Lucky Mobile is a Canadian prepaid

mobile virtual network operator A mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) is a wireless communications services provider that does not own the wireless network infrastructure over which it provides services to its customers. An MVNO enters into a business agreement with a mobil ...

and a subsidiary of

Bell Canada Bell Canada (commonly referred to as Bell) is a Canadian telecommunications company headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the borough of Verdun in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is an ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) in t ...

. Founded in December 2017, Lucky Mobile operates on the

Bell Mobility Bell Mobility Inc. is a Canadian mobile network operator, wireless network operator and the division of Bell Canada which offers wireless services across Canada. It operates networks using LTE (telecommunication), LTE and Evolved HSPA, HSPA+ on i ...

network alongside fellow subsidiary

Virgin Plus Virgin Plus is a provider of postpaid and prepaid wireless voice, text and data communications services throughout Canada. They also offer home Internet and TV services in select areas of Ontario and Quebec. Launched as Virgin Mobile Canada on ...

. It targets the same market segment as discount mobile brands

Chatr Chatr Mobile (stylized as chatr) is a Canadian mobile virtual network operator owned by Rogers Communications Canada targeting entry-level customers. It is one of three wireless brands owned by Rogers Communications, including Rogers Wireless, ...

(owned by

Rogers Communications Rogers Communications Inc. is a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of mobile phone operator, wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet access, Intern ...

) and

Public Mobile Public Mobile Inc. is a Canadian self-serve mobile brand which is owned by Telus. Launched on March 18, 2010, Public Mobile was one of several new Canadian cellphone providers that started in 2009–10 after a federal government initiative to enc ...

(owned by

Telus Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of Telus Corporation, a Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voi ...

History

After being announced on December 1, 2017, Lucky Mobile launched on December 4. At launch, the network is available for users in 17 metro areas in Canada. The launch was viewed as a way for BCE to compete with the discount mobile brands

and

operated by its competitors

and

, respectively. Like Chatr, Lucky Mobile offers a limited selection of low end smartphones for sale outright. In March 2018, the carrier's service area expanded to include

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

and

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Network

Lucky Mobile operates as a

offering pre-paid calling, texting, and " 3G-like" throttled speed data running on Bell Mobility's 4G network with pre-paid plans in select Canadian markets. In independent speed tests conducted in April 2018, although the Lucky Mobile network shows as 4G on users’ mobile phones, speed tests show maximum download speeds around 3 Mbps which would indicate that speeds on the Lucky Mobile network are indeed throttled. Customers with eSIM enabled smartphones and devices are able to purchase eSIM from Lucky mobile and connect to the network without a physical SIM card.

Phones

Lucky Mobile carries five smartphones and one flip phone.

Retail presence

Lucky Mobile SIM cards are sold in Visions Electronics,

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

Circle K Circle K Stores, Inc. is a Canadian chain of convenience stores headquartered in Laval, Quebec, Canada. It is owned by the multinational company Couche-Tard. Founded in 1951 in El Paso, Texas, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 1 ...

, Glentel (T-Booth Wireless, Wireless Wave),

The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...

Giant Tiger Giant Tiger Stores Limited is a Canadian discount store chain which operates over 260 stores across Canada. The company's stores operate under the Giant Tiger banner in Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island ...

and

Dollarama Dollarama is a Canadian dollar store retail chain headquartered in Montreal. Since 2009 it is Canada's largest retailer of items for five dollars or less. Dollarama has over 1400 stores and has a presence in every province of Canada; Ontario has ...

locations. In addition, customers can also order cards by phone or on the company's website. At launch, the company does not operate any stand-alone locations.

References

External links

* {{Canadian mobile phone companies Bell Canada Mobile phone companies of Canada Telecommunications companies of Canada Telecommunications companies established in 2017 Canadian companies established in 2017