Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada has released its 16th annual report comparing wireless and internet pricing in Canada, commissioned by Wall Communications.
The report, spanning 84-pages, shows charts comparing the wireless and internet prices of incumbents and other telecom players, compared to G7 peer countries and Australia.
“Wireless prices have declined an average of 18.2% for data plans in 2023,” said ISED on Tuesday. It said this decline is “consistent” with the recent data from Stats Canada (18.6% drop) for the same time period, looking at monthly changes in the cellular services price index.
As for home internet, the report concluded there were “significant” price drops on plans up to 100 Mbps in 2023.
Take a look at the summary of international price comparisons when it comes to wireless and internet pricing, to see how Canada fares.
“More competition is the key to making telecommunications services more affordable for Canadians. This year’s price comparison study shows our approach is working. Our government’s policy direction to the CRTC to focus on competition, affordability and consumer rights is clearly yielding results. Coupled with new measures proposed in Budget 2024, we will continue to advance policies that improve competition and promote better prices for Canadian consumers while giving them more power when it comes to telecom services,” said François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.
According to ISED, after the Rogers-Shaw and Quebecor-Freedom mergers were approved (from March 2023 and March 2024), wireless prices have decreased by 26%, according to Statistics Canada’s Cellular Services Index.
ISED points out in December 2023, 20 GB plans were widely available from $30 to $40, calling it a “dramatic decline” when compared to average pricing of $73 in 2022.
It’s true that during Black Friday and Boxing Day are the best times to find a cellphone deal, but you have to hunt for them, usually from a flanker brand. Freedom Mobile’s Canada-US plans definitely have pressured Rogers, Telus and Bell to offer more competitive pricing.
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“Feds Tout Cellphone and internet prices Keep falling in Canada”….. sure and the Leafs will win the cup, the “Jab” wasn’t experimental, the budget will balance itself and Justine Turdeau is the best PM we’ve ever had!!
I’m only a sample size of one, but two years ago, I was paying $40/month for a 10GB cellphone plan. Today, I pay $25/month for 30GB. I’ve experienced a similar drop in what I pay for my home internet service. I don’t doubt that there’s some validity to what the government is saying here.
And yet I pay the same price for the same plan. There is NO validity to what is being claimed. Examples of the few do not and never do represent the reality of the many.
Political fluff numbers
Clearly the fools like @Ghostmare believe in whatever those in positions of power say.
Tell that to the fools who want to be deceived (lied to or presented with half-truths and confirmation bias) for those who have limited communication skills. It makes them feel better about themselves.
I literally just did
Most people now (and always have for the last 5+ years) paid around $25-30 a month, regardless of the amount of data.
I doubt you’re [not] a sophist.
Funny that you bring up the jab. Trump pushed for it to get fast tracked through FDA approval lol. Proof that politicians are truly just about themselves when it suits them, regardless of side…
Justin gets more and more out of touch with reality each day. We have cheaper options, if you know where to look. The CRTC and big three need to just get disbanded and start from scratch. Anywhere else an ex CEO of a cell phone company being involved in a regulating committee would be investigated. Makes you wonder how much Justin and his friends are being paid by these companies to say things like this, but this is nothing new with the big three, CRTC and our government mucking about.
Yes that $$$ from the Big 3, the fed government will say anything.
Well my cellphone bill went down but my Internet bill is still pretty high for gigabit Internet.
Either you’re BSing or you paid a ridiculously high price for your plans to being with.
First in my neighborhood with gigabit Internet, I got it right when Shaw rolled it out. Unfortunately this also means I pay the beyond-2-years-subscribing pricing for quite a few years now.
I am surprised the Feds didn’t add a a colorful chart which dimwits love to see.
Speaking of tables or charts, I’m sure there are ample that “prove” the earth is flat.
Reading through some of the comments here and I can see the liberal simps are out in full force defending the BS from the federal government. While prices have, indeed, fallen compared to 10 years ago on a cost per gigabyte level, the prices listed in that table above are completely false. And I have no idea why it shows the costs of the US plans being more expensive…that is also completely false. US plans are still cheaper than Canadian plans…significantly cheaper in many cases. I can say this from personal experience but also from speaking to family and work colleagues who live in the US.