Question Period Note: TELECOMMUNICATIONS – REDUCING THE COST OF CELL PHONE BILLS

What is the Government of Canada doing to reduce Canadians’ cell phone bills?

• Canadians rely on telecommunications services for work, school, finances and health care, making access to high quality and affordable wireless services essential.
• That is why the Government of Canada has introduced measures to make wireless services more affordable, including spectrum policies that promote competition and a new policy direction to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
• The government continues to build on the progress made to promote competition and to further reduce prices.

Wireless Pricing

• The government’s 25% price reduction benchmark was announced in March 2020. The quarterly results published on January 28, 2022, demonstrated that the price reduction target was met ahead of the March 2022 deadline.

• Recent studies commissioned by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and the Competition Bureau highlight the role that regional and smaller carriers play in introducing more competition to the wireless by offering lower prices and prompting lower prices in response from the larger players. Data from Statistics Canada shows wireless prices have declined by nearly thirty percent from 2019 to 2022.

Spectrum Matters

• ISED has taken successive actions through spectrum licensing to encourage competition. Most recently, on June 30, 2022, the government published rules for the 3800 Megahertz (MHz) auction, which include implementing a cross-band cap that will effectively reserve a total of 150 MHz across both the 3500 and 3800 MHz bands for smaller competitors. These rules build on those used in the 3500 MHz auction in 2021, which enabled small and regional providers to increase their total spectrum holdings by over 50%. The 3800 MHz auction will begin October 24, 2023.

Canadian Radio‑television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)

• As of February 10, 2023, the government has implemented a new policy direction to the CRTC on a renewed approach to telecommunications policy. The new policy direction provides specific instructions to the CRTC to enhance and improve wholesale Internet access and competition, along with giving it improved support to better regulate going forward.
• The government is also providing the CRTC with clearer direction on a number of important matters, including measures to support wireless competition, improve consumer rights, speed up service deployment and universal access, and build better regulations for a world where telecommunications are essential.

• Canadians need access to high-quality wireless services at affordable prices.

• The government’s new policy direction to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, implemented in February 2023, requires the Commission to put in place new rules to improve competition and advance consumer rights, leading to lower prices and better telecommunications services for Canadian consumers.