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OTTAWA (Reuters) ― Canada’s ruling Liberals will promise to help cut cell phone and internet bills in an upcoming election campaign amid widespread complaints about the cost of wireless communications, party sources said. One option being studied is a cap on bills, the sources said, while another is to oblige major providers to offer wholesale access to Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), which are smaller outfits without their own infrastructure. The Liberals, tied in the polls with the official opposition Conservatives ahead of the Oct. 21 vote, want to tackle bills they say are much higher than in other industrialized nations. Watch: Canadians, here’s why your cellphone bills are so insanely high. Story continues below.

Liberal officials knocking on doors as election preparations heat up say the cost of phone bills and internet is one of the most frequent complaints they hear. “Canadians shouldn’t be paying more for their already very expensive internet and communications services, and that is something we will take into account,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Monday. The three main wireless providers ― Bell, Rogers and Telus ― account for around 90 per cent of the market. Consumer advocates have long complained this leads to gouging that particularly hits the poor. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which regulates the industry, said wireless costs account for almost 9 per cent of the household income of the bottom 20 per cent of Canadians.

In December, Canada’s innovation ministry released an independent report that showed while prices were gradually falling, Canadian monthly plans with two gigabytes of data still cost an average $75.44. The equivalent price in the United States was $61.26 while in Rome it was just $21.11. In Australia, like Canada a vast underpopulated country, the figure was $24.70.

Reuters Wireless prices comparison