Telus, Videotron lead in wireless network quality: study

Telus Corp. and Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron had the fewest reported problems on their networks in certain regions of the country, according to a new study by J.D. Power. Released Thursday, the 2017 Canadian Wireless Network Quality Study looks at the number of problems per 100 network connections experienced by users. Those problems are primarily data-related, and include slow downloads and connection errors while browsing the web, email and apps, J.D. Power director Adrian Chung said in a phone interview. It found Telus had the fewest problems in the West and in Ontario, with nine problems per 100 connections in each of those regions. Meanwhile, Videotron ranked highest in overall network quality in the East (nine problems per 100), followed by Telus (11 problems), and Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. (12 problems). The region average was 11. In Ontario, Rogers and Bell came in second behind Telus, meeting the provincial average of 12 problems per 100 connections. Shaw Communications Inc.’s Freedom Mobile had 18 problems per 100, with the provincial average being 12. In the West, Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. followed Telus with fewest problems at 10 per 100, with Bell and Rogers following with 12, Bell MTS with 14 and the region average being 11. In total, the study encompassed seven carriers in the East, seven in Ontario and nine in the West, the release said. The study also found that problems increased as usage increased, a trend that was highlighted in J.D. Power’s 2016 network quality report. “Higher usage is amongst the data-related activity, increasingly,” Chung said in the interview. “That’s kind of what we’re seeing — more and more activity, more usage on the data side, greater expectations and, as a result, more problems experienced.” In the Thursday release, Chung said carriers can “expect to elevate the customer experience at all user levels if they focus on the needs of their heaviest users.” The study was conducted online in English and French and was based on 15,021 responses in September and October 2016 and March 2017. A spokesperson for the company said in an email the margin of error is plus or minus 0.26 points at a 90-per-cent confidence level.

Telus, Videotron lead in wireless network quality: study

Brief | May 26, 2017

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Telus, Videotron lead in wireless network quality: study

Brief | May 26, 2017

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