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Another discount offer could trigger a “death spiral” of price cutting, he said.

“These guys have done a wonderful job of avoiding direct price competition for quite a long time,” said Meredith. “Everybody’s product is exactly the same, like gasoline … so they are very careful just to match each other’s prices and not undercut prices under any circumstances.”

“That prevents consumers from playing one off against the other,” he said.

That all changed in October when Shaw Freedom Mobile introduced a plan offering 10 gigs for just $50, which “set off a bomb in the market,” he said.

These guys have done a wonderful job of avoiding direct price competition for quite a long time

Shaw rolled out its LTE data service in Canada’s urban markets on bands available to the majority of handsets and added service for iPhone, according to Shaw spokesman Chethan Lakshman.

Its broader appeal and aggressive pricing likely triggered a rush of new customers, said Marc-David Seidel, a professor at UBC’s Sauder School of Business.

Photo by handout / PNG

“People are now able to unlock their phones and switch carriers more easily, so that creates more competitive pressure,” he said. “That price shake-up from a fourth carrier (Shaw) is what sparked this.”

Even more change — and more competition — is coming.

Some canny Canadians are already taking advantage of US$40 T-Mobile One plans from the United States, with unlimited voice, text and five gigs of data, even when the phone is in Canada, he said.

“Sixty dollars for 10 gigs may be low — even half-price by Canadian standards — but it’s still well above what people pay in other countries,” he said.