TORONTO – Freedom Mobile today announced the launch of what it’s calling “Big Gig”, a brand new plan giving customers 10GB of data for $50/month.
The new plan gives both new and existing Freedom Mobile customers access to more data for less with no penalties for data overages, “and is unlike anything currently being offered to Canadians,” says the company’s release. The Big Gig plans are available beginning Thursday, October 19. As Rogers Communications, Bell Canada and Telus are all about to report their third quarter results over the next two weeks, we bet there will be questions on how they plan to respond to this.
Right now, the other brands owned by the big three (Rogers, Fido, Chatr, Bell, Virgin, Telus and Koodo), all offer 10GB data plans ranging from $80 to $145 per month. Chatr is the only one which doesn't appear to offer a 10GB plan, offering instead a maximum of 4GB for $50/mo. At this point, it is hard to compare exact apples to apples because the Freedom release did not specify calling minutes involved, or whether the data can be shared across devices in the same account, for example while the other brands all offer data with other add-ons, but this new price will reverberate across the Canadian wireless industry.
"Simply put, the Big Gig plans are a total game changer in the Canadian wireless industry," said Paul McAleese, chief operating officer at Freedom Mobile. "Offering our customers access to this much data on our new LTE network resets the marketplace and redefines what Canadians should be paying for data."
How far does this much data go? With 10 GB, Freedom Mobile customers can (reads the release):
• Stream 250 hours of music on Spotify at normal quality.
• Make 20 hours of video calls.
• Stream 100 hours of standard content or 13 hours of HD video content on YouTube3
• Stream 40 hours of standard content or 10 hours of HD content on Netflix
The launch of the Big Gig data plans will be supported with a national marketing campaign by Freedom Mobile to ensure Canadians see what they could and should be paying for data.
"Our campaign supporting the Big Gig plans reflects the real lives of our customers and their increasingly large data needs," said Katherine Emberly, senior vice president marketing of Freedom’s parent, Shaw Communications, in the release. "Freedom Mobile is the only carrier to offer plans for the modern customer whose lives are data centric. Today's customers use FaceTime, Facebook messenger, text, email, and iMessage to stay in touch with friends and family. Data is their preferred and chosen vehicle for communication."
"Big Gig will be a loud and unprecedented, in-your-face campaign that makes it clear to Canadians that they have a choice that doesn't include costly overages or top-ups each month," Emberly said.
"Until now, the approach to wireless data pricing has been deliberately punitive, and out of line with customer usage. We want Freedom Mobile customers to stay connected to whatever content they love as long as they want," added McAleese. "Better wireless prices for Canadians will only come through competition without compromise. Our Big Gig plans don't compromise on price or value, so our customers don't have to compromise on using their data."
Along with the new Big Gig data plans, Freedom Mobile will continue to offer plans starting at $25 per month, providing customers with choice and customization of plans which best suit their needs.
