Major Flankers Cut Data But Charge Same Price

The major flanker brands are changing their plan options, dropping the $39/20GB plan and instead listing a $39/10GB option. The change in plans is surprising and comes after the Big Three mobile brands and the flankers raised the cost of their talk and text plans in April.

Koodo is the only flanker listing the plan offering as a promotion, which means it could increase the price to match Fido’s $44 monthly charge. Fido’s is also listed as a promotion—the plan is regularly $44 per month, but it becomes $39 per month after the automatic payments discount.

It is worth noting that Public Mobile from Telus has introduced prepaid mobile plans that include 20GB of data for $39 each month. Mainly, though, the plans are in line with the prices offered by Koodo, Virgin Plus, and Fido—although Public Mobile does not provide a 40GB plan.

Freedom Mobile and Public Mobile still offer customers the $39/20GB plan, but it may change soon. As for the other options, check out different plans before paying the same amount for half the data.

The price changes come as the Big Three (Rogers, Bell, and Telus) and flanker brands (Koodo, Fido, and Virgin Plus) have already raised their prices for unlimited talk and text plans. As we reported in April, these more expensive plans offer less than competitors and force consumers into pricey plans after months of plans at $33 per month.

Cost increases come amid a year of change

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All these changes come after the Rogers-Shaw merger and Freedom Mobile going to Videotron, with only a few other brands left for mobile customers. 

At this point, 30GB of data will cost the average mobile subscriber $50 per month, while 40GB will cost $60. That’s if you bring your phone to the plan, too. The upfront costs are mounting only months after an annual price comparison report noted a decrease in wireless expenses.

However, the most significant decreases were seen for unlimited talk and text plans that included 10-19GB of data, which these plan increases will disrupt. The report also found that MVNO prices for plans mimicking national providers are “consistently lower than the average incumbent price.” In most regions, we’ve found that MVNOs offer the lowest-priced plan. 

To add insult to injury, we’ve been reporting for a few years now that Canadians pay more for their cell phone plans than anywhere else in the world.