Wireless prices justified even if high by world standards: report

TORONTO Canadians may like to complain about paying some of the highest wireless prices in the world, but we should also acknowledge the country has some of the world’s most advanced networks, according to a new report from the Montreal Economic Institute.

The private-sector think tank says Canada’s relatively high prices are justified by the quality and reach of the service, the size of the country and the investments that carriers are making in fifthgeneration wireless technology.

“Yes, we pay more. But we get a lot more. That’s what I’d like people to take into consideration when they complain about their prices,” author Martin Masse said before the report’s publication Tuesday.

Citing several other studies, the 40-page MEI report says Canadian wireless carriers are among the world’s biggest investors in wireless infrastructure “however one calculates it: per connection, per subscriber, per capita, or as a percentage of their revenue.”

The benefit, it adds, is that Canadian carriers are consistently ranked among the fastest in the world, citing statistics from telecom equipment maker Cisco and Open Signal, which measure networks in various countries.

The think tank, which takes an anti-regulatory stance, receives some funding from the telecommunications industry players but says it makes its choices independently.

The study comes as the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is in the midst of requiring Rogers, Bell and Telus to add a basic, data-only wireless service to their product lineup.

Hundreds of consumers making submissions to the CRTC’s public consultations have generally rejected the pricing proposals submitted recently by the three national carriers as too expensive.

“The three proposals by Rogers, Bell and Telus for data-only plans offer far too little data for their cost,” Nathan Emberson of Toronto said in a written submission to the CRTC.

Joel D’Astous-Page of Quebec wrote in French that “there is no argument to justify these costs other than a lack of competition and political will.”

Masse said he doesn’t think Canada should follow the lead of Europe or the U.S., in stressing low prices at the cost of improving infrastructure because their carriers aren’t keeping up with the investments on advanced fourth-generation and fifth-generation networks.

He added that people who want lower prices can still pick alternatives to the main services.