Wireless Carriers Convey to CRTC that They’re Currently Providing Flexible Roaming Choices

Canada’s major telecommunications companies have already taken steps to reduce the cost of international roaming and have plans to introduce more options for customers in the coming year.

Bell Canada has announced its intention to provide customers with increased flexibility while traveling abroad, offering options tailored to their usage and travel duration to decrease roaming fees starting in early 2025.

Recently, the CRTC requested Bell, Rogers Communications Inc., and Telus Corp. to outline the concrete measures they are implementing to address concerns regarding escalating cellphone fees when traveling outside of Canada.

If sufficient progress was not demonstrated, the commission threatened to initiate a formal public process.

In their written responses last week, the companies argued against the necessity of regulatory intervention, stating that their international roaming rates are already competitive with or lower than those of providers in other countries.

“The Canadian market provides a comparable or better selection of international mobile roaming options for subscribers compared to other international markets,” said Bell’s assistant general counsel Philippe Gauvin in the company’s submission dated November 4th.

More details on Bell’s upcoming roaming offers were censored in the posted submission on the CRTC website.

Gauvin expressed confidence that these new options will effectively address any concerns raised by the CRTC regarding international roaming expenses.

“These fresh choices will grant Canadian travelers enhanced flexibility and affordability in a fiercely competitive market, enabling them to further reduce their roaming costs,” he explained.

Rogers and Telus also outlined plans to introduce new roaming options for customers, although specifics were also hidden in their submissions.

“In 2025, we will implement various measures to better cater to consumer demand for diverse and flexible international roaming options,” stated Rogers’ vice-president of regulatory telecom, Howard Slawner.

Rogers currently charges $12 for daily U.S. roaming and $15 for international roaming.

Last year, Telus increased the daily U.S. roaming fee from $12 to $14 and from $15 to $16 in other destinations. Bell also raised its daily U.S. roaming fee from $12 to $13 and international roaming from $15 to $16 during the same period.

An earlier review by the CRTC, utilizing confidential data from Canadian cellphone companies and external studies, identified that Canadian travelers often face inflexible roaming rates regardless of their usage while abroad.

One such study, conducted by Networks, Economics & Strategy Inc., revealed that Canadian roaming rates ranked in the middle compared to Australia, Japan, and the U.S. for usage up to three days. However, for longer durations, Canadian roaming rates tended to be among the highest.

The report highlighted that other countries’ carriers offer a variety of options, including roaming plans with specified caps on voice call minutes, text messages, or data over a certain period.

Despite criticisms, Telus pointed to the monthly plans introduced over the past 18 months, offering reduced international roaming rates and new travel passes for data and unlimited text and voice in select regions.

“The introduction of these plans grants Canadians greater choice for tailored services based on their travel duration and location,” emphasized Telus.

Telus cautioned that regulatory intervention by the CRTC on international roaming rates would necessitate compensatory revenue increases in other services.

Telus CFO Doug French urged regulators and the federal government to acknowledge the ongoing decrease in cellphone and internet costs as reported by Statistics Canada.

“We continue to evaluate our pricing model comprehensively, including roaming fees, but the substantial pricing reduction witnessed over the past year and a half has been significant,” French stated.

Slawner added that the CRTC-commissioned study predominantly focused on fixed daily rate plans for roaming and overlooked the increasing popularity of bundled roaming plans that incorporate international roaming into domestic monthly subscription packages.

“The adoption of these plans by Rogers has had a meaningful impact since their launch in 2018, effectively reducing roaming expenses for consumers,” noted Slawner.