Rogers to increase price of some wireless phone plans

Wireless phone plans will be getting more expensive for some Canadians this year. 

Rogers Communications Inc. will increase the cost of some of its plans in the coming weeks, the company confirmed to CBC News on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Bell is reportedly increasing some of its existing wireless phone plan prices in February, according to a report by Canadian tech news outlet MobileSyrup. 

The Rogers price hike will impact some customers' wireless phone plans and internet plans, including customers of its subsidiary Fido, a spokesperson for the telecom giant told CBC News.

• Have you noticed your phone bill going up? Send an email to ask@cbc.ca

While a Rogers spokesperson said many customers will see a price hike under $7, the increases could be as high as $9 per month, depending on the customer's plan or bundle with their carrier. The hikes apply only to customers who are not on contract. 

Customers who have been notified by Rogers will start seeing the new price applied to bills issued after Jan. 17.

"We are committed to delivering mobile and residential services with the highest standard of quality and reliability to bring our customers the best network experience," a Rogers spokesperson said in a statement. 

"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."

The spokesperson also pointed to measures the company has recently taken to make its 5G services more affordable. These included introducing a $25 5G plan that is aimed at low-income customers, and providing Rogers 4G wireless customers with 5G network access at no extra cost.

A spokesperson for Bell did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for Telus did not immediately respond to a request asking whether they planned to implement a price hike for phone plans.

The Rogers hikes might be a way to nudge those who aren't on contract "to avoid this price hike and lock in as a recurring customer," said Vass Bednar, executive director of the Master of Public Policy program at McMaster University.

Canadians increasingly feel "stuck with the limited choice that we have," Bednar added.

She said some consumers might find it cheaper to buy a cell phone in the U.S. or France, pay a roaming fee and have an international phone number in Canada, "and that you would pay less after all or overall."

CEO pledged lower prices

Canadians have some of the highest telecom bills in the world, according to industry research.

David Soberman, a professor of marketing at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, said those high prices have to do with insufficient competition in the sector, and that there are regulations against foreign ownership in the telecom market.

He added that the telecom sector plays a largely different role in Canadian society today than it did 40 years ago.

"These telecommunications companies have basically evolved and now they're not just, for example, broadcasters — they're providers of mobile phone service," he said. "And the importance to protect Canadians doesn't really exist with mobile phone service like it does with broadcasting."

The Rogers increases come following the company's merger last year with Shaw Communications. The long-brewing deal, first announced in March 2021, was subject to a number of regulatory hurdles as opponents expressed concerns about decreased competition.

When the deal was made official in April 2023, Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri pledged in an interview that prices would go down for customers. 

"What we want to make sure we get right is all the things for our customers, and in particular, affordability," Staffieri said at the time.

"One of the key pluses of this is that competition is going up, especially in the west, and prices are going to come down."

At the same time, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced nearly two dozen "enforceable" conditions attached to the deal's approval, including reducing costs for customers.

CBC News has reached out to the minister's office for comment.