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It is inconvenient then, that the market has already done its work by reducing prices. Unlimited plans from Rogers, Telus and Bell currently offer 20GB at maximum speed for $75, down from $95 – a reduction close to the government’s 25 per cent target.

The introduction of unlimited data plans by all Canada’s big telcos last summer will reduce the price paid per gigabyte of data by 50 per cent between 2018 and 2020, according to a new report by consultancy, PWC. The report also said that overage fees, racked up by high data users once the monthly cap has been exceeded, will be reduced by 80 per cent by the end of this year as a result of the shift to unlimited plans – at a cost of $1 billion in annual revenue to the telecom industry.

One might think a government that respected free markets would claim victory and disengage, particularly a government that wants the telcos to invest in rural broadband and a new fifth generation cellular network that analysts have compared to the building of Canada’s national rail network in the 1800s.

But the Liberals specialize in solving problems that don’t exist. Navdeep Bains, the innovation minister, said last week that he’ll soon have more information on the election promise. “We’ll be rolling out a plan to clearly demonstrate how we’re going to achieve that target,” he said.

It is inconvenient that the market has already done its work by reducing prices

To reconcile that commitment with prices that are likely already 25 per cent lower than 2018 levels, he confirmed that the starting point for the price drop will be December 2019.