Canadians pay among the highest cellphone rates in the western world, according to a new international report by the OECD that has reignited calls for greater competition and regulation in Canada’s wireless sector.
Any way you slice it, technology consultant Jesse Hirsh said Canadians aren’t getting a good deal from the country’s three large carriers because the trio — Telus, Rogers and Bell — make up an oligopoly that “are all ex-monopolies and they think and act like monopolies. They’re less interested in innovation and more interested in the least amount of effort that they can make to charge the highest price.”
That is why the iPhone was so long delayed here in Canada and you should not expect that the exciting innovation represented by Google Voice will be available in Canada anytime soon.
The Mobile Web is a major sector for technological investment and innovation. It is heart-breaking that Canadian involvement is severely weakened by the dog-in-the-manger attitude of the Canadian cellphone oligopoly. Their short-sighted focus on maximising short term revenues from existing customers does both them and the Canadian economy a major disservice. One can only hope that the Canadian Government puts a high priority on changing this situation. In terms of reward on effort, it would be one of the most important dossiers they have.
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