Canadian telecom prices fall, remain high internationally: ISED report

Canadian wireless and broadband internet prices declined in 2023, however the country’s prices remain some of the highest compared to its G7 peers, particularly when it comes to internet services – according to a report from Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada (ISED). On Tuesday, ISED released its annual Price Comparison Study of Telecom Services for 2023, prepared by Wall Communications Inc. It provides a comparative price analysis between Canadian telecom services and those in the United States, Japan, Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The average price across all mobile wireless services declined by 11.6 per cent, while fixed broadband prices declined by 7.7 per cent. Despite the general downtrend, Canada still reports some of the highest rates internationally. Prices for eight categories of mobile wireless “service baskets” were looked at, ranging from basic voice and SMS plans to extensive data plans up to 99 GB. Meanwhile, prices for seven broadband service baskets based on download speeds were reviewed, ranging from 3 Mbps packages to those with speeds over 500 Mbps. According to the report, there was a general decline in prices across most wireless service baskets, with significant price drops in higher data usage baskets. Excluding the lowest tier basket of talk and text only services (the price for which increased by 35 per cent), the overall average price for mobile wireless declined by 18.2 per cent. Prices were reported as mostly uniform across the country, except for several baskets in Saskatchewan and Quebec, which were often found to be higher and lower than the national average, respectively. Internationally, Canadian wireless prices rank competitively with those in the U.S. and Japan, but remain much higher than prices in Europe and Australia. The lowest prices in each basket belong to a European country and are often less than half the Canadian price. Japan has the highest price in all baskets. Canada’s fixed broadband prices fell in all service baskets, with the most significant decline of 22.3 per cent found in the lowest speed tier. Decreases in high tiers were smaller, varying between 1.2 and 2.1 per cent. Unlike mobile wireless prices, average broadband prices varied considerably by region, with most prices in Quebec ranking the lowest and many prices in Ontario, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia ranking the highest. Canadian internet prices remain the second-highest of the surveyed countries after Australia. The prices for most U.S. offerings are less than half of their Canadian equivalents. Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne touted the domestic results in a press release accompanying the report. “More competition is the key to making telecommunications services more affordable for Canadians. This year’s price comparison study shows our approach is working,” he said. “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.” – Reporting by Phalen Tynes-MacDonald at pcreed@thewirereport.ca

Canadian telecom prices fall, remain high internationally: ISED report

News | May 1, 2024

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Canadian telecom prices fall, remain high internationally: ISED report

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