91Ô­´´

Loblaw Cos. Ltd. is launching low-cost cellphone plans under its No Name brand, offering prepaid mobile sim cards for purchase at all No Frills locations across the country within the coming weeks.

The company says its new No Name Mobile cellphone plans are powered by its PC Mobile carrier, which has been around since 2005 and runs on Bell Canada's network. 

“No Name Mobile is here to show 91Ô­´´s that quality mobile plans don’t need to cost more," said Loblaw spokeswoman Catherine Thomas in an emailed statement.

"No Name is known for quality without sacrifice — giving customers freedom and flexibility in their mobile plans, without the frills."

The launch was first reported by MobileSyrup.

Unlike PC Mobile, which offers both 5G and 4G data speeds, No Name Mobile's website says its plans only include 4G.

No Name Mobile offers four plans at the same price as PC Mobile, but with five more gigabytes of monthly data — 25 gigabytes for $29, 55 gigabytes for $34, 80 gigabytes for $40 and 105 gigabytes for $50.

Each of those plans is eligible for an extra five-gigabyte bonus when subscribers sign up to automatically top up their accounts each month.

It also offers a pair of additional plans cheaper than PC Mobile's offers. Customers can buy one gigabyte of data — or two with the top-up bonus — for $19 per month, and four gigabytes of data — or five with the bonus — for $24.

All plans include unlimited calling Canada-wide and to the U.S., Canada-wide and international texting, along with call display, three-way calling, voice mail, call waiting and call-forwarding features.

Once a sim card is purchased, customers can pick and activate their plans through No Name Mobile's website or by phone.

Another difference between No Name Mobile and PC Mobile is that the former does not have promotional offers tied to Loblaw's PC Optimum loyalty program.

PC Mobile's website notes that customers of any of its four plans earn 20,000 PC Optimum points after two months of service and receive up to 10 per cent of the value of every top-up in points.

Thomas said Loblaw could not provide statistics on the number of subscribers to PC Mobile, but that "these programs are designed to meet the needs of the 10 per cent of the 91Ô­´´ population that want a prepaid option."

Neither carrier offers international roaming in the U.S. or elsewhere, according to their websites.

This report by The 91Ô­´´ Press was first published April 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:L)

Sammy Hudes, The 91Ô­´´ Press