Only 25% in BC think cell phone costs will be reduced: Survey

More than two years after the federal Liberal Party promised to reduce the cost of mobile phones and internet bills for Canadians, few British Columbians expect this pledge to ultimately be fulfilled, a new Research Co. poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative provincial sample, only 25% of British Columbians think the federal government will “definitely” or “probably” achieve this promise, down six points from a similar Research Co. survey conducted in December 2019.

British Columbians are also not particularly hopeful about their provincial administration, which appointed MLA Bob D’Eith to work with the federal government to explore more affordable and transparent mobile phone options.

Across the province, only 32% of British Columbians expect the provincial government’s push to be successful, down three points since December 2019.

“British Columbians aged 55 and over are more likely to be skeptical about a future where mobile service is more affordable,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “Only 22% of the province’s oldest adults think the provincial government will be effective in its efforts and just 16% think the federal government will fulfil the promise made in the previous electoral campaign.”

Across the province, seven-in-ten mobile phone users (70%) describe the cost of their mobile phone plan as “very expensive” or “moderately expensive”, unchanged since December 2019.

Women (70%) and British Columbians aged 35-to-54 (74%) are more likely to believe that they pay too much for their cell phone every month.

A monthly plan for a mobile phone in Canada with two gigabytes of data costs about $75.

About a third of British Columbians think a similar plan would be less expensive if they lived in Australia (33%) or Italy (34%), while more than half (57%) think they would pay less to access the same services in the United States.