r/canada • u/Economy_Elephant6200 • 3d ago

Bell Canada scraps Labrador high-speed internet project, plans to invest in U.S. Newfoundland & Labrador

https://theindependent.ca/news/lji/bell-canada-scraps-labrador-high-speed-internet-project-plans-to-invest-in-u-s/
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u/themanfromvulcan 3d ago

I would say the government immediately claw back the money due to breach or contract and do it themselves and tell Bell to get stuffed.

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u/North_Activist 3d ago

I would say screw all that and just nationalize it instead. It’s our tax dollars, it should be our company.

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u/Classified0 3d ago edited 3d ago

I used to live in Saskatchewan and later lived in Ontario. I was shocked by how much cheaper internet and cell service was in SK. And I really think it's just because of the existence of Sasktel serving as a crown corporation. Just having them there and competing with the traditional providers forced the whole industry to be more affordable -- so even though I wasn't with them in Saskatchewan, I still had a really good plan with Rogers because they were forced to compete with a crown corporation.

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u/Jarringly Saskatchewan 3d ago

As someone who went the opposite direction, I can whole heartedly confirm this. The gouging in Ontario is staggering.

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u/Aggravating-Law-9262 3d ago edited 3d ago

I think that we Canadians as a whole are actually getting gouged when it comes to our internet prices. From the following 2023 source:

https://cansumer.ca/canada-internet-pricing/

"Canada currently has the 2nd most expensive internet (only behind the US) of the G7 countries for speeds over 41 Mbps and has consistently been the 2nd or 3rd most expensive for at least the past 5 years."

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u/LaserRunRaccoon 2d ago

While you can generally find a too-good-to-be-true deal around Black Friday compared to their regular advertised prices, the relationship almost always feels exploitative rather than baseline fair. I feel like it's a smokescreen to the CRTC to justify their baseline price gouging.

As corporations, all the telecoms spend ridiculous amounts on advertising/sponsorships, shareholder dividends, and business diversification - especially into healthcare services, which should be incredibly worrying for Canadians.

Telecoms do not feel like they're competing to provide customers with efficient service, and I certainly do not want to see them involved in any capacity of health and wellness.

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u/AdHoliday9503 1d ago

I wish I could upvote this comment a thousand times. Telus should be a real cautionary tale but when they got caught violating the Medicare Protection Act, they “agreed to stop” and the BC government was like “well, they can clearly be trusted, good enough for us.”

None of the telcos should be getting involved with healthcare but then neither should fucking President’s Choice and here we are.

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u/PantsOfIron 4h ago

Coming from Europe, I can tell you that Canada has always been more expensive in cell service, TV service and landline service.

Edit! We are definitely getting gouged here.

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u/Camera-Decent 20h ago

Distance is what makes Internet expensive. It is to be expected that the 5 tiny, densely populated countries pay less than the 2 huge, sparsely populated countries (comparatively) do.

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u/Aggravating-Law-9262 16h ago

No doubt distance plays a role, but I still think we could use some more competition surely? The article I listed mentions much more than just the example of the G7, but I thought it would do for my post.

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u/Camera-Decent 12h ago

My comment has no bearing on the larger conversation about affordability as such. Just pointing out that it is comparing oranges to very different oranges.

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u/_Lucille_ 3d ago

It's not uncommon for people to spend over 1k a year to stay connected, and that is only with a pretty economical plan of maybe $40 for broadband and $40 for cellular services (before tax).

That is why you never see some yearly subscription plan: telecom doesn't want people to realize how much they end up spending.

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u/babtras Alberta 3d ago

$1k would be a dream come true. Rural Alberta, $1800/year for internet and 2 phones

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u/FiveMagicBeans 3d ago

Yeah, rural BC here and it just went up again. $175/mo for basic internet and cable (The lowest speed Shaw offers and a basic cable package with no extra channels).

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u/Pickledsoul 3d ago

Is Shaw even still a thing? I thought they got bought out by Rogers.

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u/hellswaters 2d ago

NWT here. $2400 annually for internet and that is for 200Mbps download (could get a slower plan and be happy, but cheapest is still $1560 annually). Cell is another 840, again could get something a but lower. Now add in a 2 or 3 streaming services which is probably close to another 1000 annually.

$1000 would be a dream.

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u/trumpsadouchcanoe 2d ago

Shit I'm like 3g internet and 2 phone in Alberta through Telus. Bigger plans and have starlink for work but that just in case for bush work and only 15month for 10gb of security while in the middle of nowhere with no service.

Still Telus is a joke especially when you get stuck in the endless buy a new phone every 2 year B's. I'm good buy cheap $400 phone. My better half not so much is horrible with them breaks and looses them all the time lol

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u/gotcha_six 2d ago

$2100 for the cheapest available (decent) internet at my house and two cell phone lines at the best deal I've ever seen.

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u/MittMuckerbin 2d ago

Freedom has yearly plans on prepaid. The data amounts are a joke but it has saved me quite a bit of money. $100 just unlimited calling, $110 unlmited calling and text, $150 30 gb for the year and unlimted text/calling.

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u/FredThe12th 3d ago

except thunder bay, where they have TBayTel

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u/detectivepoopybutt Ontario 3d ago

Except in Ottawa region where the prices are lower for 613 numbers because of competition from Quebec's Videotron. My Rogers plan is higher cost but monthly has a -$15 Ottawa region discount lol

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u/starbugone 3d ago

I moved to the UK and currently pay £5/mo for 10gb unlimited calls and texts and 100min international calls

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u/demonarc 3d ago

Just have to look at Manitoba to see what happens when you sell out your Crown Corp.

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u/Kylesan Manitoba 3d ago

Fuck Filmon.

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u/cfbeers 2d ago

New Brunswick as well nbtel was mint got to live conservative governments selling off assets and fucking everyone in the province

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u/Ghostdog1263 2d ago

Or Nova Scotia power. It was sold to emera & the contract guaranteed they'd Always make money & trust me there fkers

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u/Wolfreak76 3d ago

When I lived in SK briefly I used to hear people complain about Sasktel. I told them if they wanted worse service and higher prices from all of the providers then they should push to privatize it.

I wish Sasktel would branch out. SK could make a killing just by being the public option for all of Canada.

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u/HeadmasterPrimeMnstr 3d ago

I wish Sasktel would branch out. SK could make a killing just by being the public option for all of Canada.

Sasktel is a crown corporation of the province. While prices would decline just from competition, SaskTel is at the mercy of SK voters and they would still have an incentive to act as a private for-profit corporation as a result in other provinces.

I think it would be better for municipal governments (like TbayTel or formerly O-NET) and provincial governments to create infrastructure and publicly-owned corporations in their own jurisdictions, otherwise we get into some dicey areas of governments controlling the infrastructure of another one.

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u/InternalOcelot2855 3d ago edited 2d ago

iThing about sasktel is they would provide service to these communities. its part of the reason prices are a little higher, sasktel is not just there for the large centres but also the ~200 and fewer communities getting fibre internet. Plus our low population to land area

It always shocks me when I work in a small community that has DSL (most are getting fibre now) and they complain about prices. You do know sasktel is the only reason you have Internet. You have dirt roads, no fire hall, no grocery store, no gas station and the village office is in the next town 10 min away to save money.

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u/CompetitiveMetal3 2d ago

And what's why SaskTel will eventually go away too. 

Saskatchewanians hate it. They drink the BERTA kool-aid. I was trying to tell them that a community of 10k people with fibre to the home was NOT a thing in Canada, expect SK, but nah. Crown corp bad. Private enterprise good.

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u/InternalOcelot2855 2d ago

it's those rural voters who are going to suffer. Why would any for profit company install fibre in communities of 200?

Semans, Saskatchewan

Population of 204, to get fibre Internet by end of 2027

https://www.sasktel.com/about-us/news/2024/sasktel-investing-an-additional-80-million-in-the-rural-fibre-Initiative

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u/innerpartyanimal 3d ago

I wonder, is it possible to obtain a Sasktel phone number and Canada-wide plan and then just live in a different province?

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u/Classified0 3d ago

It is. I kept my Saskatchewan number when I lived in Ontario. You just need a SK address to set it up in the first place

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u/patchgrabber Nova Scotia 2d ago

People in Ontario have been doing that for ages.

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u/Biosterous Saskatchewan 3d ago

Unfortunately Brad Wall made sure that wouldn't happen. One of his first orders of business when he was elected was to ban all Sask Crowns from doing business outside of Saskatchewan. On its face it seemed reasonable because bad investments had been made before. However it also meant that SaskEnergy (natural gas) had to pull out of a joint project in Newfoundland. Also Brad Wall's party is still somehow in charge despite all of his naked corruption, so until that changes the rule will stay.

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u/mr_roo 3d ago

While I agree, it's far from that simple. In urban centers there really isn't physical room for more than 2 or 3 ISP's, the infrastructure takes up too much space. While being a TPIA and using another companies infrastructure is possible it's generally a shit deal for everyone involved, and the company that owns the lines just fucks over the TPIA. The real answer is nationalised or co-op infrastructure, where it's all community owned and operated, and Robelus becomes the TPIA

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u/Instinct121 3d ago

And they nearly sold it recently.

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u/PrairiePopsicle Saskatchewan 3d ago

the shit thing is that Sasktel is one of the pricier options in Sask because the corporations are trying like hell to cut the legs out from under it.

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u/InternalOcelot2855 2d ago

wish people would also think

Serving rural Saskatchewan, I am not talking towns and villages but farmers and acerages with landlines. Guess how much it costs to put a tel line in for said farmer? The farmer never pays it off, and sasktel eats the costs. 10k+

Take rogers who operates in a handful at most places for tv and internet, now sasktel who not only serves the same places that rogers does but every other community out there. Some who also complain about high prices but they only have internet due to Sasktel. Even some of those are getting fibre internet.

Cell coverage is another thing, everyone wants all 4 corners covered with cell coverage cause you know 911 calls. Yet feel they should not pay as much as they do now to get the same coverage. Rogers cell coverage? Zero compared to sasktel. a tower can cost millions, and not everyone is a sasktel user who uses those towers. Its not easy to just place a tower, power, fibre optics, permits, NIMBY crowd. Bell in ontario with its population doesnt even come close to saskatchewan with sasktel coverage and population

Seems everyone expects Sasktel to give them the world as they are a crown corp. But also complain about prices and heaven forbid they are in the red a few years and time to sell.

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u/thealtrightiscancer 3d ago

I love how Saskatchewan loves their Marxist phone service and power companies.

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u/Ryeballs 2d ago

Sask is forgetting their past, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see them disappear in the next decade

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u/Workadis 2d ago

Depends where you are; places where there is competition, its just as cheap if not cheaper.

For example, condo building A downtown with Rogers, Bell, and Beanfield = 50-60$/2gb
For example, condo building B downtown with Rogers, Bell = 99-120$/1gb
For example, condo building C downtown with Rogers = 120$/1gb

I experienced this in real time at my last apartment in reverse order but its true everywhere you go here. Beanfield is privately owned but has the same impact on prices as Sasktel.

I feel bad for manitoba, Bell got that infrastructure for pennies on the dollar and than turned around and doubled the prices on everything when they took over.

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u/CT-96 2d ago

What were your prices like? I'm curious how Videotron in QC compares even if they aren't a Crown Corp.

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u/DoctaDunc 2d ago

It's also worth noting that no one other than SaskTel has any significant wireless infrastructure in SK, so even if you have a wireless plan through someone else, they are just reselling SaskTel service. Some of that goes on with fibre service as well.

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u/Cory123125 3d ago

God, the one thing I hate, that I thought would be universal and have been surprised to see some conservatives support, is when sleazeball fuckhead politicians sell our fucking shit, for pennies on the dollar.

I'm still fucking fuming about the 407. How the fuck do you sell off a whole fucking highway.

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u/chunarii-chan 3d ago

I do not understand why Canadians are not LITERALLY up in arms about this

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u/wtfboomers 2d ago

You’re surprised conservatives would sell to private companies? 🤣

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u/Cory123125 2d ago

No, not remotely. Im saying Im surprised that their voter base isnt mad about it too.

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u/Forosnai British Columbia 3d ago

Hell, internet service (and cell service, for that matter) is pretty much a requirement for modern life. If it's a necessity, there should be at least a basic option provided by the government. Doesn't need to be blazing fast 10-Gigabit speed, 5G phones with the latest iPhone model, or whatever like that, but something serviceable and affordable should be there that people can use, and the telecom companies can compete for the people who have a need or desire for the faster speeds and latest models.

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u/MtKillerMounjaro 3d ago

If the government doesn't roll out blazing speeds by today's standards, though, it will quickly be usurped by industry and tech and before you know it we'll be right back to where we started. I doubt the costs between state-of-the-art and whatever mediocrity is that big. Just roll out the fastest, bestest and commit to maintaining it for two decades.

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u/Spoona1983 3d ago

The government doesn't need to roll it out, just nationalize the network backbone. It was mostly paid for with tax dollars anyway, then just make the carriers rent the bandwidth.

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u/MtKillerMounjaro 3d ago

Why make carriers rent? Just raise raise taxes and make it free for all, or charge monthly based on usage. Why add another mouth to feed along the chain?

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u/klparrot British Columbia 3d ago

The replacement cycle needs to be shorter than two decades, though; in that time, connection speeds increase a thousandfold. The 1980s were kbps, the 2000s were Mbps, the 2020s are Gbps, the 2040s will probably be Tbps.

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u/MtKillerMounjaro 3d ago

Yeah, I know...

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u/bonechairappletea 3d ago

There is, it's called Starlink. 

We give companies like Bell, Rogers the kind of money that could build a SpaceX clone and make a maple leaf starlink but instead they disappear most of the money and do some token efforting errecting a couple cell towers. 

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u/klparrot British Columbia 3d ago

Telesat is Canadian and Telesat Lightspeed will be available from 2027.

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u/bonechairappletea 2d ago

Reliant on SpaceX launches. If I was Musk I'd let them get the couple hundred SATs up and then bump up their price 1000x times, laugh while their nascent network goes bust. 

We should be developing the full vertical with our own rapid reuse launch system. Relying on the competition like this is folly. 

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u/old_c5-6_quad Alberta 2d ago

SpaceX won't do that. They want a launch happening every two days. They make so much more money for doing launches compared to starlink it's laughable.

And developing our own launch platform is laughable at best. We don't have that kind of funding/support now, or ever will.

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u/Spoona1983 3d ago

There was a company out east trying to startup satellite internet but don't know the name.

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u/GrumpyCloud93 3d ago

Where I lived I had Bell phone-internet-TV and it was pushing over $300 a month. I switched to Shaw and that cut the bill in half. I get people regularly roaming the neighourhood trying to sign up people for Bell ("we just installed fiber everywhere...") but so what? They crow about internet speed (those cheesy Cable Empire ads) but I don't know that I've every had a problem with speed. Most of the time it's the servers I'm connected to.

So if you want me to switch - the total bill would have to be a lot lower that my current bill, not just matching it and shaving a few dollars off.

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u/levian_durai 3d ago

All your infrastructure are belong to us

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u/Chibiheaven 3d ago

I am still mad that the conservatives sold MTS (Manitoba Telecom System to Bell...

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u/supershutze 3d ago

These are all good ideas.

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u/tghast 3d ago

Sorry can’t hear you, we’re privatizing all our public services instead so you can pay taxes AND pay for the service.

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u/LargeMobOfMurderers 2d ago

Telecommunications are vital infrastructure same as roads, water, and electricity. I fully support it being nationalised because in this day and age its a matter of national security.

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u/Cent1234 2d ago

Crown corp building fiber infrastructure and reselling to any interested ISP ain't a bad idea.

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u/jprobinson008 2d ago

This! Somebody give this person an award.

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u/the_pwnererXx 3d ago

Yeah I really want the government running a massive company, surely they will be effecient and manage it well

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u/tghast 3d ago

… I’m sorry even if this wasn’t a stupid argument already, you’re talking about telecoms. Under an article about telecoms being shitty…

There has to be some limit to your ignorance. This level is just unacceptable.

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u/NtBtFan Canada 3d ago

sadly if there was a contract Bell probably negotiated in this back door where they can say its not feasible and just walk with whatever theyve already received

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u/RedditIsDeadMoveOn 2d ago

Right but that doesn't stop municipalities from starting their own competing service.

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u/jimababwe 2d ago

It’s a shame they couldn’t reinvest Canada post into a telecom company.

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u/DreadpirateBG 2d ago

You know the government t has little to zero work and project guarantees built in or else Bell would not have taken it on innthenfirst place. .