Update April 24, 2023: So it appears the $55/20GB price is the same as before, but what has changed are the credits received. It’s currently at $5/month for Digital Discount and $5/month for bring your own device, to get to $45/month. Prior to this, it was only a $10/month bring your own phone credit. Our original story is below:
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Freedom Mobile, formerly owned by Shaw and now under management by Quebecor’s Videotron, has increased the price of the company’s 20GB ‘unlimited’ plan.
Spotted by Ben Klass, the 20GB plan was $40 per month in late March, but as of today it’s up by $5, now priced at $45 per month for bring your own device customers. Big Gig Unlimited plans from Shaw include unlimited data, talk and text in Canada.
The plan includes 1GB Freedom nationwide data when you’re outside of Freedom Mobile coverage and also unlimited talk and text.
As of writing, 25GB of ‘unlimited’ data from Rogers, Telus and Bell costs $85 per month. So Freedom Mobile still has a ways to go if it wants to ‘match’ prices of incumbents.
Requirements of Videotron now owning Freedom Mobile include plans to be at least 20% less expensive over the next decade, compared to similar offerings from incumbents in B.C., Alberta and Ontario.
Freedom Mobile also needs to maintain existing pricing for current customers for at least five years. The company also will invest over $150 million to build a 5G network within two years, while also holding onto its spectrum licenses for at least 10 years.
After acquiring Freedom Mobile, Quebecor told customers of the latter to expect a 10% increase in their local data limit, for free. Guess this freebie comes at a cost, right?
