Wind Mobile has been making moves to respond to Canadian customers’ complaints about the high cost of their wireless mobile bills. This past April they made adjustments to their pricing and plans and just a couple of weeks ago – as part of their Back-to-School promo – Wind reduced their truly $45 Unlimited Plan a full $6 down to only $39 a month. They allowed both new and existing customers to sign up for the plan and promised that price would stick with you as long as stayed a Wind Mobile customer. The $39 promo was compatible with either the Better Together savings or Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD). Wind has also reduced its WINDtab…the same as a subsidy on the device you purchase.
When you go on Wind’s website – see below – you will notice that they offer up two options. WINDtab that is their subsidize program for the customers that sign a two-year contract…Wind will sell you a discounted phone for signing a two-year agreement. The WINDtab Boost is similar to buying your device on a payment plan…in other words Wind is financing your device for you at zero interest. The WINDtab for a premium device was set at $150, which you ended up paying back over the two-year contract as long as you stayed with Wind – that amount has now dropped to only $100. This means it will cost you $50 more upfront to purchase your new device.
Our source asked Wind Mobile about this change and here is their response, “We have seen the Bring Your Own Device trend increasing and as a response we slightly updated our WindTab levels in order to continue offering the best possible value for our services, and ensure our pricing remains more attractive than our competitors.” What Wind Mobile did was essentially lower the amount of the subsidy they offered rather than increase the price of their plans. By doing this, those that purchase a new device are paying more of the true cost of the device. Those that want to pay a lower cost upfront would have to go through the WINDtab Boost program and amortize the cost of their smartphone over the 24 months, with 1/24 of the cost added to their monthly phone bill.
