Canada’s ‘Big Three’ carriers — Bell, Rogers, and Telus — ushered in the New Year with plans that are the same as or a little more expensive than last year.
January is always a bit of a weird time for carrier plans since things change fast and frequently during Black Friday/Boxing Day and the holiday shopping period. As such, I thought it’d be worth taking a moment to look at what plans the Big Three have on offer now, how the plans differ (if at all) from pre-holiday plans and holiday offers, and really set a benchmark to look back to when plans inevitably change going forward.
We’re going to focus on the unlimited offers here since those are the primary options pitched by carriers. It’s also worth noting that these plans all include calling, texting and other add-ons — we’re going to focus on the data since that’s usually the only differentiating factor. That said, I will highlight any additional differences when they show up.
Additionally, some of the plans mentioned below include Canada-U.S. roaming. Unlike the standard roaming packages carriers offer, which charge customers a daily fee for a set number of days based on the destination (i.e. $10/day for 15 days in the U.S.), Canada-U.S. roaming plans include access to data, calls and text while in the U.S., no additional roaming fees required. You can check out the default roaming packages at the following links: Rogers | Bell | Telus.
Finally, all the unlimited plans include a data allotment. Customers can access data at full network speed until they use up the allotment — after that, the carriers throttle data speeds to a maximum of up to 512Kbps. There are no overage charges, so you can keep using data at the slower speed if you want.
Bell
Bell’s plans as of January 19th, 2022.
Let’s start with Bell, since it has the most different set of plans. Bell’s current unlimited plans include:
- $90/mo 40GB
- $100/mo 50GB (includes Canada-U.S. roaming)
- $175/mo 100GB
Bell’s plans effectively remained unchanged from October 2021 through the holidays. The carrier previously had an $80/mo 20GB plan that’s no longer available. Additionally, Bell’s 40GB plan previously cost $85/mo, so that’s gone up in price.
The $95/60GB plan has been replaced with the more expensive, worse value $100/50GB, but it’s worth noting that Bell previously offered a $125/50GB plan before October 2021. Moreover, the $100/50GB plan now includes Canada-U.S. roaming, although that isn’t super useful given the ongoing pandemic. There’s a $195/100GB Canada-U.S. plan as well, but it doesn’t show up until customers start the check-out process.
The $175/100GB plan remains unchanged.
You can check out Bell’s plans here.
Rogers
Rogers’ plans as of January 19th, 2022 (note the $175/mo 100GB plan isn’t shown here).
Almost all of Rogers’ plans are listed as ‘Limited Time Offers,’ typically with more data or a reduced price compared to the ‘normal’ versions of those plans:
- $80/mo 20GB (usually 15GB)
- $90/mo 40GB (usually 25GB)
- $100/mo 60GB (usually $125/mo 50GB)
- $175/mo 100GB
It’s worth noting that the $80/20GB plan has remained unchanged (and listed as a ‘Limited Time Offer’) since October 2021. Similarly, the $90/40GB has also remained unchanged through the holidays, although Rogers did briefly offer an $80 version of the 40GB plan that didn’t include free Disney+.
As for the $100/60GB plan, Rogers offered a $95 version of that plan during the holidays. Prior to that, it had a $110/50GB plan. The $175/100GB plan remains unchanged.
Finally, it’s worth noting all the Rogers plans include six months of free Apple Music, while the $90/mo+ plans include six months of free Disney+. Some of the plans are limited to new activations or hardware upgrades. During checkout, customers can also choose to add Canada-U.S. roaming for $20/mo.
You can view Rogers’ plans here.
Telus
Telus’ plans as of January 19th, 2022.
Finally, Telus’ plans exist in a bit of a weird spot. Last year, the Vancouver-based national carrier ditched its somewhat confusing ‘Peace of Mind’ and ‘Peace of Mind Connect’ monikers. ‘Connect’ plans allowed customers to add additional devices, like tablets, to share the unlimited data available through that smartphone plan. Since removing that option, Telus’ plans now all offer shareable data for connected devices (if you pay an extra $10/mo per SIM-enabled device).
- $80/mo 20GB (limit of two connected devices)
- $90/mo 40GB (includes unlimited international messaging and ‘visual voicemail 25’)
- $100/mo 50GB (includes everything in the $90 plan plus Canada-U.S. roaming)
Instead, Telus now works in some extra benefits to its more expensive plans, such as advanced voicemail features or Canada-U.S. roaming.
Telus’ $80/20GB plan hasn’t changed since October (including through the holidays). The carrier previously offered a $95/60GB plan, bumped it up to $100/60GB during the holidays and added the Canada-U.S. calling, and now has it at $100/50GB. Finally, the $90/40GB plan was previously available for $85/mo.
You can view all of Telus’ plans here.
