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 Corporation, both of which offer residential and business internet services. As of February 2021, Shaw offers residential packages of up to 1 Gbps download speed, 100 Mbps upload speed, and unlimited data for $125/month31. 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.
It is worth noting that commercial providers do not guarantee a customer will attain the stated maximum connection speed. Most provide an ‘up to’ speed commitment.
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.