October 16, 2014 – Ottawa-Gatineau – Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today released the full edition of the 2014 Communications Monitoring Report, which shows that Canadian families spend over $190 each month on communications services.
In 2013, the average Canadian family spent $191 per month on communications services, a 3.2% increase from $185 per month in 2012. Household spending climbed by an average of $1.54 to $53.56 per month for cable and satellite television services, $1.91 to $69.33 per month for wireless services and $4.42 to $35.37 per month for Internet services. Spending on home telephone service went down by $2.01 to $32.85 per month.
Higher spending on wireless and Internet services can be attributed, in part, to the fact that Canadians are using more wireless data and subscribing to higher broadband Internet speeds. The prices of telephone, television and Internet services rose between 1.6% and 3.7% in 2013, while inflation was 0.9%.
Cable and satellite companies reported a profit margin on earnings before interest, taxes depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 42.2% for their television, Internet, telephone and wireless services. This was an improvement over a profit margin of 41.1% in 2012. Similarly, wireless companies reported an EBITDA profit margin of 43.2%, compared to 40.7% the previous year. The profit margin for wireline companies decreased from 41.1% in 2012 to 40% in 2013.
Total revenues for the Canadian communication industry reached $61.9 billion in 2013, a 1.9% increase from $60.8 billion in 2012.
The report also includes an international perspective by comparing key indicators in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Australia. Among these countries, Canada had the fourth highest penetration rate for fixed broadband Internet and the seventh highest for mobile broadband.
The 2014 Communications Monitoring Report provides a comprehensive overview of the Canadian communications industry. The report contains data and information on the industry, including emerging trends and issues.
This year, the CRTC released the report in three parts. The first part featured data on the broadcasting sector while the second part provided data on the telecommunications sector. With today’s publication of the third and final part, the full edition of the report is now available.
“With the publication of the final part of the Communications Monitoring Report, Canadians have a comprehensive view of the state of the communication industry. All participants in the communication system—including citizens, creators and consumers—will find this data useful. We encourage them to use this information to contribute to our public proceedings as we work to ensure Canadians have access to a world-class communication system.”
Jean-Pierre Blais, Chairman of the CRTC
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