Update – April 4th: As previously reported, Freedom Mobile has introduced its new ‘Nationwide’ coverage and prepaid plans. You can check them out below or directly on Freedom’s site.
Freedom Mobile is making some changes to its wireless plans that might benefit subscribers, according to internal documents obtained by MobileSyrup.
Starting on Aril 4th, 2019, the Shaw-owned carrier will introduce its new ‘Freedom Nationwide’ plans.
Freedom Nationwide should make things easier for customers, as it does away with the ‘Home’ and ‘Away’ network monickers and merges several plan features across both networks.
Freedom has long offered customers lower-cost plans with the compromise of limited use outside of specific regional areas. For example, a Freedom user in the GTA would have full access to all features of their plan — such as data, picture messaging and more — as they’re in the ‘Home’ network.
However, if that same subscriber travels out of the GTA — say, to Uxbridge or Orillia, Ontario — their phone would switch to ‘Away,’ which runs on partner networks.
Starting April 4th, Freedom’s ‘Nationwide’ coverage will replace the Away coverage. Users will still be on partner networks, but things will work a little differently.
For one, subscribers will get to keep almost all their plan features. Currently, Freedom users on an Away network will see some texting options, such as picture and video messaging, removed. That’s no longer the case. Talk and text features will remain the same regardless if you’re on Freedom or Nationwide networks.
Additionally, Freedom is making changes to how customers access data on Nationwide networks. Previously, plans included a varying amount of Away data for use when not on the Home network.
While that’s not changing, Freedom will allow customers to use up their Nationwide data allotment on the Freedom network if they use all their Freedom data first. For example, if your plan has 5GB of Freedom data and 500MB of Nationwide data, if you use up all 5GB of Freedom data before your cycle resets, you’ll use up the 500MB of Nationwide data before Freedom starts throttling your plan.
What are these changes going to cost me?
The short answer is probably nothing.
According to the internal document, Freedom’s Data + Talk, Data and ‘Freedom’ plans aren’t changing in price. The only exception here is the company’s $25 CAD 1GB Data plan, which doesn’t appear in the document.
It appears new Freedom Prepaid options will replace that plan.
The first is a $14 per month ‘Freedom Nationwide Text’ plan with unlimited global text, picture, and video messaging. This plan doesn’t have a calling package, so users will pay $1.50 per minute for outgoing and incoming calls to Canada, the U.S. and internationally.
There’s also a $24 per month ‘Nationwide Talk + Text’ plan that’s the same as the $14 plan but with unlimited Canada-wide calling. Finally, there’s a ‘Nationwide Talk + Text + 1GB’ plan that adds 1GB of Freedom data to the offer.
All of these are compatible with Freedom’s $5 Digital Discount, meaning you can get a plan for as low as $9 per month.
The only other significant change in the internal document is to throttling.
Freedom’s Fair Usage policy outlines how the carrier will throttle users who go over their monthly allotment. Freedom doesn’t charge overage fees for customers who go over their data cap. Instead, it just slows things down.
If you’re on the Freedom network, the slowest Freedom will make your data is still 32Kbps download and 16Kbps upload. However, if you’re on Nationwide or U.S. networks, the slowest Freedom will throttle you is 1Kbps download and upload.
Further, if you sign up for one of the new Freedom Prepaid plans, you won’t have access to data outside of what’s included in your plan unless you purchase more.
If you need more data, it’ll cost you
The internal documents list three new ‘One-Time Use Packages’ that subscribers can purchase, which are compatible with the new Freedom Nationwide and Freedom Prepaid plans.
All three offer 1GB of data for $15. Further, the 1GB is valid for 30 days.
The three packages offer users either Freedom data, Nationwide data or Freedom Nationwide data. The latter is for the new plans, while the former options will work for grandfathered plans.
Finally, the document notes that all of Freedom’s core in-market rate plans will be available to both new and existing post and prepaid customers. The new Freedom Prepaid plans are only available to new and existing prepaid customers.
Existing customers can switch to any in-market plan as long as their account is active and current. However, Freedom notes that it may charge customers the remainder of their MyTab difference if they downgrade their plan to one with different MyTab eligibility.
These changes are set to go live April 4th, and all relevant details will be on Freedom Mobile’s website.
Freedom did not provide comment to MobileSyrup regarding the upcoming changes.
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