Access to broadband internet in urban jurisdictions in Alberta is primarily provided by large telecommunications and cable companies.
In Alberta, the largest ISPs are Shaw Communications and Telus TELUS Corporation, both of which offer residential and business internet services. As of July 2016February 2021, Shaw offers business and residential packages packages of up to 150 Mbps download and 15 Mbps upload speeds for $132.95/month and $135.00/month, respectively.44, 45
Telus offers slightly higher bandwidth packages: up to 150 Mbps download and 30 Mbps upload for $120/month for residential services. Each of the residential plans have data caps, ranging from 65-1,000 GB/month, depending on the package.
1 Gbps download speed, 100 Mbps upload speed, and unlimited data for $125/month.31 This package is available wherever Shaw has cable-based services.
NOTE: On March 15, 2021, Rogers announced a plan to acquire Shaw in a $26B merger, a deal which would eliminate Shaw as a regional competitor. As of the publication of this report, the deal is pending regulatory approval.
TELUS offers a download speed of 940 Mbps, with symmetrical upload speed of 940 Mbps, for $160/month32. TELUS has a data cap of 1 Terabyte. They also advertise 1.5 Gbps download with 940 Mbps upload options, but do not publicize the price33. These packages from TELUS are only available to fibre-to-the-home communities (currently 25 communities listed in Alberta)34.Shaw’s Business Internet 150 plan46 offers unlimited data and Telus offers business packages that do not have a data cap, starting at $85/month.47 Additionally, business services provided by Shaw48 and Telus49 offer plans that provide up to 10 Gbps symmetric upload and download speeds (and beyond). These networks are also leveraged by third party providers such as iTel, who provide internet services utilizing the underlying fibre infrastructure.50
It is worth noting that commercial providers do not guarantee that a customer will attain the stated maximum connection speed. Most provide an ‘up to’ speed commitment. Of note, Telus has begun stating a range of speeds that can be expected, although it is not clear whether those are sustained or “up-to” speeds as well.51
As well, business WAN network solutions are provided across Alberta, with symmetrical speeds up to 100 Gbps35. Again, these speeds are limited to fibre-only solutions, in specific locations.
References
31Shaw. Fibre+ Internet Plans & Packages | Shaw. Accessed 21 February 2021.
32TELUS: https://www.telus.com/en/shop/home-services/internet/plans?linktype=ge-meganav. Accessed 21 February 2021.
33TELUS PureFibre 1.5 Gigabit Internet | TELUS. Accessed 21 February 2021.
34TELUS Fibre Optic Internet Service Areas - PureFibre | TELUS Accessed 21 February 2021.
35TELUS Wavelength - Data Centre Interconnect | TELUS Accessed 21 February 2021
References
44. Shaw. Business Internet. Accessed 20 July 2016.
45. Shaw. WideOpen Internet 150. Accessed 20 July 2016.
46. Shaw. Business Internet. Accessed 20 July 2016.
47. Telus. Business Fibre Internet Plans. Accessed 9 June 2016.
48. Shaw. http://business.shaw.ca/Advanced-Solutions/Internet/Fiber-Gateway/#sthash.hL6qZo4T.dpuf Accessed 29 July 2016.
49. Telus. Business Internet. Accessed 29 July 2016.
50. iTel. iTel homepage. Accessed 9 June 2016.
51. Telus. Telus Internet Plans. Accessed 9 June 2016.