There was a flurry of carrier news this week as several wireless providers shifted pricing around.
Plus, more wireless options in Canadian grocery stores — a match made in monopoly heaven. The federal government also wants to crack down on fees for switching carriers.
Here are the details.
Pricing and deals
Bell’s Virgin Plus started the week by downgrading its $50/60GB plan 5G to 4G and rolling out a new $65/75GB 5G plan. Then, it ended the week by turning a $34/20GB plan into a $40/10GB one and increasing the cost of its talk and text plan by $5/mo.
Telus added a $70/75GB 5G mobile plan. Then Telus’ flanker brand Koodo added $65/75GB 5G plan to match Virgin, undercutting Telus in the process. In other Telus news, the carrier is supporting Earth Month by offering to plant a tree if you buy a phone from Telus… as long as it’s not an iPhone. Telus is also emailing some Koodo customers, offering them a special $50/mo 100GB plan if they buy a phone.
Speaking of Koodo, it also turned an existing $50/60GB 4G plan into a promotional offer.
Finally, Rogers’ Fido rolled out an excellent $40/75GB 4G Canada-U.S. that’s limited to Quebec. While Quebec residents were getting deals, Fido increased its $34/20GB plan to $39/mo in other provinces.
Retail
Bell refreshed its MyBell app.
Bell also announced a new partnership that will see Virgin Plus and Lucky Mobile prepaid plans available in Sobeys and FreshCo grocery stores.
Government
The federal government plans to amend the Telecommunications Act with new requirements for carriers, most notably with a prohibition on fees for switching providers.
Infrastructure
SaskTel added $80 million to its Rural Fibre Initiative.
Xplore and CommScope will deploy fibre in rural Ontario.
