Rogers, Bell and Telus — the three biggest Canadian cellphone companies — will get two years to slash their prices by 25 per cent, or face the consequences.
Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains announced on Thursday after financial markets closed that the government will be changing from yearly to quarterly tracking of wireless pricing in the country with the goal of better tracking the price drops required for cellphone plans offering between two and six GB of data.
He also said if the Big Three don’t slash their prices, the government will “take action with other regulatory tools to further increase competition and help reduce prices.”
In an interview with Global News on Thursday, Bains said that while the government isn’t looking at levelling fines, it could look at restricting the Big Three’s access to future spectrum auctions that they need in order to expand their networks, and forcing them to let smaller providers piggyback on their networks.
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“If they fail to do so, we will look at additional regulatory measures, like how we deploy future spectrum or mobile virtual network operators as a means to drive more competition, which will help lower prices,” Bains said.
“Spectrum is essential for companies to be able to grow, to provide data to consumers, to connect consumers. It’s what makes a smartphone smart. So this is a very valuable resource and how we deploy that resource will enable the ability for companies to invest and grow going forward.
“If they are unable to meet that 25 per cent commitment in the next two years, we will make sure that we have policies in place that promotes competition and so mobile virtual network operators will use their networks for infrastructure and provide lower-cost data plans to consumers.”
2:27 Federal Election 2019: Campaign promises on cell phone bills and internet plans
Federal Election 2019: Campaign promises on cell phone bills and internet plans
For years, Canadian cellphone plan prices have been among the highest in the world.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission found in 2016 that Canadian paid the highest prices for cellphone plans and the third-highest for broadband internet out of eight industrialized countries, including the U.S., U.K., Australia and France.
A public opinion survey done for the CRTC in January also noted that only half of Canadians are satisfied with their cellphone providers, with costs for data and data overage fees being the top reasons for dissatisfaction.
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And despite increasing attention on the need for wireless companies to lower their prices, only eight per cent of Canadians surveyed said they had seen a decrease in what they pay for cellphone service.
Only 15 per cent said they get good value for money from their provider.
While a report on price comparisons done for the government in November 2019 found prices for wireless and internet services had dropped “dramatically” from May to September 2019 across almost all categories of services, Bains said the government wants more action.
It used $50 per month as a baseline current cost for a wireless plan from one of the Big Three providers, and Bains said the government wants to see that drop to closer to $37 per month over the next two years.
1:10 Federal Election 2019: Trudeau says Liberals will bring in competition if cell phone companies don’t lower prices
Federal Election 2019: Trudeau says Liberals will bring in competition if cell phone companies don’t lower prices
The move comes after several weeks of study by the CRTC into the question of whether it should force the Big Three to sell access to their networks to smaller players.
Telus CEO Darren Entwistle threatened last month that the company would slash 5,000 jobs if forced to do so.
Bains said that while he couldn’t speculate on whether the company was bluffing, the government has been very clear it wants to see more investment and believes it has created a tax environment that makes it easier for companies to do so.
The government made wireless affordability a key pledge after the NDP first raised the idea of forcing a cut in cellphone prices ahead of the fall election.
That idea was quickly adopted by the Liberals even as they have continued to delay making a decision about whether to allow Chinese technology firm Huawei into the construction of the next-generation 5G wireless network.
The Chinese tech firm offers cheaper equipment costs and financing plans than many of its European competitors, in part because it is backed by the Chinese government, experts say.
Yet it is also the focus of espionage fears that have led the U.S., Australia and New Zealand to ban the firm’s technology from their 5G networks.
The U.K. issued a partial restriction earlier this year, saying Huawei equipment would not be used on critical or core parts of its network.
The Canadian government, however, has repeatedly delayed making a decision on whether to bar the company in whole or in part.
National security agencies began a review of the risks in late 2018 and federal officials originally said the results would be released before the 2019 fall election. That timeline came and went, though, with officials saying the results would actually come after the election.
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It’s now almost five months since, and the government still hasn’t announced any plans or said when the review will wrap up.
Bains did say, though, that the government will set aside roughly one-quarter of the upcoming auction for wireless spectrum for small and regional players in yet another effort to lower prices for consumers.
The auction for 200 MHz worth of licences on the 3500 MHz spectrum is set to take place on Dec. 15, 2020.
The 3500 MHz spectrum is key to the upcoming rollout of 5G wireless networks.
Bains said the goal of setting aside 50 MHz of the 200 MHz up for grabs is to help level the playing field for smaller providers who can drive down prices.
2:27 Federal Election 2019: Campaign promises on cell phone bills and internet plans
Federal Election 2019: Campaign promises on cell phone bills and internet plans
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
