from Canada, and we really don’t want to report what’s to follow. Virgin Mobile Canada has unfortunately gone and upped their prices. This is not going to go over well with their cost-conscious subscriber base, nor is it going to do much to help them attract new customers. No one likes rate hikes. The first comes with their monthly rates, which Engadget Mobile notes has been raised “by about 17% across the board.” Ouch. Their cheapest plan is $25, which gets you 100 text messages, 100 anytime minutes, and 1,000 night and weekend minutes. Other plans run $30, $40, and $50 per month, all up $5 from their previous prices. The $60 plan remained unchanged. Worse yet, they’re now charging a $35 activation fee, billed as an “account setup fee.” Raise monthly rates if you will, but please, spare us the activation. So why the hike?
According to MobileSyrup, there’s a number of reasons for the rate increases, including the fact that the discount carrier apparently hasn’t posted a profit since its launch in 2005, and that they’re now looking to build some actual walk-in stores, in addition to the usual kiosks. Even more interestingly, they’re also saying that the price increases could be in anticipation of some pricier handsets in the offing, perhaps even including the BlackBerry Storm by the end of the year.Still, it doesn’t help your reputation as a discount carrier when you up rates across the board.]]>
Completely agree that no one likes a price hike, and that it won’t bode well for their reputation, however, profitability really is key. To my knowledge, Virgin hasn’t posted a profit yet in the US either, so turning things around in Canada to become profitable I would expect is a key strategic objective. Ultimately, customers benefit in the long run if companies/competitors can remain in business.
Cheers,
PrepaidWirelessGuy
http://www.prepaid-wireless-guide.com/compare-prepaid-plans.html
I bought my wife a Virgin phone 3 years ago. She was on the 10 cents-a-minute anytime/anywhere/anyhow program (with auto top-up). I just checked online and see their per-minute rate has skyrocketed to 30 cents. Bell is to blame for screwing up Virgin (haa, haa, haa). Why Canadians have to continually get hooped by the wireless companies is beyond me.
Of course it is Bell behind all of this. What other company would have the arrogance to put in place such inflationary price increases? But where is the people’s “guardian” the CRTC? Not only do we have these outrageous rate hikes but Telus now charges for issuing a paper bill, expecting their customers to provide band width and a computer for them to use to bill for a service the consumer is buying. Outrageous and usurious beyond belief. Why are Canadians so pathetically apathetic? Bell and Telus both need to have their asses kicked, big time.