The pandemic will not have been as severe as expected for Canadian wireless. Suppliers have nonetheless been stingy in offering very little if any significant discounts in 2020. The holiday season which is beginning therefore marks a return of special offers in an industry that will have very few gifts to offer in the coming years.
This is what Xavier Lucas predicted, a French entrepreneur who landed in Quebec a year ago to launch a price comparison site in the Canadian wireless market called Top-Plans. “The holiday season is a big time for promotions. Everyone currently in wireless is offering discounts. It’s a good time to call and compare. That said, there aren’t many great deals out there, despite some great offers for two to five gigabytes per month mobile data plans, ”he says.
In Canadian wireless, when we compare ourselves… we are sorry. For the Canadian price of a 5 gigabytes per month mobile data plan, the French consumer gets twenty times more. SFR, the equivalent of Bell in France, offers 50 to 150 gigabytes per month at prices that will make Canadian mobile users green with envy.
It’s not just the international comparison that raises Xavier Lucas. The similarity of packages and prices offered by Canadian suppliers reminds him of another industry where all prices are generally the same. “It feels like a gas station. As soon as one supplier launches a special offer, the others immediately follow. “
According to him, this is an effect of the lack of competition in the Canadian wireless market, a characteristic which has been noted several times in recent years and which has still not been corrected. In this game, however, Quebec is privileged, because the presence of Videotron and its Fizz discount sign results in “a drop of $ 5 in the average monthly wireless package, compared to Ontario”.
Call rather than surf
The leader of the Top-Plans site observes another trend in wireless that is against the rest of the consumer sector: the digital shift is not complete. Or in any case, if it is, it is not to the advantage of buyers.
“The most interesting specials are not displayed on the websites. You have to call or visit a store, where the bargaining power of the consumer and the advisor is greater. If we read between the lines, we understand that we should not rush to the first offer proposed, even less if it is on the supplier’s site.
You should also not be afraid to change supplier, if necessary. Many people are worried about having more than one provider for their different telecommunications services because of the discounts offered by providers on bundles, but don’t be afraid to shop around, even come back hoping for a counter-offer. from its current supplier.
In wireless, new technology is replacing SIM cards, the famous “chips” that associate a mobile device with its phone number. Called e-SIM, it sometimes allows you to transfer your wireless account from one provider to another in less than 20 minutes, while waiting to receive your new SIM card by mail.
Not being afraid to leave your provider is another good negotiating tool to reduce your wireless bill, says Xavier Lucas.
A drop … in slow motion
When Justin Trudeau was elected in 2018, he promised a 25% reduction in Canadians’ wireless bills. Three years later, average wireless costs in the country have actually gone down. According to Statistics Canada, the reduction has been 17% over the past 24 months. The inclusion of unlimited calls and texts in monthly plans largely explains this decline.
It’s good, but it could be better. In the United States, mobile Internet is now 50% cheaper than in early 2018. Over five years, the cost of mobile data in the United States has decreased by 88%!
Yet our neighbors to the south are not being offered cheap wireless services either. Mobile Internet at Uncle Sam’s is almost four times more expensive than in Europe. In American wireless, we are beginning to suspect that the consolidation of recent years in telecommunications services has probably slowed down this drop in costs paid by consumers, whether for residential or mobile Internet.
Seen from Canada, this consolidation does not bode very well since here too, we are currently witnessing a possible contraction in the number of suppliers. Rogers’ offer to purchase Shaw is still under review by the federal government, and it is not yet clear whether it will allow it as is, or force Shaw to divest its Freedom Mobile division. before allowing the transaction. Xavier Lucas is not very optimistic, he who believes that we will not see a lasting drop in wireless costs in Canada without a foreign supplier intervening in this market. And since federal law protects Canadian telecoms from such a foreign incursion …
But it doesn’t matter: while waiting for the emergence of new major providers, the drop in the price of wireless services in Canada will continue to be done the hard way, by consumers who must negotiate to take advantage of discounted packages, by spotting seasonal specials, or considering switching providers.
In this context, the sites that compare the current packages such as Top-Plans or its Quebec rival PlanHub are doing well to attract consumers wishing to reduce their expenses.
And since the holiday season is that most popular time of year, there may not be such a good time for consumers wanting to reduce their wireless bill than during the holiday season. the next few weeks to haggle with suppliers.