Chatham-Kent-based third-party internet provider TekSavvy has plans to lower the price of many of its plans in the near future, according to various reports from customers that surfaced on Twitter this morning.
The internet provider will release details on its new pricing structure on January 16th.
https://twitter.com/DaftFunk_JD/status/811215162590003200
It’s unclear exactly what the rate changes are, but most plans seem to be decreasing in price by at least a few dollars. TekSavvy’s official Twitter has also stated that all customers will continue to receive unlimited data between the hours of 2am and 8am.
We reached out to TekSavvy for comment and the provider has confirmed that it plans to lower prices and raise speeds, though declined to give specifics regarding its new pricing structure.
“We’ve been pushing for this for a long time, so it feels great to be able to bring more value to our customers this holiday season. This is one of the largest price drops we’ve ever seen. We are making changes for virtually our entire customer base,” said Marc Gaudrault, CEO TekSavvy Solutions, in an interview with MobileSyrup.
https://twitter.com/takedanger/status/810938016982323201
This week thousands of Canadians received emails stating their internet bills are set to go down at some point in the next few months as a result of a recent CRTC decision. Back in October, the CRTC ruled that telecoms like Bell, Rogers and Vidéotron, are charging third-party internet providers too much for access to their “last mile” infrastructure.
A CRTC ruling from back in 2010 permitted telecoms to charge third-party internet providers to access their wires at a 10 percent markup. The ruling back in October cited that the provider’s rates had grown too high. This shift effects third-party internet providers like TekSavvy, Distributel and Acanac, with the latter two services not yet indicating if they have plans to lower their plan pricing structure.
Specifically, the CRTC has cut network access rates by up to 39 percent, and has also reduced the rate to transport internet data by 89 percent.
— TekSavvy Assistance (@TekSavvyCSR) December 19, 2016
Twitter user @DaftFunk_JD states that TekSavvy informed him his pricing will go down by $10 with the speed increasing by 10mb/s. Another Twitter user, @fakejaime, told MobileSyrup that the pricing for his plan is going down $2 and that the speed is not changing (he says he’s signed up for TekSavvy’s 10 upload/25 download internet plan.
“Competitors that provide retail Internet services to Canadians using wholesale high-speed services must have access to these services at just and reasonable prices,” said CRTC chairman and CEO Jean-Pierre Blais in a statement following the regulatory body’s October ruling.
“The fact that these large companies did not respect accepted costing principles and methodologies is very disturbing. What’s even more concerning is the fact that Canadians’ access to a choice of broadband Internet services would have been at stake had we not revised these rates. As always, we strive to create a dynamic competitive telecommunications market for Canadians.”
In the Canadian telecom market where providers are often raising prices, it’s refreshing to see an internet supplier, even if it’s only a third-party provider, reduce its fees while still increasing speeds.
Updated 21/12/2016: A reader reached out to let us know that Acanac has also lowered its plan pricing while maintaining its current internet speeds.
(Thanks Kevin and @DaftFunk_JD)
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