Bell MTS cancels unlimited data plan for new customers

One of the onlytelecommunications companiesto offer truly unlimited data in Canada Bell MTS is pulling the plug for some of its customers.

On Tuesday, the companyeliminated theflat rate for data usage for new customers, but existing customers cankeepthepromotioneven if they change their phone, the company said.

Last year,CBCNews foundwhile many U.S. carriers offer unlimited data to customers, Manitoba Telecom Services before it was acquired by Bell was among the only in Canada to do so.

Currently, the Crown-owned SaskTel which operates only in Saskatchewan offers unlimited data plans, according to its website.

With both the MTSand SaskTel plans, speeds are reduced after a user burns through 15 GB.

Instead of unlimited province-wide data, Bell MTSis now offering users a Canada-wide 15GBplan for $95 a month.

The cap "far exceeds the average customer use per month," Bell MTS said in a statement. Prices have increased by about$5 per month for new customers and existing customers after they upgrade or switch their device.

The company says the move is the first hike in its wireless prices since Oct. 2016.

Telecom expert Rose Behar, editor for the tech websiteMobileSyrup, saysBell CEO George Cope pledged to keep pricingthe same for 12 months after the company's acquisition ofManitoba Telecom Services closed in March2017.

A change in pricingwas due, Beharsays.

The telecom giant wanted to "start taking those Manitoba plans, which were much under the average pricing that they have across the rest of Canada, and bumping them up to be more in line with what they're offering in the rest of Canada."

Competition is lessened and therefore the pricing is higher.- Rose Behar, telecomexpert

She doesn't expect pricing relief for Manitoba consumers anytime soon.

"Whether one of the big threeBell, Telus, Rogersbuys up a competitor, regional or smaller, they tighten their stronghold on the industry," Beharsaid."Competition is lessened and therefore the pricing is higher."

Beharsays price-conscious consumersmight find apotential saviour with the pending arrival of Xplornet. The companymight reintroduce a flat wireless plan to Manitoba and force the hand of national carriers, she says.

Unlimited data the norm in U.S.

Competition maylead to unlimited wireless plans, as experiencedin the United States. After T-Mobiledisrupted themarket by unveilingan unlimited plan in Aug. 2017, Sprint introduced its own version at a lowerprice. Other carriers followed suit.

None of Canada's three big services offer unlimited wireless data plans.

Beharsays the lack of competition nationwide is a concern. To address calls for affordability, the industry's regulatoraskedthe biggest national wireless carriers earlierthis yearto create cheaper, data-only cellphone plans.

"I do believe that Canadians will eventually see unlimited data, just because of how much we're consuming and how mobile-first the world has become," she said. "It will take maybe a new player."