Above: Sunday morning’s Tech Talk.
Today on my GlobalTV Sunday Morning News Tech Talk segment I talked about the upcoming changes on how Canadian cellphone providers will “conduct” themselves with customers starting on December 2.
On June 3 the CRTC issued a new code of conduct on how cellcos deal with customers, the main one being the much maligned locked-in three-year phone contract. Canadian users compared the two-year plans in the U.S. and how the frequent release of newer and more attractive smartphones made it difficult and more expensive to change phones.
I was skeptical on how a two year plan would work here, especially when it’s a given the actual cost of a new discounted phone with a contract, is something that will never change. It now means that the current phone subsidy in three-year plans, about $14 on a current $50 monthly plan, will go up to about $20 in a two-year contract.
Expect to also see an increase of about $20 on the down payment of top-end discounted phones similar to the U.S. two-year plans. A 16GB iPhone5 for $179 would be $199 while Samsung Galaxy S4 for $229 will cost $249. It’s up to the cellcos how they balance the down payment with the monthly subsidized phone fee.
Cellphone plan pricing dynamics are changing with more emphasis on data for Internet and email. It used to be phone calling was the cellco cash cow but older “paid for” voice packages are getting cheaper and an easier giveaway.
- ‘Shock and disbelief’ after Manitoba school trustee’s Indigenous comments
- Canadian man dies during Texas Ironman event. His widow wants answers as to why
- Several baby products have been recalled by Health Canada. Here’s the list
- ‘Sciatica was gone’: hospital performs robot-assisted spinal surgery in Canadian first
Take TELUS for example who beat competitors with a head start on its new two-year plan, effective July 30, three months ahead of the CRTC imposed Dec 2 deadline. They call it a complete re-think of their “clear and simple” strategy started in 2009. “We were already planning a two and three option plan but now we only be able to offer the two-year plan because of the CRTC changes,” said TELUS spokesperson Shawn Hall.
It will feature unlimited nationwide talk and text and the ability to share data with multiple subscribers in a household on the same account. It will allow flexibility of mixing different kinds of devices under one data sharing plan.
“You can bring your own new device (BYOD you bought outright or a hand-me-down from mom and dad for $35 a month, a lower end new subsidized phone for $45 a month and a high end phone like iPhone or BlackBerry Q10 for $55 a month,” said Shawn Hall. A paid-for tablet will cost $10 and a subsidized one will cost $20 a month.
A single person for example buying a new iPhone 5 and a new Samsung tablet from TELUS, both on two year contracts at discounted prices, along with a shared 1 GB data plan would pay $105 a month. While a family of four buys a new iPhone 5, a new BlackBerry Q10 (both on the Smartphone plan), and two new lower priced Samsung Galaxy Ace II X’s (both on the Smartphone Lite plan), all on two-year terms at discounted prices, adding used tablet, and add that to the data plan. They are fairly heavy data users, so decide to share 3 GB’s a month for $270 a month for the entire family on five devices.
Add a shared data plan starting for $15 a month for 250 MB, $30 for 1 GB or $100 for 6 GB and you are set. TELUS is betting on trending lower voice use with its unlimited nation voice and selling higher end data packages.
Hall said TELUS will allow customers to terminate two-year plans early, as they do now, as long as they pay off the remaining cost of the phone itself.
But for folks using lower end devices or tablets it’s a good deal. Let’s see what Bell and Rogers have up their sleeve, hopefully soon.
Comments