Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took aim at the mobile sector, pledging to slash the cost of mobile service, change the way spectrum is awarded and boost competition from MVNOs if his Liberal Party is re-elected next month.

In a new proposal, the party said it would press operators to cut the cost of mobile service by as much as 25 per cent and expand their unlimited tariffs to include family plans.

Trudeau issued the pledge in a tweet, stating Canadians “pay too much” for mobile service and the proposed changes would save the average family nearly CAD1,000 ($753) per year.

Despite efforts to reduce costs in recent years, government research conducted in December 2018 showed average mobile tariffs consistently ranked higher than those in other G7 countries.

To spur change, the Liberal Party said it would encourage more competition from MVNOs, requiring top operators to lease out available capacity to qualified participants. If pricing hasn’t fallen sufficiently within two years, the party said it would take further action to enable more MVNOs to enter the market.

It also proposed changing how spectrum is awarded: rather than being sold to the highest bidder, airwaves would be distributed “based on consumer choice affordability and broad access”. It would also set aside spectrum for new mobile entrants.