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Prices for Canadian phone service rose at the fastest rate in more than 30 years amid a debate over whether the wireless industry needs more competition.

The cost of mobile and landline communications climbed 7.6% in August from a year earlier, more than three times general inflation, as the biggest phone companies pulled back on promotions and moved to shorter contract lengths.

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According to Statistics Canada, the jump was the biggest since March 1983, the same year Motorola Inc. debuted the first commercially available mobile phone. Last month’s increase helped boost the core inflation rate to 2.1%, the highest since April 2012, the statistics agency reported last week.