Two new reports on wireless and Internet pricing around the world put the lie to oft-repeated criticism that Canadians pay some of the highest cellphone rates in the world, according to telecoms giant Telus (TSX:T).
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the 2013 Wall Communications Report confirm Canada stacks up well to other countries, considering its geography and population, Telus CEO Darren Entwistle said in a press release.
“When you consider that Canada’s wireless subscribers, spread out over our vast and challenging geography, pay about the same prices as people in much more densely populated countries and yet have access to more national LTE networks than people in any other country – it really is remarkable,” Entwistle said. “Telus alone has invested $100 billion in Canada since 2000 to make that a reality.
“Importantly, both the OECD report and the Wall Report issued earlier this month emphatically prove Canada has more competitive prices than the U.S.,” Entwistle added.
U.S. prices are, on average, 43% than in Canada, he said.
However, telecoms analyst Michael Geist says Canadian telecoms carriers have nothing to gloat about when it comes to wireless prices.
“The continued focus on wireless competition will be needed since the Wall Communications report also found that Canada is middling at best relative to the other countries in the survey (U.S., U.K., France, Australia and Japan),” Geist wrote in a recent blog post.
“In fact, Canada is described as being ‘on the high side’ for virtually every key category, with only the U.S. faring consistently worse.”
