Wireless service prices dipped with ‘unlimited’ plans: StatCan

The price of wireless plans is going down slightly, but the price of phones is skyrocketing, according to Consumer Price Index data released last week by Statistics Canada. In July, telephone services customers paid 2.5 per cent less than they did in June, but the “multipurpose digital devices index,” which Statistics Canada says includes prices for smartphones and tablets, rose 42.5 per cent. “The decline follows an industry-wide shift in the pricing structure of cellular data plans amid intensifying competition among wireless providers,” the statistics agency said in a release, referring to a price war among the nation’s wireless providers. "The widespread introduction of unlimited data plans coincided with a reduction in the subsidies for wireless devices, shifting more of the cost of devices to consumers," the release said, pointing to both the introduction of “unlimited” data plans in recent months, and the move away from subsidies. This past summer, the Big Three major providers have either introduced or said they will introduce “unlimited” or “no overage” data plans. In a second quarter earnings call with analysts earlier this month, Telus Corp. CEO Darren Entwhistle said the introduction of these “unlimited” plans into the market reduced the need for regulation “significantly.” The period of increased competition dates back to 2017, when Shaw Communications Inc.’s wireless brand Freedom launched its “Big Gig” plans and a number of other providers responded. The Big Three were forced to offer more data for their “low-cost” data options after Freedom undercut the bigger players’ original low-cost data proposals. Last year also saw an expansion to all provinces of BCE Inc.‘s Lucky Mobile, a low-cost flanker brand with a focus on the prepaid segment, and the launch of Fizz Mobile, Quebecor Inc.‘s similar low-cost offer. The release from StatCan echoes the findings from the CRTC’s Communications Monitoring Report, released earlier this month. That report also found that prices were down, but the overall household spending was increasing.

Wireless service prices dipped with ‘unlimited’ plans: StatCan

Brief | August 26, 2019

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Wireless service prices dipped with ‘unlimited’ plans: StatCan

Brief | August 26, 2019

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