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Freedom, which has 1.3 million subscribers in an overall market of 31 million, was not required to participate in the proceeding. Yet its new offerings — one gigabyte of data and unlimited text for $25 per month and 250 megabytes of data, 100 minutes of talk and unlimited texts for $15 per month — beat the incumbents’ proposals, which critics at the time called “disappointing” and “a joke.”

For comparison, Rogers proposed 400 MB of data for $25, Bell submitted a 500-MB/$30 plan and Telus is now offering 600 MB for $30 or 250 MB of lower-speed data for $20.

“For customers who use their services modestly, the new entry-level plans announced today offer fair and affordable pricing and provide far more value than any of the low-cost, data-only plans recently proposed by the incumbents,” Shaw’s wireless president Paul McAleese said in a news release.

In regulatory filings earlier this month, Telus defended its proposal as “completely responsive” to the CRTC’s criteria that plans be available on the latest 4G LTE network technology and that customers be able to pay either in advance or on contract.

Shaw’s lower-price plans, however, come with a catch. Customers must register for an account and sign up for auto pay from a credit card or bank account. If they don’t, they must pay an additional $5 per month on these plans and all Freedom plans going forward.

Shaw said this “digital discount” makes it possible to offer cheaper prices. The auto-pay requirement is an industry first across a carrier’s slate of wireless plans.