Wireless code gives customers new rights starting today

As long as they don't jack up their prices to compensate for all this, it might be a good thing. But as the article notes, that's probably exactly what they will do.

Which will make it even more attractive for Horizon to step in.

Yes, they need competition.

I doubt competition will make much of a difference in our market.

Our country is simply too big and too sparsely populated for it to make much of a difference. If Verizon (or someone else wants to enter our market, they either need to lease service from Bell and/or Telus (which means their prices will be similar), or build them themselves (far more expensive).

It's just like Wal-Mart and Target - they were hailed as heroes when they announced they were coming to Canada, then when they opened up, their prices were only marginally better than that of Canadian stores.

I doubt competition will make much of a difference in our market.

Our country is simply too big and too sparsely populated for it to make much of a difference. If Verizon (or someone else wants to enter our market, they either need to lease service from Bell and/or Telus (which means their prices will be similar), or build them themselves (far more expensive).

It's just like Wal-Mart and Target - they were hailed as heroes when they announced they were coming to Canada, then when they opened up, their prices were only marginally better than that of Canadian stores.
Not in this case. The big three here started to shit their pants and ran ads telling us how bad things were going to be..........all while charging us some of the highest prices in the world. Our wireless, TV and internet providers are screwing our asses to the wall. My best friend who winters in Florida pays less for his internet, TV, phone and 2 cell phones combined, than I do just for my TV. Needless to say their TV selection makes ours look like the old days with rabbit ears.

It's not like there would be any difference in infrastructure costs between Canada and Florida...

Sorry, had to do it.

This issue is far more complex then most people imagine. Are we getting screwed as is? Yes. Will allowing more competition cure our woes? Hardly. Any offset in direct price will be covered by increased taxes to cover the increased subsidies.

We will continue to get screwed until we have a population density in line with the profit margins desired...ie: not in our life times, barring some major scientific breakthroughs.

What?

Toronto is one of the largest cities in the world. Are their prices any cheaper? No......

What?

Toronto is one of the largest cities in the world. Are their prices any cheaper? No......

And Toronto covered the total cost of their telecomm infrastructure solo...right?

Lol.

Like I stated earlier, this issue is far, far more complex then most realize.

I doubt competition will make much of a difference in our market.

Our country is simply too big and too sparsely populated for it to make much of a difference. If Verizon (or someone else wants to enter our market, they either need to lease service from Bell and/or Telus (which means their prices will be similar), or build them themselves (far more expensive).

It's just like Wal-Mart and Target - they were hailed as heroes when they announced they were coming to Canada, then when they opened up, their prices were only marginally better than that of Canadian stores.

Well aren't you a breath of fresh air Mr. Glass-Half-Empty. Excuse me while I go slit my own throat now as a result of a two minute conversation with you.

I doubt competition will make much of a difference in our market.

Our country is simply too big and too sparsely populated for it to make much of a difference. If Verizon (or someone else wants to enter our market, they either need to lease service from Bell and/or Telus (which means their prices will be similar), or build them themselves (far more expensive).

It's just like Wal-Mart and Target - they were hailed as heroes when they announced they were coming to Canada, then when they opened up, their prices were only marginally better than that of Canadian stores.

Not in this case. The big three here started to shit their pants and ran ads telling us how bad things were going to be..........all while charging us some of the highest prices in the world. Our wireless, TV and internet providers are screwing our asses to the wall. My best friend who winters in Florida pays less for his internet, TV, phone and 2 cell phones combined, than I do just for my TV. Needless to say their TV selection makes ours look like the old days with rabbit ears.

Sorry, Regina, but in this case population density matters a lot.

Florida (170,000 sq km) has 20 million people in it - compare that to Ontario (1 million sq km) with its roughly around 12 million.

That means a telecom company can put up fewer towers and serve more customers in Florida than one in Ontario can. The same would apply in California, which is half the size of Ontario, but has a population bigger than all of Canada (38 million or so).

That's why countries in Asia and Europe typically have much better rates than us - more people in a smaller geographic area. Heck, Japan has four times Canada's population in an area half the size of Alberta or BC. As such, companies in Japan - and companies in the US - can achieve economies of scale Canadian counterparts can only dream of.

Another reason is that cellular technology has been evolving rapidly over the past two decades - that time, we've gone from analog to digital to 2G to 3G to 4G/LTE) - that is an added cost Canadian companies have to install and pay off with fewer customers. I think if cellular technology had been slower and more stable, rates here might not be as high as they are.

At the same time, Rogers et al are probably buying fewer handsets from manufacturers (because they have a smaller market to sell to), so they are likely paying more per phone than their counterparts elsewhere too, which they courteously pass on to us!

I'm not saying I like it, but I do accept that there are some reasons our prices are higher than those in other countries.

And appears to encompass you.

All fine and dandy arguments but Rogers cell service only covers populated areas and not every square inch of the province or country so the mass infrastructure issue is lost. They only cover populated areas with cell towers. And as flat as Saskatchewan is, I went days without any cell signal when I was there in August. Cell service is just one of the areas I pointed out anyway, their satellite and cable service is amazing and cheap............and much better than ours.

I doubt competition will make much of a difference in our market.

Our country is simply too big and too sparsely populated for it to make much of a difference. If Verizon (or someone else wants to enter our market, they either need to lease service from Bell and/or Telus (which means their prices will be similar), or build them themselves (far more expensive).

It's just like Wal-Mart and Target - they were hailed as heroes when they announced they were coming to Canada, then when they opened up, their prices were only marginally better than that of Canadian stores.

Well aren't you a breath of fresh air Mr. Glass-Half-Empty. Excuse me while I go slit my own throat now as a result of a two minute conversation with you.

You're one to talk, Mr. We're-All-Fucking-Doomed-because-We-Fucked-up-the-Environment!