With the recent arrival of new players on the Canadian wireless carrier scene, one wireless industry executive expects that the upcoming back-to-school season will be a “bloodbath” with a flurry of discounts and special offers from all carriers. Mobilicity, Public Mobile and WIND Mobile will be looking to attract new customers while the incumbents will be fighting back to retain those customers.
All the carriers are expected to unveil new plans and new devices in the next few weeks. TELUS is expected to make an announcement in less than two weeks and Rogers is promising “news from us on pricing, you’ll see news from us on hot devices.” Bell and Rogers are also expected to unveil new flanker brands: A refreshed Solo Mobile and the new Chatr Wireless respectively.
The third quarter with its back-to-school season is now more important to carriers in terms of acquiring new customers than the holiday season.
While carriers may be in for a rough ride, consumers will hopefully be able to grab some good deals.