TELUS overhauls monthly plan lineup with more choice, less data

TELUS has overhauled its price plans starting today, adding a new layer of choice to its simplified SharePlus lineup, while lowering data allowances at the entry-level.

Now called Your Choice, TELUS has added two new options for customers that don’t want to pay for unlimited national calling, which was included in all previous share plans, and has subtly overhauled the low-end of its data bucket options.

Plans begin with a choice of smartphone, divided into three categories: Premium Smartphone; Smartphone; and Bring Your Own Device. There is a $10 difference between the three, but the former now begins at $50 for 300 local minutes/month, rising to $55 for unlimited local calls and, as before, $60 for unlimited national calls. All plans still come with unlimited texting, voicemail, call display and call waiting. The 300 minute option comes with unlimited weekday calls beginning at 6pm and on weekends.

The option of saving up to $10 per month was a consideration TELUS made based on customer feedback, many of whom said they were paying for voice features they weren’t using. The lineup scales linearly, so Smartphone customers (formerly Smartphone Lite) begin at $40 for 300 local minutes, rising to $45 for unlimited local calls and $50 for unlimited national calls. The same is true of BYOD, which begins at $30 and rises to $40 for unlimited national calls.

While potential savings is a good thing, TELUS has also altered the low-end of its shareable data bucket. As before, a user can add data to a single number, or share it with up to four additional devices, including tablets.

For $20, TELUS now offers 300MB, down from 500MB on SharePlus. The $25 option is now 750MB, down from 1GB, while the $30 option is now 1.5GB, down from 2GB, a reduction of 500MB. (Note that under SharePlus, TELUS included the price of a single Smartphone voice plan with its data bucket. Data prices are determined by removing $60 from the price.)

TELUS has also replaced its $50/4GB plan with a $45/3GB option, which raises the per-GB price from $12.50 to $15. The 6GB and 10GB options are unchanged at $65 and $85 respectively.

The takeaway from this change is that TELUS anticipates losing potential monthly revenue from customers choosing lower-cost monthly voice options, and has adjusted its monthly data allowance to make up the difference. TELUS still offers a $5-10 discount over Bell and Rogers for bringing your own device — Bell charges $45/mo and Rogers $50 — but these lower data pools are disappointingly regressive.

TELUS’ Your Choice plans are available now.