Canada's Telecom Market is Rigged, says Wind Mobile backer Naguib Sawiris • Hacker News Board

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

#91

Post by kalleboo » Mon, Nov 21, 2011, 1:04 PM UTC

throwaway64 wrote: post #77

matdwyer wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't doubt that Rogers embellishes things like that. I'm still happy with $30 for 6GB. I'm equal to any "power" user, I work on the road and tether daily while using the iPhone for basically everything. I'm still not getting anywhere near 6GB. You'd literally have to use the iPhone connection as your main internet source to get above 6GB. I'm not torrenting or streaming a TON while on my phone, but I watch mobile…

>You'd literally have to use the iPhone connection as your main internet source why is this so crazy? its perfectly possible in areas without insane rates and no competition

Example: approx 15% of Swedish broadband users have replaced their fixed line internet with 3G/4G. (source: http://www.pts.se/sv/Nyheter/Pressmeddelanden/2011/Nara-var-... )

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

#92

Post by earlyresort » Mon, Nov 21, 2011, 1:56 PM UTC

nolanw wrote: post #85

gyardley wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The typical Canadian will irrationally defend any policy that differs from the equivalent policy in America, because the typical Canadian's sense of national identity is 10% hockey and 90% 'we're different from the Americans'. We're never going to deregulate and allow a little free-market competition to lower prices as long as these proposals can be criticized as 'Americanization' or 'the American way'. It's not comp…

This is so laughably wrong as to be absurd. Your explanation for Canadian telecom entrenchment and protectionism is that it's anti-American? Canada and its provinces have imported America's love of faux-competition in media, telecom, electricity, non-health insurance, and other areas nearly whole hog. Anti-Americanism also runs contrary to Canada's: plans to imprison more of its population; paying extra for ill-perfo…

I'll agree that the current federal government is a bit of an aberration compared to past Liberal and Conservative governments, but playing up differences from the Americans to justify political policies (good or bad - I suppose that depends on your personal politics) has been a big part of Canadian political life since Trudeau's first term in the late '60s.

Whether Canada is actually all that different from America or whether 'different from America' is just used as a cynical political tool is another question.

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

#93

Post by maximilianburke » Mon, Nov 21, 2011, 2:34 PM UTC

refurb wrote: post #76

maximilianburke wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BC insurance, from my experience, isn't really a problem. Most quotes I've received in markets where there is a free(r) market for insurance often are considerably higher than what BC drivers pay through ICBC, especially if the driver is under 25. Case in point, I renewed my auto insurance today with ICBC and paid $1470 for 12 months of insurance for a 2007 Mazda 3. The policy includes $2,000,000 liability, collision…

The reason you are paying lower rates is because the gov't has stepped in and ensured it. Well that and the gov't pays out insurance claims, so it can often limit the huge payouts. The problem is is that when you benefit one group (young drivers), you're usually making someone else pay the difference (lower risk drivers). There is no free lunch.

As it stands now I should be in a low(ish) risk category -- I'm 29, my driving record is clean, I've never been at fault in any accidents, and I drive a boring car. And yet, still, my insurance is considerably lower than if I was buying it in the US.

If anyone else has moved from BC to someplace else and is paying less on insurance compared to ICBC for the same services I'd would honestly like to hear it because I haven't yet seen it.

I've heard horror stories but I've never had any problems with them, rate-wise or service-wise.

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

#94

Post by tomlin » Mon, Nov 21, 2011, 2:48 PM UTC

earlyresort wrote: post #83

tomlin wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People are driven to play one side of the fence or the other. As an example, many had fought to deregulate our banks. Now, after the recession, where are all these people? crickets Our banks in Canada were one of the only in the world to not suffer serious hardship coupled with millions of dollars lost in foreclosures, lost benefits and savings. This was, without question, due to regulation. Canada would not be in th…

Yep, this is exactly the sort of thing I'm talking about. A few decent regulations around underwriting mortgages, and most Canadians will conflate that into 'the banking industry shouldn't be touched' -- even though there's only six banks and they charge more in fees than American banks. (Which is saying a lot.) And god forbid anyone say anything against the CMHC, which is a secretive time-bomb more leveraged than Fa…

> Canadians will conflate that into 'the banking industry shouldn't be touched' -- even though there's only six banks and they charge more in fees than American banks. (Which is saying a lot.)

There is a bigger picture here. Our fees may be more (I have no idea), but our interest rates are higher for deposits most of the time. You're not considering any other factors for the higher prices. Personally, if our banks are making a lot of money, not putting everyone in the poor house and offering some of the best financing rates and deposit interest rates in the world, why do they need to be touched? I don't understand the motivation to make changes to something that isn't broken. The banking industry will never be perfect. If you're hoping for this utopian world of low/no bank fee, open market, low interest, high deposit interest, I think you're going to be disappointed to find out that it doesn't exist. Proof of such is in abundance.

> And god forbid anyone say anything against the CMHC, which is a secretive time-bomb more leveraged than Fannie Mae ever was.

CMHC also needs restructuring, but again, not deregulation. Why do we have it in our heads that corporations are less evil than the government? The government and corporations should exist with a set of regulations so that decisions made are for the benefit of the world, not just investors. The government and corporations both fail miserably without intervention and debate. It's not okay for the CMHC to be in secrecy, but it's also not right for Fannie Mae, either.

> for all we know, our housing crisis might still be ahead of us.

> But hey, at least it's not America!

Come on, really?

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

#95

Post by woobar » Mon, Nov 21, 2011, 4:01 PM UTC

maximilianburke wrote: post #93

refurb wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason you are paying lower rates is because the gov't has stepped in and ensured it. Well that and the gov't pays out insurance claims, so it can often limit the huge payouts. The problem is is that when you benefit one group (young drivers), you're usually making someone else pay the difference (lower risk drivers). There is no free lunch.

As it stands now I should be in a low(ish) risk category -- I'm 29, my driving record is clean, I've never been at fault in any accidents, and I drive a boring car. And yet, still, my insurance is considerably lower than if I was buying it in the US. If anyone else has moved from BC to someplace else and is paying less on insurance compared to ICBC for the same services I'd would honestly like to hear it because I ha…

my insurance is considerably lower than if I was buying it in the US

How did you come up with this conclusion? In US I paid a little more than a half of what you paying (~$800/year) when I did not have any driving history. I am paying ~$800/year for two cars/two drivers now.

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

#96

Post by JonLim » Mon, Nov 21, 2011, 4:14 PM UTC

mladenkovacevic wrote: post #53

JonLim wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Have you tried one of the small guys struggling to compete against the big 3? Mobilicity, Wind or Public Mobile. I am with Mobilicity and pay $35 for unlimited everything (one of the amzing early plans they had.. you can still get he same for $40 or so) and that includes data, global text messaging and North American long distance.A couple of caveats are that plans are metro-area limited so if you go out of any of th…

I really wanted to go with Wind when they came out, but none of the new providers would let me use an iPhone on their system, which meant that they were instantly out of the running.

Sounds silly I know, but I want to keep using the phone I'm using.

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

#97

Post by cheez » Mon, Nov 21, 2011, 5:36 PM UTC

matdwyer wrote: post #74

cheez wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's you. Sometimes I need to pull down a giant repo.

On your iPhone? If you're trying to use 3G as a replacement for a home or office internet then I certainly see why you're disappointed.

Tethering :P

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

#98

Post by maximilianburke » Mon, Nov 21, 2011, 5:40 PM UTC

woobar wrote: post #95

maximilianburke wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As it stands now I should be in a low(ish) risk category -- I'm 29, my driving record is clean, I've never been at fault in any accidents, and I drive a boring car. And yet, still, my insurance is considerably lower than if I was buying it in the US. If anyone else has moved from BC to someplace else and is paying less on insurance compared to ICBC for the same services I'd would honestly like to hear it because I ha…

my insurance is considerably lower than if I was buying it in the US How did you come up with this conclusion? In US I paid a little more than a half of what you paying (~$800/year) when I did not have any driving history. I am paying ~$800/year for two cars/two drivers now.

Online quotes through Geico and Progressive, matching the same coverage and deductibles as my current policy for liability, comprehensive, collision, underinsured motorist, rental car coverage, etc.

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

#99

Post by throwaway64 » Mon, Nov 21, 2011, 7:05 PM UTC

snowwindwaves wrote: post #81

throwaway64 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure about European tel-cos, but i can tell you of a north American telco that is a virtual government monopoly (no other private company has comparable rates and service), Sasktel, they have an interesting history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sasktel They were the first, or one of the first companies in north america to offer: Video-On-Demand, Fiber to the home, IPTV, HDTV over IPTV, HSPA, ADSL, etc. This…

what has made the difference there then? good management? down to earth hard working employees? reasonable cost of living?

I believe its a mixture of both good management, and not putting profit maximization first, although they do still make a healthy profit every year...

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

#100

Post by woobar » Mon, Nov 21, 2011, 8:59 PM UTC

maximilianburke wrote: post #98

woobar wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

my insurance is considerably lower than if I was buying it in the US How did you come up with this conclusion? In US I paid a little more than a half of what you paying (~$800/year) when I did not have any driving history. I am paying ~$800/year for two cars/two drivers now.

Online quotes through Geico and Progressive, matching the same coverage and deductibles as my current policy for liability, comprehensive, collision, underinsured motorist, rental car coverage, etc.

Hmm... I just tried Geico online quote and got some ridiculously high estimate (2x my current premiums). I guess old-fashioned phone call to the agent is still a way to go.