June 2012 Archives

How many times have you faced the dilemma of not knowing which cellphone provider to choose from? I know it is a tedious process because when it comes to cell phone providers in Montreal, we as consumers are limited to very narrow options to choose from: Rogers, Bell, Telus, Solo, Videotron, Public Mobile, Koodo, Chatr, etc. At this point I am sure that I have already raised a lot of eyebrows since I just listed eight providers. However, the truth is that Fido and Chatr belong to Rogers, Solo and Virgin Mobile to Bell, Koodo to Telus, and Public Mobile is partnered with both Bell and Telus. As the Seabord Group- a telecommunications and technology consulting firm- has stated "The number of players doesn't mean anything; it is the type of players with their particular interests which dictates the shape and the future of the mobile market" (TechVibes). Based on personal experience and the constant emergence of customer complains on the Internet, I believe it is time for the Canadian government to decrease the current cap structure even further to allow other companies to enter the market in order to improve wireless services and offer better prices to the Canadian public.

Throughout the years and thanks to technological advancements, companies like the big three (Rogers, Bell and Telus) have benefited from offering the public overpriced plans and extra monthly fees on commodities; unlike American companies like Sprint and T-Mobile, for example, which offer affordable unlimited plans. Despite the recent change in policies to allow more foreign investment into the Canadian Market, Anthony Lacavera, chairman and CEO of Wind Mobile -a recent start-up company- said "he was pleased by the decision to lift the foreign ownership limits, but said that the cap system handicaps the smaller companies because there isn't enough of the valuable 700 MHz spectrum available." (Thestar.com).