Freedom Mobile – a subsidiary of Videotron, part of the Quebecor group – announced on 27 July the official launch of its 5G mobile network services, with initial coverage of over twelve million Canadians in the provinces of Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta, including the Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton metropolitan areas plus other selected cities. 5G access is now automatically included in all existing and new user packages of CAD45 (USD34) per month value or more, while a press release from Quebecor adds that ‘over time, Freedom will continue to roll out 5G to other markets.’ To make 5G access more affordable, Freedom is offering customers a Samsung Galaxy A14 5G phone with a 24-month term on a 5G plan at zero device cost, while supplies last.
Furthermore, Freedom simultaneously launched new ‘Nationwide Unlimited’ 5G and 4G monthly mobile packages – including nationwide network access at unified rates for the first time, compared to its previous range of packages which all had differing terms of usage outside of Freedom’s Ontario/British Columbia/Alberta network zones. Additionally, Freedom announced the introduction of ‘seamless roaming’, a technical enhancement which ‘greatly improves the user experience’, and also unveiled a new international roaming package option covering the US and Mexico.
Earlier this week, Freedom began switching on its first 5G network sections and contacting customers to inform them of the 5G upgrade and the enhancements to their mobile data plans. Following the official 5G launch, Quebecor highlighted that the group has already met ahead of schedule several commitments made upon completing the takeover of Freedom in April 2023, including offering 5G and non-5G plans with national roaming at a cost of at least 20% below the ‘benchmark plans’ of the ‘big three’ Canadian cellcos Rogers, Bell and Telus by April 2025 (noting that the latest reference plans of the major players are dated February 2023).