InsightaaS: Michael Geist, leading Canadian expert on communications policy and privacy legislation, continues his recent spate of posts on the need for change in the Canadian telecom market. In this, he uses a combination of humour, prose style and market facts to set out a “resolution” framing a government commitment to support for wireless competition.
“Whereas the 2013 OECD Communications Outlook ranked Canada among the ten most expensive countries for wireless services in virtually every category;
“Whereas the Wall Report commissioned by Industry Canada and the CRTC found that Canadian prices are on the high side in nearly every category of wireless service;
“Whereas the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association has argued that consumers would be willing to pay more for wireless services and Telus has said that given our geography Canada should be the most expensive country for the wireless services in the OECD;
“Whereas Canada has long been one of the only developed economy countries with significant restrictions on telecom foreign investment and has been characterized as the most restrictive in the OECD…
“Whereas the government established rules on deemed transfers of spectrum licences with the support of companies such as Telus only to be sued over those same policies a few months later;
“Whereas Bell has warned of job cuts if Verizon enters the market after laying off hundreds of Canadians due to outsourcing work to low-wage countries and cutting further jobs through mergers…”
Read the entire post: http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6923/125/
