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Canada Wireless Industry: Liberals Come Out In Favour Of Greater Competition

The Huffington Post Canada   First Posted: 01/16/2012 10:56 am EST Updated: 01/18/2012 6:06 pm EST

The Liberal Party's industry critic has thrown his weight behind a new campaign to force open the doors of Canada’s cellphone industry to greater competition.

Geoff Regan has released an open letter urging the government to allow “any small or new entrants” to bid for a new block of wireless spectrum going to auction as early as this year.

“In Canada the cost of wireless plans continues to remain significantly higher than in many other developed countries,” Regan stated in the letter. “Canada also lags many of those countries in terms of wireless penetration. Both of these facts suggest that our wireless marketplace still requires more companies providing more competition.”

That represents at least a partial departure from current policy, including the policy of previous Liberal governments, which had maintained restrictions on foreign ownership of telecom infrastructure.

Potential entrants to Canada’s wireless market are limited by ownership regulations that prevent cellphone network operators from being majority foreign-owned. Several years ago the Conservative government set those rules aside to allow Wind Mobile to operate inside Canada, despite being majority funded by an Egyptian company.

Regan’s letter comes after a grassroots group launched an online petition urging Canadians to speak out against domination of the cell phone market by the country's big three wireless companies – Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc. and Telus Corp.

More than 30,000 people have signed the Stop the Cellphone Squeeze petition since it was launched last week.

"We're calling for a level playing field," Steve Anderson, executive director of OpenMedia.ca told CBC News in a phone interview.

"Canadians don't want the big three to knock out the independents and have a stranglehold over the future of our communication. They want choice and affordability."

OpenMedia.ca wants federal government set aside a certain percentage of that spectrum specifically for new entrants, in the hopes of spurring competition.

Big Telecom already controls 94 per cent of the wireless market in Canada and is seeking to gobble up the rest in order to shut out small startups and independent operators such as Wind Mobile, said Anderson.

Domination of the cellphone marketplace by a few providers means higher prices and longer, locked-in contracts, as well as poor customer service, he added.

A 2009 OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) report found that Canadians pay among the highest cellphone rates in the world, including the highest roaming fees. If Big Telecom succeeds in blocking the independents' access to the spectrum, prices will go even higher, contracts will get tighter and customer complaints will increase, said Anderson.

With files from CBC

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article identified Geoff Regan as a "shadow minister," a term reserved for members of the official opposition. The Huffington Post regrets the error.

PRICEY TELECOM: THE 10 MOST EXPENSIVE COUNTRIES FOR BROADBAND INTERNET

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  • 10: Iceland

    <strong>Average price per month, Sept. 2010: $54.71.</strong> (<em>All numbers are in U.S. dollars, based on connections between 15 Mbps and 30 Mbps. Source: <a href="http://www.oecd.org/document/54/0,3343,en_2649_34225_38690102_1_1_1_1,00.html" target="_hplink">OECD Directorate For Science, Technology and Industry</a>.</em>)

  • 9: Hungary

    <strong>Average price per month, Sept. 2010: $55.31.</strong> (<em>All numbers are in U.S. dollars, based on connections between 15 Mbps and 30 Mbps. Source: <a href="http://www.oecd.org/document/54/0,3343,en_2649_34225_38690102_1_1_1_1,00.html" target="_hplink">OECD Directorate For Science, Technology and Industry</a>.</em>)

  • 8: Norway

    <strong>Average price per month, Sept. 2010: $55.90.</strong> (<em>All numbers are in U.S. dollars, based on connections between 15 Mbps and 30 Mbps. Source: <a href="http://www.oecd.org/document/54/0,3343,en_2649_34225_38690102_1_1_1_1,00.html" target="_hplink">OECD Directorate For Science, Technology and Industry</a>.</em>)

  • 7: Spain

    <strong>Average price per month, Sept. 2010: $55.97.</strong> (<em>All numbers are in U.S. dollars, based on connections between 15 Mbps and 30 Mbps. Source: <a href="http://www.oecd.org/document/54/0,3343,en_2649_34225_38690102_1_1_1_1,00.html" target="_hplink">OECD Directorate For Science, Technology and Industry</a>.</em>)

  • 6: United States

    <strong>Average price per month, Sept. 2010: $57.36.</strong> (<em>All numbers are in U.S. dollars, based on connections between 15 Mbps and 30 Mbps. Source: <a href="http://www.oecd.org/document/54/0,3343,en_2649_34225_38690102_1_1_1_1,00.html" target="_hplink">OECD Directorate For Science, Technology and Industry</a>.</em>)

  • 5: Canada

    <strong>Average price per month, Sept. 2010: $62.91.</strong> (<em>All numbers are in U.S. dollars, based on connections between 15 Mbps and 30 Mbps. Source: <a href="http://www.oecd.org/document/54/0,3343,en_2649_34225_38690102_1_1_1_1,00.html" target="_hplink">OECD Directorate For Science, Technology and Industry</a>.</em>)

  • 4: Israel

    <strong>Average price per month, Sept. 2010: $65.42.</strong> (<em>All numbers are in U.S. dollars, based on connections between 15 Mbps and 30 Mbps. Source: <a href="http://www.oecd.org/document/54/0,3343,en_2649_34225_38690102_1_1_1_1,00.html" target="_hplink">OECD Directorate For Science, Technology and Industry</a>.</em>)

  • 3: Luxembourg

    <strong>Average price per month, Sept. 2010: $74.76.</strong> (<em>All numbers are in U.S. dollars, based on connections between 15 Mbps and 30 Mbps. Source: <a href="http://www.oecd.org/document/54/0,3343,en_2649_34225_38690102_1_1_1_1,00.html" target="_hplink">OECD Directorate For Science, Technology and Industry</a>.</em>)

  • 2: Chile

    <strong>Average price per month, Sept. 2010: $79.89.</strong> (<em>All numbers are in U.S. dollars, based on connections between 15 Mbps and 30 Mbps. Source: <a href="http://www.oecd.org/document/54/0,3343,en_2649_34225_38690102_1_1_1_1,00.html" target="_hplink">OECD Directorate For Science, Technology and Industry</a>.</em>)

  • 1: Turkey

    <strong>Average price per month, Sept. 2010: $84.14.</strong> (<em>All numbers are in U.S. dollars, based on connections between 15 Mbps and 30 Mbps. Source: <a href="http://www.oecd.org/document/54/0,3343,en_2649_34225_38690102_1_1_1_1,00.html" target="_hplink">OECD Directorate For Science, Technology and Industry</a>.</em>)

  • All OECD Countries

    (<em>All numbers are in U.S. dollars, based on connections between 15 Mbps and 30 Mbps. Source: <a href="http://www.oecd.org/document/54/0,3343,en_2649_34225_38690102_1_1_1_1,00.html" target="_hplink">OECD Directorate For Science, Technology and Industry</a>.</em>)

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Runey
religion is why we can't have nice things.
704 Fans
 
02:21 PM on 01/16/2012
"Domination of the cellphone marketplace by a few providers means higher prices and longer, locked-in contracts, as well as poor customer service, he added."

This is 100% the case. The existing providers are so complacent in their collaboration with the other providers to keep their rates relatively the same, they really don't care if you threaten to move providers because the other ones aren't substantially better.
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realDexDunford
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01:27 PM on 01/16/2012
This is such a great idea but the reality is that building a competitive nationwide network is a huge and expensive endeavour. We have new companies like Wind and Mobilicity. Their plans can't be beat by the Big 3. But if you're a user, like myself, that travels often and finds yourself outside of their network coverage, suddenly their plans aren't so great. Some European countries have actually regulated pricing for cell phones. The UK banned 3 year contracts. I know that would never happen under our Conservative government, but I think that's the only way to get fair rates. Even if you sell spectrum dirt cheap to new entrants, they would need to have massive funding to build a good network. Even then, you're looking at years of work before it's running nationwide. I like the idea but it lacks vision and execution behind it.
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mutant26
16 Fans
12:55 PM on 01/16/2012
Could it be? Are the Liberals so desperate to hang onto party status that they are actually beginning to listen to the people of this country? First I read about Marijuana legalization and now cell phone open competitiveness? What's next? Are they going to come out in favor or environmental programs and gas price regulation-or perhaps it will be banking fee regulation, MP pension reviews and cutting government officials expense accounts...or even...cutting taxes.

Some people will say or do anything in desperate times. Do you really think they would actually follow through on that? I DOUBT IT!
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DylanMckelvey92
23 Fans
02:23 PM on 01/16/2012
Wow! You've spun a political party listening to the electorate to be a bad thing!

I'm assuming you're a conservative voter.
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mutant26
16 Fans
03:28 PM on 01/16/2012
Not at all...I am in fact a FORMER liberal supporter, and now am independent. I am simply pointing out that politicians in general do not listen to the electorate once they are in power, and historically do not follow through on all their promises during election time. Now, the liberals are basically reading headlines and are simply trying to stir a pot rather than to say something that is remotely believable. To me, they did NOTHING about rates and competition while they were in power and are now squawking about it is ironic. And on that note, the Marijuana concept they did not pass either...so how is it that they now want it?...Because the conservatives do not. That is not policy...its something much more steamy and smelly.
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DylanMckelvey92
23 Fans
02:24 PM on 01/16/2012
Might I add that all of these things that you are claiming are due to the liberals listening to the electorate (in your opinion, with no intention of delivering), are policies that the conservatives will NEVER implement.
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mutant26
16 Fans
03:30 PM on 01/16/2012
exactly...they are the opposite of the conservative standpoints but many of them have never been amongst the liberal platforms. Yes, Kyoto did happen but really it had no teeth. Marijuana?...never....lower taxes?...small increments but nothing worthwhile.Gas price regulation?..nope..Bank fee regulation?...I hardly think so. And the sponsorship scandal?...that is a big nadda too-being expenses...so how is it that they can promise these things or say they are going to do it, when we all know full well that they will change once they get into office. The point of my posting was that we need to start holding them accountable-either financially or politically if they make promises to do good things like this then do not deliver once they get into office. In my province, our conservative premier just promised all kind of stuff, and NONE of it has been delivered on but the liberal option was terrible and we have too many old people who do not think outside the box like the NDP(who I voted for).
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