Seattle-based network analysis firm Ookla released its latest Canadian Speedtest report this week ranking the country’s mobile and Internet service providers (ISPs), and the results are clear: Rogers Communications Inc. offers the fastest broadband download speeds in Canada by a wide margin, while rival BCE Inc.’s Bell Mobility offers the fastest mobile experience.
On average, Rogers broadband customers experienced download speeds of 153.48 Mbps, more than double the 71.41 Mbps offered by Rogers’ nearest rival, Calgary-based Shaw Communications Inc. (which had the unfortunate distinction of possessing Canada’s slowest average upload speed, at 6.61 Mbps).
Bell, meanwhile, provided average mobile download speeds of 30.47 Mbps – the highest in Canada, though with an average mobile download speed of 29.37 Mbps, Rogers Wireless wasn’t too far behind.
As for BCE’s broadband division, Bell Canada customers will no doubt be pleased to know their upload speed of 30.58 Mbps was the highest in the country – nearly 50 per cent higher than Rogers’ second-place speed of 20.92 Mbps.
However, Bell’s average broadband download speed of 55.15 Mbps came in sixth – and second-last – place among the leading providers, behind only budget-friendly upstart TekSavvy’s 42.94 Mbps.
On the mobile upload front, three carriers – Bell, Rogers, and Rogers budget subsidiary Fido Solutions – provided speeds of between 10.49 Mbps and 10.83 Mbps.
Oddly, Fido reported an average mobile download speed of 29.84 – slightly exceeding its parent company, even though both share the same network. On a similar note, Bell Mobility’s average download speed is significantly higher than Telus Mobility’s 26.79 Mbps, despite both companies sharing a network.
Telus subsidiary Koodo and Bell subsidiary Virgin Mobile were not included in the survey.
To compile these numbers, Ookla analyzed 8,841,302 Canadian broadband results, and 794,613 mobile results, generated by its free Speedtest service between January 1 and June 30.
In addition to ranking the leading service providers, Ookla’s report, released on Aug. 24, identified several industry trends, with author Ted Kritsonis noting that incoming gigabit speeds, combined with the presence of budget-friendly unlimited broadband providers such as TekSavvy, could make monthly bandwidth caps a thing of the past.
In the mobile market, he noted that while the competitive landscape presently remains dominated by Rogers, Bell and Telus – the so-called “Big 3” — the federal government’s upcoming 600 MHz spectrum auction, and the question of whether it will approve Bell’s proposed takeover of regional provider Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS), indicate that the status quo could be challenged in the future.
