CHATHAM, ON – Canadian consumers understand and support the CRTC’s recent decision to cut wholesale Internet prices in Canada, says a new survey commissioned by independent telecom provider TekSavvy Solutions.
TekSavvy, who along with other independent broadband operators have long said the wholesale rates set by incumbent telco and cablecos are too high, said that it undertook the survey to get a better sense of whether consumers understood that the Commission’s changes to wholesale high-speed access rates would benefit them, too.
The company tapped Twentify Inc. to collect 420 responses in Ontario and Quebec, between October 10 – 12, 2016, using an app called Bounty. The questionnaire was not branded, asked 9 questions, and users were paid a small amount to answer on a first-come basis.
According to the results:
– 84% of respondents said that the CRTC's decision to reduce wholesale pricing to create a more competitive telecom market in Canada was the right move;
– Just over 68% disagreed that there is enough competition in the Internet market in Canada, and 89% said that only two Internet competitors wasn’t enough competition;
– 71% said that they feel that they’re paying too much for Internet service; and
– On a scale of 1 to 10, respondents' trust level in their Internet service provider averaged 6.42.
"We weren't surprised at the respondents' appetite for lower prices and more competition," said TekSavvy CEO Marc Gaudrault, in the survey’s news release. "But we wanted to get a feel for whether consumers see a decision like this as one that has them in mind. Our sense from this survey is that they do. Although this was a small and quick market study, it clearly shows strong support for the CRTC's consumer lens."
