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Canada's Telecom Market is Rigged, says Wind Mobile backer Naguib Sawiris

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Re: Canada's Telecom Market is Rigged, says Wind Mobile backer Naguib Sawiris

#21

Post by snowwindwaves »

zmanji wrote: post #13

I've never understood why in many western industrialized countries telecommunications has not been regulated the same as sewage, roads, electricity, etc. It is a vital piece of infrastructure in the 21st century and it should be the responsibility of the government to manage such infrastructure.

we used to have that, and while the service of providing roads, electricity, or sewerage hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, telecommunications certainly has. while networks might lend themselves to natural monopolies, government sponsored telecommunications monopolies couldn't keep up with the pace of innovation these days and as a result consumers would be left paying high rates for antiquated service.

Re: Canada's Telecom Market is Rigged, says Wind Mobile backer Naguib Sawiris

#22

Post by alsocasey »

nobody31415926 wrote: post #15
deathchill wrote: post #7

It's almost as terrible as the car insurance market in BC: http://ihateicbc.com/icbcs-dirty-little-secret.html BC only has one car insurance provider so they're free to set the prices as they see fit. They even try and pretend that they're doing it to help keep prices low as competition would only raise the prices for everyone (yes, they really said this).

They did it because they made motor insurance mandatory and it would be unfair to force someone to have something that the market didn't have to provide. In europe it's essentially impossible for anyone under 21 to get insurance ( without tricks like being listed on parent's cover ) even though the law says you can drive at 17. Typical rates for liability-only on a 17 year old are $10K/year Imagine living in a rural…

Hold the phone, motor vehicle insurance isn't mandatory in the US?

Re: Canada's Telecom Market is Rigged, says Wind Mobile backer Naguib Sawiris

#23

Post by snowwindwaves »

wavephorm wrote: post #8
snowwindwaves wrote: post #5

new zealanders have a rough go with their telecommunications as well. I recall seeing the vodafone CEO on the news saying they made 3-4x as much profit in new zealand as anywhere else (per customer probably). The only competion was the ex-public telecom. canadians don't have it quite so bad as the new zealanders, but they get a worse deal than the americans for sure.

Canada has BY FAR the most expensive cell phone rates in the world. New Zealand is 19th according to this list. See: http://www.mobilemag.com/2010/08/27/canadians-have-the-most-... That graph doesn't even give justice to the true cost. Canada plans are almost always regional, so to call another city, even one nearby is a long distance call. VOIP phones are also rare because numbers are restricted, Skype and Google Ph…

I wonder why Skype In (Skype Online Number) - where people call a POTS number and get your skype account, isn't available in canada.

What is stopping everyone from making calls from mobile phones over data networks? surely skype is available for iphone and android?

Re: Canada's Telecom Market is Rigged, says Wind Mobile backer Naguib Sawiris

#24

Post by JonLim »

FreeKill wrote: post #2

I doubt anyone who has ever had to deal with one of the big 3 in Canada (Rogers, Telus, or Bell) would argue against this point. Canadians really need to push for an open system that allows foreign competition to enter the marketplace. Until we do, the status quo is simply going to continue to press the advantage they have at the expense of the Canadian consumers.

I would love to have an idea of what we CAN do.

This is the one thing in my life where I can't vote with my wallet. I only really have three viable choices for wireless right now: Rogers, Bell, and Telus.

Re: Canada's Telecom Market is Rigged, says Wind Mobile backer Naguib Sawiris

#25

Post by noarchy »

loceng wrote: post #11

It keeps competitors out. Many governments do this. Keeps jobs and profits local, for the most part.

For the most part, maybe. Tell that to the Bell customers who deal with Indian call centres when they need tech support. I know I did, years back (haven't dealt with Bell in a while).

Re: Canada's Telecom Market is Rigged, says Wind Mobile backer Naguib Sawiris

#26

Post by nobody31415926 »

alsocasey wrote: post #22
nobody31415926 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They did it because they made motor insurance mandatory and it would be unfair to force someone to have something that the market didn't have to provide. In europe it's essentially impossible for anyone under 21 to get insurance ( without tricks like being listed on parent's cover ) even though the law says you can drive at 17. Typical rates for liability-only on a 17 year old are $10K/year Imagine living in a rural…

Hold the phone, motor vehicle insurance isn't mandatory in the US?

I think the difference is that if a US law maker said "but wont this have a bad effect on the poor?" everybody else in congress bursts out laughing!

Technically insurance isn't mandatory in the US if you are rich enough. At least in Ca if you could show enough assets you can self-insure

Re: Canada's Telecom Market is Rigged, says Wind Mobile backer Naguib Sawiris

#27

Post by nobody31415926 »

snowwindwaves wrote: post #23
wavephorm wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Canada has BY FAR the most expensive cell phone rates in the world. New Zealand is 19th according to this list. See: http://www.mobilemag.com/2010/08/27/canadians-have-the-most-... That graph doesn't even give justice to the true cost. Canada plans are almost always regional, so to call another city, even one nearby is a long distance call. VOIP phones are also rare because numbers are restricted, Skype and Google Ph…

I wonder why Skype In (Skype Online Number) - where people call a POTS number and get your skype account, isn't available in canada. What is stopping everyone from making calls from mobile phones over data networks? surely skype is available for iphone and android?

Data costs in canada are even higher than voice costs!

skype is only available on some androids and charges calls against your voice minutes.

Re: Canada's Telecom Market is Rigged, says Wind Mobile backer Naguib Sawiris

#28

Post by pheaduch »

snowwindwaves wrote: post #23
wavephorm wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Canada has BY FAR the most expensive cell phone rates in the world. New Zealand is 19th according to this list. See: http://www.mobilemag.com/2010/08/27/canadians-have-the-most-... That graph doesn't even give justice to the true cost. Canada plans are almost always regional, so to call another city, even one nearby is a long distance call. VOIP phones are also rare because numbers are restricted, Skype and Google Ph…

I wonder why Skype In (Skype Online Number) - where people call a POTS number and get your skype account, isn't available in canada. What is stopping everyone from making calls from mobile phones over data networks? surely skype is available for iphone and android?

Thank the CRTC for that, there's a lot of complicated regulations regarding the telecom industry and the requirement for Canadian ownership. Which is ironic because we welcome foreign entities to setup and drill our oil but opening up the telecom industry to foreigners is a big no-no.

Re: Canada's Telecom Market is Rigged, says Wind Mobile backer Naguib Sawiris

#29

Post by nobody31415926 »

snowwindwaves wrote: post #19
nobody31415926 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They did it because they made motor insurance mandatory and it would be unfair to force someone to have something that the market didn't have to provide. In europe it's essentially impossible for anyone under 21 to get insurance ( without tricks like being listed on parent's cover ) even though the law says you can drive at 17. Typical rates for liability-only on a 17 year old are $10K/year Imagine living in a rural…

The difference in car insurance from vancouver to victoria is 50%. People drive more expensive cars in vancouver and apparently are more likely to have accidents.

And nobody in Victoria drives at more than 30km/h !

Re: Canada's Telecom Market is Rigged, says Wind Mobile backer Naguib Sawiris

#30

Post by ataggart »

FreeKill wrote: post #2

I doubt anyone who has ever had to deal with one of the big 3 in Canada (Rogers, Telus, or Bell) would argue against this point. Canadians really need to push for an open system that allows foreign competition to enter the marketplace. Until we do, the status quo is simply going to continue to press the advantage they have at the expense of the Canadian consumers.

The problem is so many of those inclined to oppose the government-protected big 3 cartel are also the same sort who think the solution to every problem is a government monopoly. Any push for change would not move to a more open system, but would at most replace it with a Crown Corporation.
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