Consumer group not satisfied by lower-price data-only plans

CRTC says carriers will offer at least one plan charging $30 per month or less for 1 GB

The country’s three national wireless carriers have agreed to offer a “broad range” data-only plans through their second- and third-tier brands, including $30-per-month plans with more megabytes than previously suggested, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announced Monday.

But OpenMedia, one of the consumer groups that had objected to the carriers’ proposals earlier this year, was quick to denounce the CRTC’s acceptance of their new position, saying it “completely fails” to meet the needs of low-income people in Canada.

“Connectivity is not a luxury — it’s essential. And affordable plans are critical to ensuring that everyone in Canada is able to participate in our digital society,”

OpenMedia executive director Laura Tribe said in a statement.

The CRTC had ordered Bell, Rogers and Telus in March to come up with data-only plans to fill a void in the marketplace. But it acknowledged Monday there was widespread criticism from individual consumers and consumer-advocacy groups about the price of the initial proposals filed in April.

Bell, for instance, had offered a single new option that cost $30 per month for 500 megabytes of data.

Rogers also had a single new option, that cost $25 per month for 400 megabytes of data. Telus had offered to introduce plans that would charge $30 for either 500MB through Koodo or 600 MB of data through Public Mobile.

The CRTC now says all three national wireless carriers will offer at least one plan that charges $30 per month or less for one gigabyte of data (1,000 megabytes).

Tribe said OpenMedia believes it’s up to Navdeep Bains, the federal minister responsible for telecommunications, to “open the market to innovative new providers, and bring choice and affordability to our cellphone market.”