Wireless Communications: More Competition to Help Prices Go Down

And now, for the good news: those of us who use wireless access to the Internet can expect that prices will go down.

That's what the Canadian Industry Department has promised.

According to the department's announcement, a change in Canada's Telecommunications Act will help lift foreign investment restrictions for telecom companies. The change, the department says, involves foreign companies that hold less than a 10-per cent share of the total Canadian telecommunications market. The change will enable telecom companies with a small market share to "access the capital they need to grow and compete."Of course, none of this means our government is going to open the market up for grabs. This is Canada, after all, so, forget about the market's invisible hand. There will be caps that the government is going to impose on the spectrum auctions. In Ottawa-speak this means there will be guarantees "that both new wireless competitors and incumbent carriers have access to the spectrum up for auction."

The most important change will involve those Canadians who live in rural areas. Not too many of us, to be sure, but their number might grow if they won't feel cut off from the rest of the world. And the changes, Industry Canada says, will give rural Canadians "access to the same advanced services as everyone else in a timely manner."

Besides, the department says, "The government will improve and extend the existing policy on roaming and tower sharing to further support competition and will improve transparency and information sharing to facilitate agreements between companies to slow the proliferation of new cellphone towers.

"A portion of the 700 MHz spectrum will be reserved for public safety users such as police and firefighters across Canada."

Another plus: Canadians will be able to avail themselves of the use of some perfectly modern (read: fast) networks. That, in turn, will make the use of some ultra-modern paraphernalia such as iPad, PlayBook and smartphones a real paradise. The changes will improve Canadians' access to high-definition video and video conferencing over mobile networks. Greater access to e-health, intelligent transport and other advanced applications will, in turn, improve connectivity for consumers, increase business productivity and enhance safety for Canadians, the government promises.

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