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Stop meddling in wireless, CRTC told(Baystreet Economic Commentary (Canada) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Canada should heed the lessons learned in Europe about adopting rules intended to keep wireless prices low, the former head of Austria's telecom regulator has told the CRTC. European companies are now living with the unintended consequences of stimulating increased competition to keep consumers happy, Georg Serentschy said as hearings continued Tuesday into the health of Canada's wholesale wireless market. Forcing lower prices in the short term, he said, has resulted in Europe having among the slowest and least reliable wireless networks in the industrialized world. And if Canadian consumers are not happy with the prices they pay wireless providers now, they would be even more upset with a reduced quality of service, he said. Serentschy appeared as part of a panel from Telus Corp., which called on the regulator to maintain its support of the current model. Telus executives told the hearings there's a reason why Canada enjoys the third-highest rate of smartphone penetration in the world. Canadian wireless users experience speeds more than twice the typical speeds in Germany and Italy, three times the average speeds offered in the United States and France, and nine times faster than in the U.K., he said. On Monday, the CRTC heard from the Competition Bureau, which called for new wireless regulations designed to entice a new, fourth national wireless carrier into Canada in order to increase competition and reduce prices. Federal Industry Minister James Moore has said he'd like to see a fourth wireless firm in the market to compete against Telus, Rogers and BCE. © 1998 - 2014 Baystreet.ca Media Corp. All rights reserved. |