Canadian mobile subscribers are using more data than ever before, according to new statistics from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
In the fourth quarter of 2023, the average monthly data usage per subscriber reached 7.92 GB, more than double the amount recorded three years ago, touted the industry group, the Canadian Telecommunications Association. Back in Q4 2019? Monthly data usage was at 3.15GB.
Over the same period, cell service prices have decreased by 32.5%, largely due to more affordable plans offering increased data, citing Consumer Price Index data.
Despite the reported price drops, analysis of the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) from quarterly earnings indicates that flagship brands at Rogers, Telus, and Bell maintain relatively high and stable revenue figures. The most significant price reductions have been observed among the flanker brands rather than the main brands of these major telecom companies.
Incumbents Rogers, Telus, and Bell have introduced more data-rich plans through their flanker brands, such as Fido, Koodo, and Virgin Plus. Their prepaid brands, including Public Mobile, Chatr, and Lucky Mobile, have also expanded data offerings at reduced prices.
Quebecor has contributed significantly to the competitive landscape, especially with its operations in Quebec and through Freedom Mobile across Canada. Notably, Quebecor’s $34 plan offers 50GB of 5G data usable across Canada and the U.S., a deal that remains unmatched except for Public Mobile (Telus) which has introduced a similar offering.
Offer cheaper data pricing and Canadians will use more data. Plus, with more emphasis on video from addictive social networks such as Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, that is another reason why Canadians are consuming more data, as video streaming uses way more data than just loading photos.
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It could be argued that my plan price has gone down about 5%. The data alottment has gone up significantly higher, so the price per gigabite has plummeted, if I used all of those gigabytes. Since my data use is below what my plan offered before and now, the overall effect on me has been only the 5% reduction.I would be interested to know what the average usage is in some other countries, like UK, and USA.