Canadian Wireless Penetration Stagnates

Telecom News Editorials Reports Glossary

5:55 am on April 13, 2009 | Category: Business, Wireless

Canada’s wireless penetration continues to lag behind that of other G8 countries, and even some developing markets, according to a recent study by TNS.

The Global Telecoms Insight study found that 70% of Canadians aged 16 to 60 currently own a mobile phone, up just one percentage point from 69% last year. This puts Canada well below the Britain and the United States, which have wireless penetration rates of 97% and 91%, respectively; and roughly on par with countries like Vietnam and Mexico.

The research firm categorized 22% of Canadian respondents as “rejecters” — non-cell phone users who have no interest in signing up for wireless within the next year.

“This latest evidence would suggest that the Canadian wireless landscape is in stasis, an idea that appears to be compounded by the fact that existing mobile phone users are reluctant to shell out more money on their next handset than the amount that they spent on their current one,” TNS said in a news release.

The report wasn’t all doom and gloom, however, as the declining cost of feature-rich smartphones brought the market penetration of such devices to 21%, up from 12% last year. This is good news for mobile internet, email, and software providers, as Canadians increasingly use features other than voice on their mobile phones.