Bell Canada followed Rogers Communications in offering a so-called unlimited tariff, marking a major shift in a market known for pricey mobile service.
The operators’ new plans will start at CAD75 ($56.22) for 10GB of high-speed data and unlimited data thereafter at slower speeds, eliminating overage charges.
While Bell’s offer will only last until 30 June, Rogers Communications said its decision to debut an unlimited plan comes as part of a “comprehensive multi-year programme” to improve its customer experience.
Brent Johnston, Rogers Communications’ president of wireless services, added in a statement the operator expects the tariffs “will be popular with our customers for years to come”.
Regional operators including SaskTel, Freedom Mobile and Chatr Mobile already offered unlimited tariffs, but tier-1 operators in the country were slower to follow a trend popular among their counterparts in the US and elsewhere.
It is unclear whether Telus, the third major operator in Canada, will follow suit.
The move is significant given the country’s reputation for expensive mobile service. In December 2018, Canada’s Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) released a study showing average mobile tariffs in the country still consistently ranked higher than those in other G7 countries, despite some recent reductions.
Unlimited plans are not without their drawbacks for operators: while a shift to the model in the US in 2016 and 2017 proved a draw for consumers, it negatively impacted wireless service revenue for several quarters as customers transitioned off higher priced plans.
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