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Two of Canada’s biggest internet providers have slashed prices by about 45 per cent in the Toronto area for their most advanced offerings, but industry observers say such skirmishes are usually very local and short-lived.

Bell Canada is offering a gigabit-per-second home internet package with unlimited data for $79.95 in parts of Toronto, down from $149.95, until the end of July.

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1:20 SaskTel speeding up Internet in 43 rural communities SaskTel speeding up Internet in 43 rural communities

Rogers, for its part, has a limited time promotional offer on its gigabit-per-second service that drops the monthly fee to $79.99 for 12 months, from $152.99, throughout its service areas in Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland.

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Market analyst Emily Taylor of IDC Canada says such local, short-term price wars are part of a long-term battle for market share among the country’s major internet providers, including Bell, Rogers, Videotron, Telus and Shaw.

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Taylor says that Canadian adoption of gigabit-speed home internet has been relatively slow, in part because it’s only available in some places, but consumers are definitely choosing faster services than they did a few years ago.

She says the special promotions are a way for carriers to show what the faster networks can do with the expectation that consumers will come to see them as essential service in the future.