GATINEAU – The CRTC said this morning prices for most communications services decreased in 2018.
According to the CRTC's Communications Monitoring Report pricing publication issued today, the national monthly average reported price for wireless, Internet, television and home phone services (combined) was 11% lower in 2018 than in 2016.
The most significant price reduction was in the mobile wireless market. In the four mobile packages analyzed by the Commission, prices dipped by an average of 28% from 2016 to 2018, with the most significant drop being for services offering 5 gigabytes (GB) of data or more.
For example, reads the Commission press release, the average monthly price for a mobile service with unlimited voice, text messaging and 5GB of data fell by as much as 35% in 2018, from $78.36 in 2016 to $51.05.
As for the CRTC's target broadband speeds of 50 megabits per second (Mbps) for download and 10 Mbps for upload, the average monthly reported price decreased by 3.2%, from $82.05 in 2016 to $79.40 in 2018.
The Communications Monitoring Report also shows a price drop of 8% from $27.64 to $25.55 for the average price of basic television packages between 2016 and 2018, reads the release.
All that said, while retail prices have been trending downwards, Canadians' appetite for the latest mobile devices, more data and faster broadband speeds “are contributing to a general increase in their communications bills. In addition, the prices paid by Canadians will vary depending on other factors, such as region and service provider.”
