Phone Plan Prices Going Up for Canadian Consumers, Rogers Says

A person uses a cell phone in a file photo. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

The cost of cellular phone plans will be increasing for Rogers customers in the coming weeks, the company says.

A spokesperson from Rogers said the price updates will apply to Rogers and Fido customers who do not have a contract, and that customers with a term contract won’t see a change to their “base monthly service fee” until their contract is up.

“We are committed to delivering mobile services with the highest standard of quality and reliability to bring our customers the best network experience,” an emailed statement from Rogers said.

“This includes increased capacity to ensure reliable and consistent service for our customers, expanding into more communities from coast to coast, and making improvements to our customer service tools.”

Price changes will depend on the current plan or bundle customers have, Rogers said in the email.

Wireless customers who have already been notified will see the price change after Jan. 17.

Bell Mobility may also be increasing the price of cellphone plans, according to a media report. The Epoch Times reached out to Bell for further information but did not hear back by publication time.

According to a Statistics Canada report, cellphone prices dropped by about 22 percent between November 2022 and November 2023.

StatCan also says that the annual amount Canadians pay for cellular services dropped by over 5 percent between 2021 and 2022. Households spent about $109 each month for cellphones in 2021, which was about 1.7 percent of total monthly expenses, said the agency.

Rogers-Shaw Merger

The price increase comes about six months after Rogers finalized its takeover of Shaw Communications.

The $20 billion merger had faced intense opposition from Canada’s antitrust regulator whose efforts to block it were rejected by the Competition Tribunal and a Canadian court.

In May 2023, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) said it was developing a policy to increase cellphone competition for Canadian consumers.

In a news release at the time, CRTC said it had “taken a major step forward” in developing a policy that would force large telecommunications companies to share their networks with competitors.

“With access to larger networks, regional competitors will be able to offer cellphone services in parts of Canada that they do not currently serve,” said the CRTC.

A report released last year by the Privy Council Office (PCO) showed that most Canadians are not happy with the affordability and reliability of internet service options.

The research surveyed individuals nationwide who said they felt internet options were not fairly priced, with many saying they generally pay “far more for these services relative to those living in other jurisdictions.”

Those surveyed said the government should do more to address affordability and reliability across the county.

“It was strongly believed that high-speed internet was a necessity for Canadians to be able to work, study, and communicate effectively and needed to be viewed as a basic right going forward,” the report said.