If you're planning to get a new wireless phone contract this year, it's going to cost you more as the Big Three providers - Rogers, Bell and Telus - have all upped their rates by $5 per month since January.
Now, of course it would be illegal if the three co-ordinated on the price hikes.
But there's no law against coincidence.
It's more likely this was a case of follow-the-leader.
This follows a year of the telecom industry and federal government fighting a war of words in the media over the government's plan to auction off a new swath of broadband spectrum that would allow - gasp - a fourth major company to compete in the market.
Enjoying their tri-opoly, the big three decried this as an unpatriotic threat to Canadian jobs. A Quebec-based regional provider won the auction, but so far doesn't have any plans to expand or offer more competitive prices.
So in the end, the wireless giants got exactly what they wanted and we got a price hike.
Meanwhile, next time you're watching the Canucks lose in Rogers Arena, keep an eye out for the federal government's pricey $9-million ad campaign to remind us how we'll all benefit from their telecommunications policies.
The ad goes as far as promising "more competition" and "cheaper prices."
If you miss it, maybe you can use some of that now more expensive wireless data to download Ottawa's commercial and watch it on your phone.
