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> For reference, I'm paying about $23/month for unlimited everything in NL. It’s easier and cheaper to provide cellular service to dense populations like NL.

> For reference, I'm paying about $23/month for unlimited everything in NL. It’s easier and cheaper to provide cellular service to dense populations like NL. The population density of NL is over 100X more dense than Canada. Of course, once you exclude the largely uninhabited areas of Canada the difference isn’t as large, but it’s still significantly more costly to build cellular infrastructure across large and spread out places like Canada and the United States than smaller, densely populated places like NL.

TFYS 5y ago
Population density in Finland is pretty low and we get unlimited data for about $25/month.
- PragmaticPulp 5y ago
  > Population density in Finland is pretty low and we get unlimited data for about $25/month. Finland population density: 18 per km^2 Canada population density: 4 per km^2 Population density doesn't explain everything, but it's a big factor.
  - Filligree 5y ago
    It would make more sense to compare population density over that fraction of each country which has any coverage at all. That would be harder, of course.
  - belval 5y ago
    I understand why people say "Canada's population density is low that's why prices are high", but in practice only a very small fraction of the country is inhabited so it really just sound like a talking point and not a genuine issue.
    - thrdbndndn 5y ago
      Yeah, do you even get cellular signal in these remote areas? If not it definitely shouldn't be taken into account.
defaultname 5y ago
We've had providers pop up that have only served the major cities, where people would get a lower fee but have roaming if they go basically anywhere outside the ultra-dense areas. The rates were still astronomical compared to many European countries. Providers in Canada are a cartel in every definition of the word. The three major cartel members can "compete" in a province and amazingly all have identically bad pricing and policies. Then they go to Quebec or Manitoba (or maybe it was Saskatchewan?) where there is a location-specific alternative and their pricing is significantly better. Having said all of that, I should be fair and note that some of the providers have "infinity plans" now. So if you got a Rogers 5GB plan and have used 5GB by day one, you still have free data for the rest of the month at a speed of 512Kbps (again, amazingly all three of the major providers have identical policies). Which is still an entirely workable speed for a lot of things.
- hadrien01 5y ago
  Oh wow you're right, I checked Rogers where the price is 90 CAD for 25GB in most provinces, and 75 CAD in Quebec. The exact same price as Videotron (which I suppose is the alternative you were talking about)
bbarnett 5y ago
For perspective: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Collines-de-l%27Outaouais_Regional_County_Municipality https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Collines-de-l%27Outaouai... The county I live in, is 2200 sq km, with a population density of 24/sq km. This is in Quebec, at 1.5M sq km in size, and beside one of the largest metro areas in Canada, the National Capital Region of Ottawa and Gatineau, 5th or 6th largest. NL is 423/sq km density, 20x. It is only 40000sq km, or about 18x larger than my county. Quebec is 35x larger, Canada 230? 240 times larger. Further point, my municipality is in a populous province, and effectively a suburb of the nations capital. Lots of places have far lower population densities, and we have parks, and counties larger than the Netherlands. Lots more area to cover, for sure.
SuoDuanDao 5y ago
The legal structure around telecoms in Canada also requires providers to provide at least phone service everywhere, so margins have to be extremely high in the dense areas to make up for the unprofitability of servicing remote areas.

TFYS 5y ago

Population density in Finland is pretty low and we get unlimited data for about $25/month.

PragmaticPulp 5y ago
> Population density in Finland is pretty low and we get unlimited data for about $25/month. Finland population density: 18 per km^2 Canada population density: 4 per km^2 Population density doesn't explain everything, but it's a big factor.
- Filligree 5y ago
  It would make more sense to compare population density over that fraction of each country which has any coverage at all. That would be harder, of course.
- belval 5y ago
  I understand why people say "Canada's population density is low that's why prices are high", but in practice only a very small fraction of the country is inhabited so it really just sound like a talking point and not a genuine issue.
  - thrdbndndn 5y ago
    Yeah, do you even get cellular signal in these remote areas? If not it definitely shouldn't be taken into account.

defaultname 5y ago

We've had providers pop up that have only served the major cities, where people would get a lower fee but have roaming if they go basically anywhere outside the ultra-dense areas. The rates were still astronomical compared to many European countries. Providers in Canada are a cartel in every definition of the word. The three major cartel members can "compete" in a province and amazingly all have identically bad pricing and policies. Then they go to Quebec or Manitoba (or maybe it was Saskatchewan?) where there is a location-specific alternative and their pricing is significantly better. Having said all of that, I should be fair and note that some of the providers have "infinity plans" now. So if you got a Rogers 5GB plan and have used 5GB by day one, you still have free data for the rest of the month at a speed of 512Kbps (again, amazingly all three of the major providers have identical policies). Which is still an entirely workable speed for a lot of things.

hadrien01 5y ago
Oh wow you're right, I checked Rogers where the price is 90 CAD for 25GB in most provinces, and 75 CAD in Quebec. The exact same price as Videotron (which I suppose is the alternative you were talking about)

bbarnett 5y ago

For perspective: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Collines-de-l%27Outaouais_Regional_County_Municipality https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Collines-de-l%27Outaouai... The county I live in, is 2200 sq km, with a population density of 24/sq km. This is in Quebec, at 1.5M sq km in size, and beside one of the largest metro areas in Canada, the National Capital Region of Ottawa and Gatineau, 5th or 6th largest. NL is 423/sq km density, 20x. It is only 40000sq km, or about 18x larger than my county. Quebec is 35x larger, Canada 230? 240 times larger. Further point, my municipality is in a populous province, and effectively a suburb of the nations capital. Lots of places have far lower population densities, and we have parks, and counties larger than the Netherlands. Lots more area to cover, for sure.

SuoDuanDao 5y ago

The legal structure around telecoms in Canada also requires providers to provide at least phone service everywhere, so margins have to be extremely high in the dense areas to make up for the unprofitability of servicing remote areas.