I have been comparing the different companies and packages they offer, but no one is able to provide me with exactly what I need and the prices for what they are offering are outrageous. In the other countries in which I have lived, any number of service providers would offer better packages at much cheaper rates.

Only when competition increases, prices fall and suppliers offer customers what they really want (not what the suppliers are willing to offer) will Canadians embrace cell phones in the same way as other nations.

Look at every single plan you can get in Canada from every single provider, the subsidies that are attached to the phone you buy when you sign a 3 year contract compared to a 2 year, and the fact that there is no government agency regulating the devious and deceitful practices of Canadian’s telecoms.

If you ask every person in Canada who has a cell phone whether or not they feel they are being overcharged or have had billing issues over the course of their contract, I’m sure the majority would say yes. If you asked every Canadian who doesn’t have a cell phone why they don’t have one, I’m sure a great number would say they don’t want to sign a 3 year contract, and can’t afford to pay the ridiculous subsidy different between 2 and 3 year contracts (some phones, as an example, cost approx. $50 on a 3 year and approx $300 on a 2 year).

Cell phone penetration is low in Canada because of the lack of competition, plain and simple. Everyone in Canada is angry about high rates, jealous of the US for low rates, and wishes they had another choice, which they don’t.