded in suit by doubling their data offers. Following the last holiday season, one analyst noted Freedom’s audacious moves may have an impact on the large carriers’ revenue per customer. “We’re continuing to find new and better ways to give consumers what they want, and that includes giving Canadians the freedom to binge their data usage without incurring expensive overage fees,” Paul McAleese, Freedom’s president, said in Monday’s press release. “Canadians are watching more video content, streaming more music, and using more data on their mobile devices every day,” he added. “Our Big Binge Bonus gives Freedom Mobile customers the data they need, free of charge, so they can enjoy unrestrained access to their favourite content.” The Big Binge will apply to 10, 15 and 20GB plans, some of which come with unlimited Canada-wide talk and global texting. A Shaw spokesperson said the company can’t disclose when the “limited-time” offer expires. Data is increasingly becoming the focal point for wireless deals, as people continue to use more of it -- illustrating a generational shift from when text and voice were the primary telecom battlegrounds. Xplornet Communications Inc. last week launched its wireless business Xplore Mobile in Manitoba, with the hook that Xplore customers will be able to carry-over unused data from the previous month to the next. Current data on usage pegs consumption at under two gigabytes per month on average, though that’s increasing. What’s left to address is whether this new-found increased supply of data will bump up the average. — With reporting by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Freedom ups the ante with 100 GB of data offer

News | November 19, 2018

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us

Freedom ups the ante with 100 GB of data offer

News | November 19, 2018

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Related Stories

Freedom launches new roaming plan covering 73 destinations

“Different world, different landscape” says PKP in first earnings report since Freedom buy

Bigger, cheaper data plans thanks to us: Shaw

15,000 Shaw customers affected by breach

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us