It’s true that Canada’s cellphone plans are outrageously expensive, and the rest of the world would probably agree. A report by Finland-based telecom research firm Rewheel found that out of 50 countries around the world, Canada’s plans are the priciest.
The report, which was published earlier this month, ranked the minimum cost for a monthly 4G or 5G smartphone plan with at least 100 gigabytes. Canada ranked at the top of the list at 100 EUR, which comes out to roughly $144 CAD per month.
The next countries to follow are South Africa, the U.S., New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia, however, their prices are well below Canada’s. The report found that Israel has the cheapest 100 GB plans at around $10 CAD per month.
Canadians are also paying the most for mobile broadband plans. The only other country to rank as high as Canada is Luxembourg, Rewheel’s report says.
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“Prices in the Canadian wireless market […] continue to be the highest or among the highest in the world,” the report says. Rewheel calls Canada’s situation a “de-facto network duopoly,” and says that France’s 100 GB smartphone plans are 13X cheaper than Canada’s.
According to the Financial Post, the Great White North has been recognized as the world’s most expensive country for mobile plans several times before. A Swedish report came to the same conclusion back in July.
The outlet points out that a report published by a New York-based organization last year found that Canadians pay $12.55 for an hour of Netflix streaming with mobile data. In Italy, the cost is just 43 cents.
However, Canada’s wireless plans do vary in price from province to province, which has led to some customers cheating the system to score a better deal. An article published by CBC in 2016 says that Ontarians had found a way to sign up for plans based in provinces like Saskatchewan and Manitoba, where monthly prices are significantly cheaper.
