{"id":18385,"date":"2024-05-16T05:05:32","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T09:05:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=18385"},"modified":"2024-05-16T11:11:12","modified_gmt":"2024-05-16T15:11:12","slug":"arpu-doesnt-reflect-consumer-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=18385","title":{"rendered":"ARPU doesn’t reflect consumer bills"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier this month, I promised<\/a> to explain why ARPU doesn’t reflect consumer bills. In that post, I explained why ARPU trends aren’t the same as pricing trends<\/a>.
\n\"ARPU<\/a>
\nStudies from ISED<\/a> and monthly Consumer Price Index reports<\/a> from Statistics Canada reveal significant lowering of mobile service prices.<\/p>\n

At the same time, disinformation campaigns have said these price reductions aren’t showing up in consumer bills. Their evidence? Quarterly financial reports from service providers include an indicator, Average Revenue per User (ARPU). Industry critics say that ARPU is a proxy for monthly consumer bills, and ARPU has remained relatively flat compared to the dramatic fall in plan prices. <\/p>\n

On Twitter, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took the credit<\/a>, saying “We\u2019ve cut the cost of cell phone plans in half since 2019 \u2014 in part by increasing competition.” Opposition MPs and industry critics misread the post, confusing “plans” with “bills”, and then confusing “bills” with “ARPU”.<\/p>\n

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Hey @JustinTrudeau<\/a>. I know you don\u2019t pay your cellphone bill – but here is the money Bell Canada has made per cell phone user as of March 2024. Does this look like a 50% drop? <\/p>\n

We need competition not complacency to drop the highest cell phone bills in the G7. https:\/\/t.co\/fmOpmldQlf<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/O89h2hISHR<\/a><\/p>\n

— Ryan Williams (@Ryan_r_Williams) April 19, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n