The average Canadian family doled out $191 (U.S. $168.56) a month for communications in 2013, 3.2 percent more than the $185 ($163.27) in 2013 but spent $2.01 ($1.77) a month less for wireline telecom, paying $32.85 ($28.99), according to the 2014 Communications Monitoring Report from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
The wireline voice numbers were the only ones that dipped as Canadians on average spent $1.54 ($1.36) more for cable and television, totaling $53.56 ($47.27) of the monthly total and $1.91 ($1.69) more for wireless to end up paying $69.33 ($61.19), the highest chunk of the monthly bill. Internet services took the biggest leap, climbing $4.42 ($3.90) a month to come in at $35.57 ($31.22).
The report said that increased use of wireless data and higher broadband speeds contributed to paying more for those services. The 1.9 percent increase in what Canadians paid for communications services outpaced the country's .9 percent inflation.
The increased payments were good for the entire Canadian communications industry, which raked in $61.9 billion ($55.12), up 1.9 percent from 2012's $60.9 billion ($54.14).
Cable and satellite companies reported an EBITDA profit margin of 42.2 percent for television, Internet, telephone and wireless services, 1.1 percent better than 2012. Wireless operators did even better, reporting EBITDA profit of 43.2 percent compared to 40.7 percent in 2012. Wireline profit continued to slide, dropping to 40 percent in 2013 compared to 41.1 percent in 2012.
The report compared Canadian habits to those of their counterparts in the U.S., U.K, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Australia and found Canadians squarely in the middle with the fourth highest penetration rate for broadband. Wireless penetration came in seventh place.
CRTC Chairman John-Pierre Blais, in a statement issued with the CRTC press release, said the report provides "a comprehensive view of the state of the communications industry" that will "contribute to our public proceedings as we work to ensure Canadians have access to a world-class communication system."
For more:
- see this press release
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