OTTAWA – Canadians who live in areas without a strong regional wireless competitor pay more for their mobile plans, according to the Competition Bureau.
In its comments for the CRTC’s mobile wireless services review, the Bureau said that 10GB plans, for example, can be priced as low as $60-$75 per month in Quebec, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan (i.e where Bell, Rogers and Telus compete with regional players Videotron, Bell MTS and SaskTel). By comparison, the same 10GB plans in other provinces and territories can be as much as 80% higher, priced at $105-$110 per month.
Factors such as network quality, coverage, demographics or geographic characteristics do not explain the differences in price across the provinces, continued the Bureau, adding that viable regional competitors were the only factor that explained price differences.
“We are making the case for increased competition in the wireless sector to lower prices and increase choice on services that Canadians depend on”, said Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell, in a statement accompanying the Bureau's submission.
