Source: CRTC

OTTAWA-GATINEAU —The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today issued its second annual Communications Monitoring Report. The report, which is based on 2008 data, provides information on the various sectors of the telecommunications and broadcasting industries, as well as on how Canada compares internationally.

The communications industry made an important contribution to the Canadian economy as revenues increased by 6%, climbing from $51.3 billion in 2007 to $54 billion in 2008.

Telecommunications

Telecommunications revenues came in at $40.3 billion for the twelve-month period that ended on December 31, 2008. This improvement of $2.1 billion, or 5.5%, in one year was achieved on the strength of the wireless and Internet sectors. Revenues generated from the provision of home telephone service rose by 0.5%, or from $4.85 billion in 2007 to $4.87 billion in 2008. In addition, 8% of Canadian households subscribed only to wireless telephone service.

Competitors continued to gain ground on the established telecommunications companies, with their total revenues increasing by 10%, going from $15.9 billion in 2007 to $17.6 billion in 2008. While their share of residential Internet subscribers held steady at 55%, competitors gained an additional 4.6% share of the residential telephone market.

Approximately 94% of Canadian households can access broadband Internet services through telephone, cable or fixed-wireless networks, and 91% of Canadians can access these services by using their cellphones.

Broadcasting

Broadcasting revenues were up $900 million, or 7.3%, and totalled $14 billion for the twelve-month period that ended on August 31, 2008. The delivery of television services showed the highest growth with revenues going from $6.3 billion to $7 billion in one year. According to Statistics Canada, the cable and satellite services index increased twice as much as the consumer price index between 2002 and 2007, or by 22.7% compared to 11.4%.

The amount of time Canadians spend online increased in 2008. Anglophones spent 13.8 hours online per week, up from 13.4 hours in 2007, while francophones spent 11.1 hours online, up from 9.8 hours. Eighteen per cent of anglophones and 16% of francophones reported viewing a television program online. Canadians also spent more time listening to podcasts as anglophones and francophones reported usage increases of 46% and 40%, respectively.

In 2008, the broadcasting industry contributed more than $2.8 billion to the development of Canadian talent and to the creation and broadcast of Canadian programming.

© CRTC