WhistleOut fast facts
- The Big Three mobile brands—Rogers, Bell, and Telus—raised the cost of their talk and text plans.
- The flanker brands—Koodo, Fido, and Virgin Plus—have already raised their prices by $2 for unlimited talk and text plans.
- All talk and text plans from the Big Three and flanker brands will cost $35 monthly.
- iFreedom Mobile, Public Mobile, Lucky Mobile, and Chatr Mobile still offer low-cost talk and text plans with 1 GB of data.
The Big Three mobile companies, and their flanker brands, have all increased their prices in the past month. The six carriers now charge $35 monthly for an unlimited talk and text plan without any data.
These more expensive plans offer less than competitors and force consumers into pricey plans after months of plans at $33 per month. All the while, the Canadian government has been pushing for mobile companies to lower prices, not increase them.
In fact, the cost for consumers was a central sticking point for the Rogers-Shaw merger, with many skeptics pointing to fewer plan options and more expensive coverage. The Big Three telecom companies own 90% of the market and charge some of the highest wireless rates in the world.
Looking beyond the Big Three and the flanker brands, prepaid brands, MVNOs, and smaller carriers offer unlimited talk and text plus 1 GB of data plans for $25 per month.
Price hikes are nothing new
Unfortunately, price hikes for the major telecommunications brands are nothing new—although the annual price comparison report found that wireless prices decreased by 2.6% in 2022.
As noted, MVNOs offer the lowest-priced plans in most regions. MVNOs are a good alternative since they mimic national providers for their coverage maps. In fact, you can get similar coverage as a Big Three network with lower prices for each plan.
We’ve also found that the other Big Three brands tend to follow when one telecom company updates its pricing information. Last month, most Big Three and flanker brands increased roaming costs by $1 for U.S. and international roaming fees.
So far this year, telecom companies have increased their roaming and basic plan charges.
Rogers, Bell, and Telus currently charge $45 per month for unlimited talk and text plus 5GB+ data, but that price could hit $50 per month before the year is out.Join the more than 130,000 people who follow WhistleOut to find technology they love.
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