Wireless prices in Canada decreased an average of 18.2 per cent for data plans in 2023 when compared to 2022 prices, according to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s 2023 Price Comparison Study of Telecom Services, published Tuesday.
The annual report — which provides a comparative price analysis of wireless and home internet services in Canada, both regionally and relative to G7 peer countries and Australia — also found home internet prices in Canada declined across all service plans in 2023. There were significant decreases on plans up to 100 Mbps, including decreases of 8.6 per cent for plans offering the universal access target of 50 Mbps, according to the report.
In a press release announcing the study’s publication, ISED says its report’s findings are consistent with data reported by Statistics Canada that shows an annual decline of 18.6 per cent in cellular service prices for the same time period and an annual decline of 5.9 per cent in internet access service prices.
More recent data from Statistics Canada’s Cellular Services Price Index shows consumer prices for cellular services decreased by 26.2 per cent between March 2023 and March 2024, which ISED notes is data collected after the Rogers-Shaw and Quebecor-Freedom transactions were approved.
“More competition is the key to making telecommunications services more affordable for Canadians. This year’s price comparison study shows our approach is working. Our government’s policy direction to the CRTC to focus on competition, affordability and consumer rights is clearly yielding results,” Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in the ISED press release.
“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.”
Earlier this month, the federal government in its annual budget announced its intention to amend the Telecommunications Act to better allow Canadians to renew or switch between home internet, home phone and cell phone plans. The government’s proposed measures include prohibiting carriers from charging consumers extra fees to switch carriers, requiring carriers to help consumers identify plans — which may include lower-cost plans — in advance of the end of a contract, and requiring carriers to provide a self-serve option, such as an online portal, for customers to easily switch between or end plans with a provider. The CRTC would be responsible for implementing these measures if the amendments were to be passed.
In February 2023, the federal government issued its policy direction to the CRTC to put in place new rules to improve telecom service competition and affordability.
Across Canada’s regions, wireless prices are pretty much uniform, with the province of Saskatchewan being an outlier in certain service baskets, according to ISED’s report.
In comparison, average fixed broadband prices can vary considerably by region in every service basket. In general, average prices in Quebec are usually the lowest in the country, while prices in Ontario are often higher than other regions in the upper-level baskets, according to the report.
ISED’s study found Canada’s wireless prices are becoming more competitive internationally compared to its G7 peers and Australia, with prices in Japan and the U.S. consistently higher than in Canada. However, the study also found Canada continues to have the highest fixed broadband prices compared to all of the other studied countries with the exception of Australia.
