Canadian telecom prices remain high in international comparisons: report

Prices of low-end wireless plans have continued to climb for the second year in a row, while Canada’s rates for broadband, wireless and bundled telecom services remain high compared to other countries, a new report found. Wall Communications Inc. said in the eighth edition of its annual report, released by the CRTC Thursday, that the price of lower-end mobile plans “increased significantly this year relative to last.” It was a continuation of the same trend seen in last year’s report. The 2015 edition showed that the prices of wireless plans with “low local and long distance call volumes” increased by four per cent to $37.29 a month, higher than comparable plans in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S., which had an with average price of $22. The report said plans with average call volumes, two features and about 300 texts a month went up eight per cent to $48.68 and plans with “high call volumes … plus a full set of features, 300 texts and 1 GB of data usage per month” were up seven per cent to $85.22. Prices of comparable plans were lower than in Japan and the U.S., but higher than in the other five countries. The report said the price of plans with unlimited nationwide talk and text, and 2GB of data dropped 11 per cent in Canada from $93 to $83. That was still “considerably above” the average of $69 among the other countries, the report noted. It introduced a new category in this year’s report, of plans with unlimited talk and text and 5GB of data, which cost an average $107.50. The report noted that “once again falls well above the Level 5 basket average price for the surveyed foreign jurisdictions of roughly $90. In this case, Canada also ranks sixth among the group of countries (excluding Japan), below only the measured average price for the U.S.” Regarding broadband Internet prices, the report said that for “the most part, Canadian broadband prices declined this year relative to last year,” after climbing mostly upward over the previous five years. It said Canada “compares favourably” when it comes to its lowest-end Internet plans, with speeds of 15 Mbps and below and caps of 20 GB and below, to countries where similar plans are available. For Internet plans between 16 and 40 Mbps with a 50 GB cap, the report said “Canada's average monthly price of $67.81 falls considerably above the average price for the other surveyed countries of roughly $60. In this case, Canada ranks sixth out of the eight countries in the study, ahead of the U.S. and Australia.” For high-end plans, or those with speeds higher than 40 Mbps and a 75 GB cap, “Canada's average monthly price of $80.63 again falls considerably above the average for the other surveyed countries of roughly $67.50. In this case, Canada ranks seventh out of the eight countries in the study, ahead of only the U.S,” the report said. It added that “the average price in Canada is considerably higher than many of the measured prices in the remaining countries.” For instance, comparable plans cost $51 in the U.K. and $73 in Australia. “It is worth noting in this respect that all of the countries with lower Level 4 basket prices also have higher average advertised download and upload speeds compared to Canada,” the report said. The cost of bundled services in Canada also went up, the report said. Bundles including landline phone, Internet and mobile service went up 9.2 per cent, from $143.95 in 2014 to $157.20 in 2015, a price the report noted “is well above the average bundle price for the other surveyed countries of roughly $124," and the highest among the countries surveyed. The cost of bundles with Internet, landlines and digital TV service went up from $137.51 to $139.78, compared to an average international price of $112. The prices of bundles with landlines, Internet, mobile and TV increased from $181.70 to $187.33, compared to an average of $147 among the other countries. The report noted that while “differences across countries in the underlying services included in the bundles (especially broadband and digital TV services) can make bundled service comparisons somewhat tenuous, it is noteworthy that Canadian bundled service rates continue to compare very favourably to those in the U.S., where service pricing and provisioning practices are similar to those in Canada.” Finally, the report also said the price of landline phone services “increased significantly,” from between four to nine per cent. The cost of plans with “low-volume use” was an average of $40.64, while those with high-volume use cost an average of $64.96. The report noted that the ranking for the two lowest-volume plans “relative to the seven surveyed jurisdictions included in the study have slipped from being in the middle to now residing at the higher-end of the group. On the other hand, in the case of the Level 3 (higher-usage) basket, the Canadian average price continues to sit in the mid-range of wireline prices measured for the group of surveyed countries.” — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Derek Abma at dabma@thewirereport.ca

Canadian telecom prices remain high in international comparisons: report

News | June 18, 2015

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Canadian telecom prices remain high in international comparisons: report

News | June 18, 2015

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