March 20, 2024

Mirko Bibic address the House of Commons Industry Committee

Bell Canada President & CEO Mirko Bibic spoke to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry and Technology committee on Monday, March 18th. The topic of the meeting was the accessibility and affordability of telecommunications services in Canada.

Statistics Canada data continues to show that prices for wireless and internet services in Canada are declining. In fact, the most recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed that telecommunications companies are driving down the cost of living.

Read Mirko’s full remarks.

Thank you, Chair, and members of the committee.

I would like to begin by recognizing that I am joining you from unceded Indigenous lands. The Kanien’kehá:ka Nation are recognized as the custodians of the lands and waters from which I’m speaking to you today.

At Bell, our purpose is to advance how Canadians connect with each other and the world.

To fulfill our purpose, we offer our customers access to the best networks at attractive prices, prices that are now significantly lower than in the United States.

At the end of this year, Bell will have invested $23 billion since 2020 to expand our pure fibre and 5G networks.

While many other companies scaled back their investments during COVID-19, we built more.

Earlier this month, Bell was the only business in Canada recognized by OpenSignal as a Global Leader in network speed experience.

For the third year in a row, Global Wireless Solutions ranked Bell 5G Canada’s fastest 5G network.

And Bell’s pure fibre internet offers the world’s best internet technology and is recognized as the fastest internet and Wi-Fi in the country.

We have invested in building these networks to serve our customers not just in Montreal, Toronto, Québec City and Halifax, but also in places like Churchill, Happy Valley Goose Bay, Lac Beauport, Trois-Pistoles and Welland.

Meanwhile, we remain relentlessly focused on improving the customer experience.

According to the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services, Bell outperformed all our competitors with a 6% reduction in the overall share of complaints. This is the eighth consecutive year that our share has decreased.

We continue to improve our service and provide customers with greater flexibility through digital tools.

Our award-winning MyBell app makes it easier for our customers to manage their services online.

Our Virtual Repair tool fixes common issues from within the MyBell app.

Importantly, our investments in fibre from Manitoba to Newfoundland have brought more competition to cable companies who have dominated the internet market for far too long.

In Québec, for example, we have deployed fibre to 2.7 million locations – bringing reliable, fibre connectivity to customers who previously had little competitive choice. 

With this increased competition comes lower prices for Canadians.

Statistics Canada’s own data shows that Canadians pay much lower prices for wireless and internet today than they did just a short time ago.

From 2019 to January 2024, wireless service prices declined over 47%, while internet prices dropped by almost 8%.

In contrast, since 2019 Canadians have paid up to 18.5% more for all items, including gas, energy and shelter.

As prices have fallen, Bell has significantly increased how much data customers receive each month.

For an average Canadian using between 5 and 7GB of wireless data per month, prices have fallen nearly 30% – or $13 per month – on our Virgin Plus brand since 2020. 

And, instead of just 5GB of data back then, that user is now getting 50GB.

In the last five years, wireless prices are down in Canada, but effectively flat in the United States, and up 24% in the UK.

Today, Canadians pay less for wireless than in the US.

Virgin’s $34 for 50GB plan is $7 less than a 10GB plan on AT&T’s equivalent Cricket brand. That’s $7 less for five times more data.

On the internet side, Virgin Plus offers 300 Mbps residential internet for $55. The same plan would cost $74 in the US.

Price declines in Canada are happening despite government-imposed spectrum costs among the highest in the world.

Most recently, Canadian carriers paid the federal government $8.9 billion for 3.5 GHz spectrum. In Australia, carriers paid 1/10th that amount.

If government-imposed spectrum prices in Canada followed the global average, every Canadian’s wireless bill would be $5 per month lower.

World-leading networks, a focus on customer experience and globally competitive prices. That is how we are delivering for Canadians.

You hear the term “shrinkflation” a lot these days. Increasingly, Canadians are paying more and getting less.

But with Bell, as the data shows, Canadians are paying less and getting more.

Thank you.