The numbers are in: Telus is the fastest carrier in Canada, but Rogers is the most consistent. Other Canadian carriers, especially the national carriers, all performed admirably.
These findings were published in Ookla’s Q2 Market Report. The internet research company uses its own metrics to rank the carriers’ performances. Its speed score weights download speeds more heavily than upload speeds since download affects consumer experience significantly more than upload speed. It combines best, median, and worst measurements in a ratio of 1:8:1.
With the score decoded, the numbers speak for themselves. To no one’s surprise, Canada’s mobile data speeds are still blisteringly fast. All three big national carriers scored above 72 points. Out of the big three, Telus is once again the fastest of the pack at 82.93, followed by Bell at 75.61 and Rogers at 73.30. Even Fido, Rogers’ flanker value brand, achieved a score of 72.37.
The gap widens at fifth and sixth place, which are occupied by Videotron and Shaw’s (soon to be Rogers’) Freedom Mobile respectively. Videotron achieved 51.80 while Freedom Mobile hit 39.51.
All six top Canadian carriers performed exceptionally in latency, a measurement of the time delay between data flow. Freedom Mobile won in this category with a median latency of 19 ms, but even the worst performers in this category clocked in at under 30ms.
Speed is one thing, consistency is another. High peak speeds mean nothing if they fluctuate like a cat’s mood. Ookla’s consistency score reflects the percentage of results that achieves at least 5Mbps download and 1Mbps upload. A higher score represents a more stable connection.
First place went to Videotron with an impressive score of 89.6 per cent. Fido and Rogers were next with a score of 87.1 and 84.6 per cent respectively. With 80.8 per cent, Telus was only ahead of Bell, which sat at 78.5 per cent.
But what about 5G? Ookla’s report also measures 5G performance and availability in Canada. Of the carriers with a 5G network, Bell and Telus had the highest speeds. Although Rogers 5G wasn’t as fast, it did beat out Bell and Telus in availability; Rogers customers stayed on 5G connections more than 33 per cent of the time. Customers on Telus connected to 5G 22.5 per cent of the time and Bell customers 16.8 per cent.
Alberta beat both British Columbia and Ontario as the province with the fastest median overall download speed at 70.74 Mbps, although British Columbia wasn’t far behind at 68.98 Mbps. Ontario takes the fourth spot with 62.52 Mbps, just a tad shy of Manitoba’s score of 63.05 Mbps.
However, the city with the fastest internet speed is Winnipeg in Manitoba, followed by Edmonton and Calgary. Toronto, Canada’s largest city, ranked seventh, leading Montreal Quebec City, and Ottawa.
