With Rogers recently informing customers it was increasing prices for some wireless plans and select Ignite bundles, Canada’s Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says Canadians are still overpaying for telecom services, with little competition available.
Earlier this week, iPhone in Canada first reported that Rogers was raising the prices of select wireless plans for customers not on terms. The news eventually trickled out to other outlets, as Rogers confirmed to everyone who asked it was definitely happening.
Now, after approving the $26 billion Rogers-Shaw deal and touting benefits would be lower pricing and increased competition, the federal government says this hasn’t happened across the board yet.
“Let’s be clear, while some progress has been made to lower prices, Canadians still pay too much and see too little competition,” said Champagne said in a statement to CBC News.
“That is why, last year, I issued a policy direction to the CRTC to make sure that competition, affordability and consumer rights would be at the core of CRTC decisions,” added Champagne.
When the Rogers-Shaw merger was approved, there were conditions that came with the deal, mainly the capital expenditure to expand 5G networks, adding thousands of jobs. As for limiting price increases? That only applied to Shaw Mobile customers that are now under the Rogers umbrella, formerly from Freedom Mobile (when the latter was owned by Shaw, before being sold to Quebecor as part of the Rogers-Shaw deal).
“While prices for some wireless plans have declined by more than 22 per cent over the past year, the planned price increases to certain month-to-month plans that have recently been announced go against the direction we set at a time when Canadians are struggling to make ends meet,” Champagne said to CBC News.
“I strongly urge companies and carriers to seriously consider customers over profits at this time,” remarked Champagne, without detailing any consequences or action if carriers aren’t willing to do so.
Yesterday, iPhone in Canada first told you that Rogers told Shaw customers prices would be going up for internet, home phone and TV plans that are not on guaranteed pricing terms. It’s unclear if Champagne will be doing anything about these new price increases for former Shaw customers, aside from shouting how for-profit businesses should be operating.
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I donno if anyone else has been strongly urged before but it’s terrifying.
Oooh strongly urging! I’m sure Rogers is shaking in their boots.
Combine this with the recent fairly large outage (again) which the govt said they’d make them have a backup plan for, they didn’t.
Such basic infrastructure taken down so easily while consumers pay the highest prices.
This government can pound sand as far as the promisses they made about lowering our monthly bills. Hopefully better leadership comes along.
Telcos = Food industries : disgusting price hikes! Those are basic necessities but the government does nothing and watches with its mouth open.
All while claiming how prices have decreased and how the budget will balance itself. Lol
Oooh strongly urging! I’m sure Rogers is shaking in their boots.
Combine this with the recent fairly large outage (again) which the govt said they’d make them have a backup plan for, they didn’t.
Such basic infrastructure taken down so easily while consumers pay the highest prices.
This government can pound sand as far as the promisses they made about lowering our monthly bills. Hopefully better leadership comes along.
“Plan”. What plan? The Libs had no plan. None whatsoever. Their “plan” was meaningless, populist platitudes, wrapped in their own incompetence and admitted economic ignorance.
Now reinforced with “urging”. Which will be just as effective as their “plan”.
I think it’s a typical govt vs. business conflict and I’m not sure any other party/govt would have done much better. Ian Scott the previous chairman for CRTC did a lot of damage and although he was appointed by the Liberals he’s just the kind of person a conservative govt would have appointed as well (“good old boy”, telecom evangelist).
It’s disappointing that no govt. in all the decades this have been discussed (neither Lib nor Con) have put pressure on their overseeing and regulating organs for Full MVNOs.
I don’t know, maybe the NDP would have done better?
I’ll disagree. Under Harper they took multiple steps to try to fix the problem.
• introduced new carriers
• wireless code of conduct to eliminate abusive contracts and obscene termination fees.
• eased foreign ownership rules slightly
• forced access and more reasonable domestic roaming rates (remember they all originally charged $1000/GB to the new carriers)
One could say they didn’t go far enough and certainly didn’t go fast enough. They didn’t want to harm the big3 and ended up giving them too much breathing room, allowing them to adapt and circumvent the changes.
With the Libs, they’ve literally done nothing over 8 years. The NDP would likely try but would likely cause the companies to fail outright, due to their even worse business acumen.
I do agree that forcing full MVNOs was the next required step. Harper’s regime ran out of time and Trudeau’s libs don’t seem familiar enough with the industry to understand the concept.
and Poilevre is saying nothing about what he will do if anything. Although I’ll vote for anyone other than Trudeau and Singh, Poilevre needs to start talking about what he’s going to do, just talking about Trudeau and not being Trudeau is getting old.
I strongly urge companies and carriers to seriously consider customers over profits at this time,” remarked Champagne
——
Strongly urge? Does this clown really think his spewing hot air is going to rile anybody? I know teenagers with more bite than this paper tiger.
robelus understands only two things – laws and competition – neither which they are presently subject to.
Honestly I really don’t understand why people complain about a $65 cell phone plan when they paid $2,340 in all sorts of taxes from property, to purchase, gas, home heating, health (in Quebec), income, divided, etc for the same month…
The $65 cell plan isn’t the problem here.