Remember when the CEOs of Rogers, Telus and Bell were summoned to Ottawa to explain to Members of Parliament why wireless prices were increasing?
Well, the meeting took place with the House of Commons industry committee on Monday. Instead of showing up in person, the CEOs of the ‘Big 3’ attended virtually, to explain what’s happening with wireless and internet prices, including Bell CEO Mirko Bibic and Darren Entwistle from Telus.
Tony Staffieri of Rogers had some internet issues and the committee was unable to hear him; this apparently caused some heckles from MPs (Rogers and internet downtime!).
A Parliamentary committee is hearing from Telecom CEOs today about affordability. They're all appearing virtually.
Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri just had internet connection problems and the committee could not hear him, prompting a few heckles from MPs.
— Ryan Tumilty (@RyanTumilty) March 18, 2024
The meeting was held in response to Rogers’ announcement of an impending average $5 price hike for non-contract wireless customers (we first told you of the price increases), sparking widespread debate about the cost of telco services in Canada.
Bibic did not confirm whether Bell would implement similar increases, emphasizing instead the company’s commitment to lowering expenses. Entwistle expressed confidence in future price reductions for consumers, though he did not detail how this was going to happen.
Staffieri faced direct questions about Rogers’ decision to raise prices, especially considering the current affordability crisis. He defended the price increase, explaining the hikes were targeted at customers with older plans and aimed to provide them with more valuable alternative plans, reports Global News.
The ‘Big 3’ CEOs pointed to recent data from Statistics Canada showing a 16.4% drop in wireless prices over the last year, from January 2023 to January 2024, when comparing cellular services to the all-items Consumer Price Index.
On Monday, the Canadian Telecommunications Association, the industry group representing telcos, reached out proactively to share “facts about telecom pricing and services in Canada.”
“StatsCan data is clear: while the cost of most goods and services have gone up in recent years, telecom prices have declined,” said a spokesperson.
In fighting back against Committee members claiming Canada has the most expensive telecom prices in the world? “This is simply not true,” said the CTA.
“The most recent Government of Canada price comparison study, which does not account for the superior quality of Canadian wireless services, shows that of the 8 countries it surveyed, wireless prices in Canada are lower than in the U.S. and Japan. And if you look at entry level 5G plans from the major carriers in Canada and the U.S. today you will find that Canadian prices are lower,” stated a CTA spokesperson in an email to iPhone in Canada.
Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said yesterday, “[Canadians] pay among the most expensive cell/internet bills in the world.” He added, “We have to get their greed under control to get prices down.”
What do you think? Are you seeing wireless prices fall across the board? Only Quebecor’s Freedom Mobile is still offering a $34/50GB Canada-US plan. None of the ‘Big 3’ telcos match this plan, aside from Telus-owned Public Mobile, albeit temporarily.
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Admittedly, the price I pay for mobile services has gone down about 10% over the last couple of years, and the amount of unused data has gone massively up. And although true the price is more in the US, the American plans do get more “bang for the buck”. Tablets can be used cross border on their plan. “Roam like home” equivalents are $10 a day for the first device and $5 for secondary devices, so the roaming in families is far cheaper. Taxes and fees add a lot, a $10 (CDN) watch plan in Alberta is $10.50 with GST. An American watch plan, $10 US is actually over $17 with “taxes and fees”. But that watch roams into Canada. So the plans aren’t “apples to apples” and the prices could come down in both countries. I wonder why Google Fi can operate so much more cheaply.
“Roam like home” is just another cash grab. $10 per day is ridiculous especially now with the North American plans being offered by other major carriers. $34/mo. with Freedom Mobile will let you use 50GB across Canada and the U.S. without costing any more per day “for the price of convenience”.
Don’t compare prices with American market. Start compare prices with Asian markets such as Malaysia, Philippines, India, etc.
The definition of cheap plan are
Free Global SMS/MMS
Roll over Data
Increase speed caps
i.e 250 Mbps plan should be 500 Mbps. 1 Gbps plan should be 2 & 3 Gbps plan
Emergency Hotspot separate from data bucket 100GB minimum if traveling coast to coast.
IoT plans for $ 0 i.e Security, Tablets, Telematics, watch, Connected cars, etc
I am a female single senior. I have an iPhone 13 Pro (purchased outright) and also an Apple watch. My Rogers plan has far more data than I need (25gb) or would ever use (.83gb last month).
My last monthly bill, including tax, was $74.58 ($1 was for a call to the US).
I really believe this is far too high. I do not need such a ridiculous amount of data, but cannot seem to find any way to reduce either the amount of data I’m allowed, or the monthly cost.
If you shop around, while it doesn’t offer cellular connection for your Apple Watch, $24/mo. get you 4GB/mo. from Public Mobile (Telus), especially if you’ve purchased the phone outright. If you like Rogers service, check out Chatr.
They would give more data but won’t bring the price down for the plan. For instance take Talk & Text plan like Telus charges $35/mo. just to use sms feature or a calling. They should sell this plan for $10 or $15 and not $ 35. Prices have gone up for Talk & Text plan. Seniors don’t need data. They give data buckets to seniors who don’t use so they can show to the govt that see we have bring the price down by giving more data.
Hmm. i have a Roger’s 10GB unlimited plan for $40/m. This is not.a retention deal. You should be able to get that.
Funny I just checked for giggle Telus website and it still show essentials 50 gb plan at 34$.
Only Quebec. We need across Canada including Territories.
Agreed on that.
Still a website should do it due diligence and give precise information. Adding that it was not available at all was not precise.
I think that we should treat internet access and cell phones as essential and basic necessities from now on. People are working from home and businesses are increasingly relying on them.
Therefore, the government must legislate a set of standards and statutory price that every IP and Telco company must adhere to. No ifs and no buts.
Otherwise, Canadians and Canada will fall further behind.