Rogers increases monthly bring-your-own-device cost to $50 per line

Rogers has increased the cost of bringing one’s own device (BYOD) to the carrier by $10 to $50/month.

Previously $40, the base cost of a monthly plan before data charges included unlimited national voice and text, and included add-ons like call display, voicemail and call forwarding. The price scheme came into effect last summer prior to the introduction of the CRTC’s Wireless Code, which essentially banned three-year contracts.

Carriers like Rogers, Bell and TELUS began incentivizing customers to bring their own devices by offering a $20/month discount, which worked out, over two years, to $480 in savings, roughly the same amount as a subsidized smartphone.

Initially $35/month, with mid-range devices costing $45 on a 2-year term and high-end devices $55, the cost was universally increased across all carriers recently to $40/$50/$60 respectively.

Though neither Bell nor TELUS have updated their pricing lists to match Rogers’s increase, it may only be a matter of time. Unfortunately, the move will discourage users from bringing their own phones to Rogers, since the cost saved over two years is now just $240, and will generally not recover the cost of a phone purchased outright.

Rogers said in a statement, “The Share Everything Plans overall offer more value, including unlimited nationwide calling, different data bucket sizes, the ability to share data between family members and devices at reduced rates, and the option to upgrade devices every 2 years. We also added the two new data buckets, 2G and 4G to provide more options for our customers. BYOD still offers considerable saving for families who want to bring their own device and share these features.”