Canada's Expensive Internet

 Why is internet so expensive in Canada?

Updated on August 1 1 , 2021

Canadians benefit from high-quality internet networks that offer good reliability and speeds, but we pay more than other countries for the same level of service.

Canada currently has the 2nd most expensive internet (only behind the US) of the G7 countries for speeds over 41 Mbps and has consistently been the 2nd or 3rd most expensive for at least the past 5 years.

The Big 5 Canadian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) (Bell, Rogers, Telus, Shaw and Quebecor (Videotron)) receive 73.3% of the market's revenues and charge higher prices due to a lack of competition.

•  The lack of competition is due to a wide variety of factors including the industry's high barrier to entry, large market share, restricted foreign investment, potential for price coordination and history of privatization and acquisitions.

•  The national telecom companies have a go-to list of reasons why prices are high, commissioning their own studies to try and disprove the cost disparity by claiming that the prices are "affordable" and trying to discredit independent studies (not paid for by Canadian telecoms) by claiming their methods are flawed.

•  Actions taken by the government and CRTC over the years to address industry competition, affordability and consumer choice have brought about slow or impermanent progress.