After first iteration failed to impress, telecoms offer new model from their mid-tier brands

Canada’s Big Three wireless carriers are doubling the amount of data they’re willing to offer in the low-cost, data-only plans requested by the federal regulator after their initial pitches were met with widespread criticism.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission had initially asked BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. to come up with the more affordable, data-only plans in response to an order from the federal government.

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But the CRTC wasn’t impressed with the first set of responses submitted in June, when the trio proposed plans ranging from 400 MB of data for $25 per month to 600 MB for $30 per month. That ranges from $50 to $62.50 per GB.

In July, one day after Shaw Communications Inc.’s Freedom Mobile launched plans with 1 GB of data for $25 (albeit on a smaller network), the regulator asked the Big Three to try again. It noted the U.S., U.K. and Germany all have plans with lower price points per gigabyte and that customers said they expect at least 1 GB for the proposed prices.

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Even though the Big Three collectively insisted their initial offers were fair, their second proposals submitted this week all offered twice the data at their fastest 4G LTE network speeds through their mid-tier brands.

Bell proposed 1 GB for $28 on its brand Virgin Mobile, Rogers offered 1 GB for $30 on Fido, and Telus proposed 1 GB for $30 on Koodo — better deals than currently advertised online.

Ted Woodhead, senior vice-president of regulatory affairs at Telus, said Telus increased the data to accommodate the CRTC even though the initial plans were “entirely compliant.”

“It became evident through the (request for information) that the CRTC was thinking or at least indicating that they were looking for more,” Woodhead said Tuesday. “Rather than getting into an argument about it, we went back and said, ‘What can we do here?’”

The CRTC’s initial request came after the federal Cabinet demanded it revisit a decision that left it difficult to set up WiFi-first business models, in which customers rely primarily on WiFi hotspots, but roam on wireless networks where WiFi isn’t available.

Rather than force incumbents to sell wholesale access to their wireless networks, the CRTC requested the low-cost plans, which the industry embraced as a less intrusive intervention.

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According to Woodhead, the new plans “far exceed” the original purpose of the proceeding, which was to fill the gap for WiFi-first users.

“I think it’s a pretty good solution,” he said.

In their submissions, carriers argued against the imposition of a price ceiling or mandatory requirement for low-cost plans. They contend the market is already extremely competitive.

As part of the revised submissions, Rogers and Bell also proposed additional lower-end plans, with Rogers offering 250 MB for $15 per month and Bell proposing 500 MB of slower 3G data for $15 per month under its brand Lucky Mobile.

Rogers believes its new plans will help low-income households by cutting their wireless spending. Bell noted that its low-cost brand, Lucky, has expanded to all 10 provinces since its launch in December 2017.

“The geographic expansion of Lucky Mobile is a testament to the competitiveness of the retail wireless market in Canada — if the market was not competitive, we would have no reason to invest in Lucky Mobile’s expansion across the country,” Bell submitted.

Rather than getting into an argument about it, we went back and said, ‘What can we do here?’ Ted Woodhead, Telus

Yet the carriers did not heed calls to match lower prices overseas.

Rogers argued that international comparisons undertaken by the Forum for Research and Policy in Communications and the Competition Bureau were “superficial” since they weren’t adjusted for currency exchange rates and did not consider network quality or coverage.

“Not only have Canadian mobile wireless service providers made enormous investments in building LTE networks that cover almost the entirety of Canada’s sparse population, but they invest far more in network upgrades and improvements than their peers in other countries,” Rogers stated.

Telus’ submission also defended not making the lowest-cost plans available on its flagship brand, something that none of the Big Three has proposed to do under their names.

“There are no differences in network coverage, throughput, quality, etc. as a result of a customer being on one Telus brand versus another,” it stated.

The cheapest plans currently available on the Big Three’s flagship websites start at $80 for unlimited local calling and 3 GB of data.