“… we won’t stop there,” minister says
OTTAWA – Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada announced today mid-range wireless plans have been reduced by 25% three months before the federal government’s target date.
The government initially announced it was committing to tracking and lowering the cost of mid-range wireless plans from Virgin (Bell), Koodo (Telus) and Fido (Rogers) over the course of two years in March 2020. (The latest tracking report, which has pricing from October to December 2021 for each of the provinces, can be found here.)
Benchmark prices were “based on prices advertised on company websites in early 2020 for three wireless plans offering 2 GB, 4 GB and 6 GB of data respectively (all of which are postpaid, bring your own device [BYOD], unlimited talk and text 4G/LTE plans),” according to the press release.
The plans reflect average data usage, which was 3.8 GB of mobile wireless data per month in 2020, the release says.
The government also indicated today it has more work to do on lowering the cost of wireless plans.
“In 2022, it’s simply a matter of fairness that all Canadians be connected at a price they can afford,” said Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, in the press release.
“Our government has met its commitment to reduce the costs of cell phone plans by 25%, but we won’t stop there, because Canadians still pay too much for their Internet and cell phones. We’ll continue to push aggressively to generate innovation, improve coverage and reduce the costs of telecommunications services using every tool we have.”
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