Unlimited voice and data plans: has the race to the bottom begun?

The inevitable happened yesterday when T-Mobile and AT&T introduced unlimited calling and messaging plans to match those of rival Verizon’s.

Earlier this week, Verizon introduced its own series of unlimited voice and messaging plans that cost US$100 to US$200 a month. T-Mobile and AT&T now offer similar all-you-can-eat plans. (It’s something I admittedly should’ve predicted on Tuesday). AT&T’s $100 big bucket plan however, doesn’t include messaging (the horror!)

Some in the blogosphere believe the “race to the bottom” amongst North American carriers has begun, meaning a price war between U.S. carriers and eventually Canadian carriers is inevitable. Wireless carriers will slash prices on bundles of services as the penetration rates increase in the U.S. and Canada while subscriber growth drops or so the theory goes.

Message to consumers all over the continent: don’t hold your breath.

There is room for prices to drop, but the carriers have become accustomed to the hefty margins (50% or so) on the sale of wireless services (in Canada, that’s namely voice).

The prospect of a price war makes for great newspaper copy but the fact of the matter in Canada is that the carriers have neither the scale nor the will to offer such deals anytime soon. Additional competitors in 2009 or later may prompt Bell, Telus and Rogers to drop prices on wireless bundles of services (temporarily) or introduce more creative wireless service packages but one need only look at their telecommunication services bills today versus even 10 years to know North American carriers aren’t inclined to engage in price wars.