The cost of internet services to soar in Canada
Canadian internet providers are set to hike prices once again, causing unrest amongst residents.
Telecoms giant Rogers has announced it will boost internet plans by $8 a month as of March 12, however, they will make an exception for its cheapest package, which will only see a $4 boost. Meanwhile, competitor Bell will increase its prices by $5 a month for customers in Ontario, and $3 for those in Quebec. Charges for exceeding monthly data will increase between $1 and $4 per gigabyte.
"Internet is expensive enough," Rogers customer Eric Polsinelli told CBC. "There's nothing I see on my end that justifies that extra $8."
There is good news for Telus customers, after the provider has suggested they have no current plans to raise their prices. Despite this, some customers are still uneasy after the company ended its monthly $3 bundle discount in late January. This is the second time the providers have increased their charges, after an initial price hike last June.
In fact, Statistics Canada found that Canadian households are spending around $594 on internet services, an increase of 35.6% compared to 2012. Furthermore, it was revealed that nearly all Canadians under the age of 45 use the internet every day.
"Just so much of our life is dominated by the web," said Katy Anderson of consumer advocacy group OpenMedia. "People are spending more and more money per month to access the internet."
In December 2016 the CRTC categorised broadband internet as a basic service which all Canadians are entitled to, and commanded internet providers to increase the availability of internet services in rural and isolated areas. However this doesn’t seem to have stopped the incline of prices after the CRTC recently announced that internet service revenues have jumped 10.2% since 2016 to $10.2billion.
The big three all claim that the uphill climb in prices comes as a result of needing to generate the funds required to push forward with service and network upgrades.
"If we want Canadians to be able to participate in the digital age, we need to ensure there's actual packages there that make sense for Canadians in terms of pricing," Anderson concluded.