Brenda O’Farrell
Investing.com – Shares of the three biggest Canadian wireless carriers were climbing back up on Friday after dropping substantially at the open after the federal government announced after the closing bell yesterday that they had two years to lower their rates.
Bell, which is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE), Rogers Communications Inc (TSX:RCIa) and Telus Corp (TSX:T) were given notice yesterday by Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains that they have 24 months to lower the cost to consumers for wireless plans that include mid-range data packages that range from 2 gigabytes to 6 gigabytes. Failing to lower the cost of these packages by 25% within the next two years will result in regulatory action that would increase competition.
In a television interview, Bains said if the big three companies were unable to cut their prices by 25% within two years, “we will make sure that we have policies in place that promote competition and so mobile virtual network operators will use their networks for infrastructure and provide lower cost data plans to consumers.”
In response, a spokesman for Bell said the government’s move discourages investment and puts jobs and innovation in jeopardy at a crucial time – when carriers across the globe are increasing investment in 5G technology.
Shares of Rogers were down 2.44% at 1 p.m., trading at $64, up from an earlier low of $62.10 earlier in the day. Rogers had closed Thursday at $65.60.
Shares of Telus were down 0.60% at 1 p.m., trading at $49.93, up from an earlier low of $48.83 earlier in the day. Telus had closed Thursday at $50.31.
Shares of BCE were down 0.88% at 1 p.m., trading at $62.13, up from an earlier low of $61.58 earlier in the day. BCE had closed Thursday at $62.67.