The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Videotron's Freedom Mobile has launched a new $50 wireless plan that allows customers to use their mobile data outside of Freedom's network. The Globe's Alexandra Posadzki writes that the plan comes with unlimited talking and texting, as well as 40 gigabytes of data, and can be used anywhere in Canada and the United States at no additional charge. Previously, Freedom's customers would have their data throttled when they were outside of Freedom's network in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. The announcement accords with promises Videotron made to the feds as a condition of acquiring Freedom. Freedom's previous owner, Shaw, divested the carrier in order to address regulators' concerns that Rogers's $20-billion takeover of Shaw would reduce competition by eliminating Canada's fourth-largest wireless carrier. During a hearing in front of the Competition Tribunal in late 2022, Rogers, Shaw and Quebecor, Videotron's parent company, had argued that allowing Videotron to acquire Freedom would increase competition in the wireless sector. The Competition Bureau, which opposed the transaction, argued that Freedom would be a weakened competitor in Videotron's hands.