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The Big Three wireless carriers have proposed lower-cost, data-only mobile plans at the federal telecom regulator’s command, but questions remain over whether these plans go far enough for low-income consumers.

Last month, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ordered BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. to come up with cheaper, data-only plans as part of a broader decision taken in response to the federal government, which had asked the CRTC to reconsider mandating wholesale access to wireless networks to improve affordability.

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The CRTC declined to open up the networks for now in the name of protecting facilities-based competition, but said there was a gap in the market for affordable data plans. It gave the incumbents a month to file details on lower-cost, data-only plans, how these plans address affordability concerns and whether a price ceiling or capacity floor would be appropriate. Analysts viewed the decision as a compromise that used a “carrot-and-stick” strategy.