Crown-owned telco SaskTel has launched Lüm Mobile, a fully digital mobile brand that’s more affordable than one with a full-service model.
With its launch, SaskTel now has a flanker brand with more affordable mobile plans similar to Bell’s Virgin Mobile and Rogers‘ Fido.
Lüm’s self-serve business model lets customers modify their service through a mobile app on their own at any time. There are no contracts, monthly plans, or monthly billing dates. Instead, subscribers purchase a membership and then buy data as needed. Data can be acquired on a pay-per-use basis and will never expire. The service is provided over the full range of SaskTel’s networks.
A Lüm membership costs CA$50 for three months or CA$180 for a year. Once enrolled, customers can purchase one of four data buckets, ranging from CA$15 for 2GB, to CA$80 for 25GB. The service also offers unlimited talk and text for CA$25 for three months or CA$75 for a year, as well as roaming data for CA$15 per gigabyte in the U.S. and CA$30 per gigabyte in Mexico.
Membership fee | $50 for three months / $180 per year |
Data cost | $15 for 2GB; $30 for 6GB; $55 for 14GB; $80 for 25GB |
Talk and text (optional) | $25 for three months / $75 per year |
Travel data | U.S.: 1GB for $15
Mexico: 1GB for $30 |
Devices | N/A, bring your own device (BYOD) |
Extras | Call forwarding, call waiting, three-way calling. |
The launch of Lüm appears to be a response to the CRTC’s low-cost mobile plan guideline for Canada’s incumbent telecom operators. In its advisory, the CRTC described a CA$35 per month plan that includes unlimited Canada-wide calling, unlimited text messaging, and 3GB of data per month. Additionally, it set guidelines around a pre-paid occasional calling plan without data for CA$100 a year. Although Lüm’s service fees on their own appear to satisfy those criteria, adding on the membership fee increases the prices beyond the CRTC’s recommendations.
![CRTC's guideline chart for low-cost plans for Canada's incumbent telecommunication operators.](https://i.itworldcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/crtc-low-cost-mobile-recommendations.png)
Lüm is currently only available in Saskatchewan. Customers must bring their own devices.