Since the newer carriers like WIND Mobile, Eastlink, Public Mobile, Videotron and Mobilicity entered the market ,the Canadian government has been wanting to offer “everyday Canadians” more choice, better service and lower monthly costs.
Now, years later, the vision of a fourth national wireless operator is still a conversation piece. Affordable carrier Public Mobile was acquired by TELUS, Mobilicity is on the brink of extinction, and there is talk of WIND Mobile and Videotron merging. The Big Three — Rogers, Bell, TELUS — who control 90% of subscribers, have all increased revenues and offerings.
A Consumer Price Index report by Statistics Canada with data from August reveals that household operations, which includes mobile and landline telephone usage, experienced a massive 7.6% increase year-over-year, three times the average rate of inflation over the same period.
Consumers are making fewer calls and increasing data usage. The latest quarterly results showed the carriers ARPU (average revenue per customer) between $58/month (Bell) to $60/month at TELUS. WIND Mobile also slightly increased to $31.60/month. In addition, another major change over the past year was the shift away from three-year contracts to two-year terms.
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
