The chief executives of Canada’s three largest telecom companies stressed that phone and internet prices are coming down during an appearance before MPs on Monday, noting that increased data usage and high spectrum costs may be some reasons Canadians feel otherwise. The three CEOs — Rogers Communications Inc.’s Tony Staffieri, BCE Inc.’s Mirko Bibic and … Read more
The word “broadband” gets tossed around in marketing materials all the time, but its actual definition has been malleable over the years. Now, though,, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a new report to indicate what should be considered “broadband.” The new standard designates 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload speeds, up from the … Read more
Certain cellphone plans in Western Canada are not as cheap as they were prior to the Rogers-Shaw merger, Canada’s competition watchdog says. Jeanne Pratt, the Competition Bureau’s senior deputy commissioner of mergers and monopolistic practices, says the agency hasn’t seen evidence showing Rogers Communications Inc. is offering comparable pricing for bundled wireless plans offered by Shaw Mobile in Alberta and British Columbia before the $26-billion takeover closed last April. Pratt was testifying at the … Read more
Even as the minister responsible admitted there aren’t enough competitive options for mobile service in Canada, another federal official said consumers can and should search for other service providers when faced with price increases. That message — from Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada — came just hours after the Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Canadians “still pay too much … Read more
