Mobile Network Providers - Canada - 2022

OVERVIEW
What you need to know
Key issues covered in this Report
Definition
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
Top takeaways
Market overview
Figure 1: Category outlook: mobile network providers, 2022-27
Opportunities
The mobile network industry is stable and consistent
Post-paid plans dominate, and there is opportunity to upgrade to unlimited data
Challenges
Consumers are not yet convinced of 5G’s superiority
Increasing price sensitivity in an industry where consumers look to cut costs
THE MARKET – BY THE NUMBERS
Mobile wireless revenues are recovering post-pandemic
Figure 2: Quarterly mobile wireless revenues (billions), 2019-22
MARKET FACTORS
Mobile network usage, pricing and coverage
Mobile data usage is increasing while prices decrease
Figure 3: Average monthly mobile data usage (GB), Q1 2019-Q1 2022
Figure 4: Lowest average reported price of monthly mobile plans: 5GB, unlimited SMS/min (any speed), 2016-21
5G coverage is increasing, but not equally across the country
Figure 5: 5G network coverage, urban and rural vs overall, 2020
Figure 6: 5G network coverage, by region, 2020
Network outage sparks calls for change from Canadian government
Inflation is a top concern for Canadians
Figure 7: Top concern over the next six months, 2022
The work-from-home trend is becoming clearer
Figure 8: Working location, 2021-22
COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES
The competitive landscape is evolving
Videotron heads west
Shaw to become part of Rogers, but cellular business is not included
5G-enabled devices will soon be ubiquitous
Figure 9: Made by Google Instagram post, 2022
Marketing spend illustrates how provider strategies vary
Figure 10: Media channel spend ($000s) – Flanker brands, 2022
Figure 11: Media channel spend ($000s) – Budget brands, 2022
Figure 12: Lucky Mobile Facebook paid advertisement, 2022
Mint Mobile competes from the outside
Figure 13: Mint Mobile | Canada, 2021
MOBILE NETWORK PROVIDERS – FAST FACTS 
MOBILE PHONE SERVICE PROVIDERS
The ‘Big Three’ lead the market
Figure 14: Primary mobile service providers, 2022
Provider usage varies across races and cultures
Figure 15: Primary mobile service providers, by race, 2022
Figure 16: Primary mobile service providers, born in Canada vs not born in Canada, 2022
Figure 17: Primary mobile service providers, by language spoken at home, 2022
Figure 18: Fido online advertisement, 2022
Figure 19: Fido online advertisement, 2022
Leader brands skew to older consumers, flankers to younger ones
Figure 20: Primary mobile service providers, by age, 2022
Parent brands struggle to attract new subscribers
Figure 21: Length of tenure with current service provider, 2022
Figure 22: Primary mobile service providers, among customers who have been with provider for one year or less, 2022
Figure 23: Primary mobile service providers, among customers who have been with provider for more than five years, 2022
TYPES OF MOBILE PLANS
Most Canadians use post-paid plans
Figure 24: Type of mobile phone plan, 2022
Pre-paid plans are particularly common among budget providers
Figure 25: Type of mobile phone plan, by provider, 2022
Figure 26: Lucky Mobile Twitter post, 2022
Pre-paid plans skew to younger, lower-income consumers
Figure 27: Type of mobile phone plan, by age, 2022
Figure 28: Type of mobile phone plan, by household income, 2022
Types of data plans: limited vs unlimited
Unlimited plans are becoming more common
Figure 29: Type of mobile data plan, 2020 vs 2022
Understanding the need for unlimited plans
Unlimited plans skew to middle-aged and high-income consumers
Figure 30: Type of mobile data plan, by age, 2022
Figure 31: Type of mobile data plan, by household income, 2022
SATISFACTION WITH MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDERS
Consumers are generally satisfied with their providers
Figure 32: Overall satisfaction with mobile service provider, 2022
Koodo and Virgin perform well on overall satisfaction
Figure 33: Proportion of a provider’s users who are very satisfied overall, by provider, 2022
Pinpointing categories to better understand overall satisfaction
Performance metrics
Figure 34: Very/somewhat satisfied with provider’s coverage, by provider, 2022
Figure 35: Very/somewhat satisfied with provider’s data speeds, by provider, 2022
Figure 36: Very/somewhat satisfied with provider’s network security, by provider, 2022
Value perceptions likely impact consumers’ broader attitudes towards a brand
Figure 37: Very/somewhat satisfied with provider’s price, by provider, 2022
Customer service patterns follow that of performance and value
Figure 38: Very/somewhat satisfied with provider’s customer service, by provider, 2022
Figure 39: Very/somewhat satisfied with provider’s customer notifications, by provider, 2022
PROVIDER LOYALTY AND SWITCHING
Mobile networks are a generally stable industry
Most consumers have no plans to switch
Figure 40: Interest in changing mobile network plan/provider, 2022
Switching intentions are most common among 1-2-year tenures
Figure 41: Interest in changing mobile network plan/provider, by tenure with current provider, 2022
Younger, diverse consumers are the most open to switching
Figure 42: Interest in changing mobile network plan/provider, by age, 2022
Figure 43: Interest in changing mobile network plan/provider, by race, 2022
Intentions to switch providers are primarily driven by money
Figure 44: Reasons for interest in changing mobile network plan/provider, 2022
5G USAGE AND ATTITUDES
5G data plans are gradually increasing 
Figure 45: Current status of 5G, 2021-22
Many consumers are not convinced of 5G’s superiority
Figure 46: ‘5G is not much more useful than 4G/4G LTE’ (NET: any agree), by age, 2022
Using other devices to illustrate 5G’s utility
Figure 47: ‘It’s important to have a 5G connection for all of my non-smartphone devices’ (NET: any agree), by age, 2022
APPENDIX – DATA SOURCES AND ABBREVIATIONS
Data sources
Consumer survey data
Consumer qualitative research
Mintel Trend Drivers
Abbreviations and terms
Abbreviations
Terms