Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Canadians ready to ring up relief
Wireless rates to fall like long distance did
WINNIPEG FREE PRESS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION (CP)
Increasing competition will drive down cellphone rates by more than 30 per cent in Canada over the next three to five years -- and consumers shouldn't lock into any new service contracts in the meantime, an industry analyst said Monday.
"The fact of the matter is that competition drives innovation and drives prices down and drives service up," Toronto-based independent analyst Eamon Hoey said in an interview.
"If you want to look at the future of cell, just look at what happened with long distance," he said, noting long-distance telephone rates in Canada went from about 85 cents a minute in the early 1990s to as little as three to five cents a minute today because of increased competition.
"I think you're going to see the same thing in this (the cellular) market. I think you're going to be seeing some very vigorous plans coming out in the next year and a half and beyond. So don't sign contracts. Just stay loose... and you'll be able to march from one (cellphone service provider) to the other."
Hoey said Canadians generally pay 30 per cent more for wireless than Americans, but that once the price-cutting is done, our plans will be cheaper.
The Canadian government gave Toronto-based Globalive Wireless Management Corp., the go-ahead on Friday to launch its new Wind Mobile wireless service in Canada.
On Monday, Globalive announced it has partnered with Blockbuster Canada and will use the retail chain's stores to sell services. It will start by introducing the service in Calgary and Toronto as early as today, but the plan is to use Blockbuster's national retail network to expand the service to every province except Quebec.
A Wind spokesman refused to comment on when the company is likely to enter the Manitoba market, saying a news conference will be held Wednesday in Toronto to outline the company's plans.
Hoey said he has no doubt Wind will be coming to Manitoba because it's already acquired the necessary licences. But Manitobans won't have to wait for it to arrive to see rates fall, he said.
"I think just the threat of entering into the Winnipeg and Brandon markets will put downward pressure on pricing."
It's also going to force the three big cellphone service providers in Manitoba -- MTS Allstream, Telus and Rogers -- to become more aggressive in introducing new products and services, he said.
MTS Allstream spokesman Greg Burch refused to speculate Monday on what Wind might be doing, nor would he comment on Hoey's prediction of a 30 per cent drop in phone rates.
"All I can say is competition is not new to us... and we'll be proceeding with our plans to unveil our new (high-speed wireless packet access) network in 2010."
Wind CEO Ken Campbell was tight-lipped Monday on what consumers should expect for pricing and products. Wind will have HTC, Samsung and BlackBerry handsets to start, he said. It will also sell broadband-only sticks that plug into laptop computers and allow wireless customers to access the Internet.
The CEO said more handsets were coming, while the company is testing its network in Vancouver, Edmonton and Ottawa, the three cities Wind hopes to have services in next. Outside the startup's coverage area, it holds a national roaming agreement with Rogers.
Dvai Ghose, analyst at Genuity Capital Markets, says he expects Wind to undercut the incumbents' main brands. He said Wind could offer a $40 flat rate for unlimited voice services, and an additional $20 for unlimited mobile web for smartphone users.
murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca
-- With files from Canwest News Service
Cellular seer
TELECOMMUNICATIONS industry analyst Eamon Hoey predicts increased competition from new cellular telephone service providers like Wind Mobile will lead to substantial rate cuts and new services over the next few years. Here are some of his predictions:
ON RATES -- Reductions of more than 30 per cent over the next three to five years as average cellphone rates in Canada become even cheaper than in the United States, where they're about 30 per cent lower than here.
ON SERVICES -- Some of the new cellphone services that could be available in Canada in the future are being able to use your cellphone and global positioning system technology to track the whereabouts of your pets on your property or to see if there are any bears in the area where your family plans to have a picnic; or using it to check up on your property while you're away by downloading images from your home's security cameras.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 15, 2009 B6
-
WFP Hockey
Download our new hockey app for the iPhone for Winnipeg Jets updates
-
Editor's Bulletin
Sign up for daily bulletins from editor Margo Goodhand
-
Winnipeg Jets
All things NHL on our Jets landing page
-
Twitter
Follow our reporters and our news feeds on Twitter
-
News Cafe
Check out the menu, read our blog posts or get info on coming events
-
Facebook Fanpage
Follow our Facebook Fanpage for story links, contests and special events
Ads by Google
- Back to Top
- Return to Business
Poll
Most Popular
- Piers Morgan blasts 'gruesome' Madonna
- RCMP receptionist told Stobbe wife was dead
- Search is on for man seen leaving the scene where two Alberta Mounties were shot
- Province rules out reports of cougar in Transcona
- Slain woman appears before jury on video
- City family donates $1 million for endowed research chair in cardiology
- Should the federal government be spending $7.5 million on the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee?
- Census 2011 : Immigrant influx boosts Manitoban population
- LeAnn Rimes in pain following 'minor surgery'
- US teen gets life in prison for killing 9-year-old; called the murder "pretty enjoyable"
- Piers Morgan blasts 'gruesome' Madonna
- Clothing chain pulls Caterpillar boots to protest closure of London, Ont., plant
- Three winning tickets sold for Friday's $50 million Lotto Max jackpot
- Woman sexually assaulted during noon-hour in Exchange District
- Woman's car stolen at gunpoint at St. Vital mall, police say
- Eleven people killed after truck hits van in southwestern Ontario
- 'This is so silly': Mom and Dad tell story of baby Zade, born on side of Highway 59
- Stobbe said slaying during shopping trip 'strange': sister-in-law
- Tactical squad storms St. Vital house
- Restaurant Dubrovnik may be closed for good
- Do you smoke marijuana?
- Driver dead after SUV goes over Disraeli Bridge
- George Clooney's prank could end Pitt's career
- Piers Morgan blasts 'gruesome' Madonna
- Tina Maze strips down to her sports bra to send out underwear message: 'Not your business'
- Clothing chain pulls Caterpillar boots to protest closure of London, Ont., plant
- Minor earthquake strikes near Manitoba
- Car's plunge off Disraeli fatal
- Two children, two women die in fire
- Kate Beckinsale's weight fears over Underworld catsuit
- Harper driven by libertarian ideology, not reality
- Province rules out reports of cougar in Transcona
- Census 2011 : Immigrant influx boosts Manitoban population
- OMG! Candy kings back at it
- Original Joe's, Elephant & Castle expanding
- Easy, economical, healthy soup
- Task force to review 2011 flood
- Winnipeg software company ranked top employer
- Lesson about war, power told with Shaw's comic touch
- Stobbe said slaying during shopping trip 'strange': sister-in-law
- Swedish bunny's sheep herding skills becomes click-monster on YouTube
- League encourages hazing secrecy
- Northern fishing lodge destroyed by fire
- Police target drivers talking on cellphones, texting
- Harper driven by libertarian ideology, not reality
- Obama torn by conflicting allies
- 'This is so silly': Mom and Dad tell story of baby Zade, born on side of Highway 59
- Minor earthquake strikes near Manitoba
- Time, it appears, is on Assad's side
- Woman's car stolen at gunpoint at St. Vital mall, police say
- Minor earthquake strikes near Manitoba
- Paddler Starkell was modern-day voyageur
- Driver dead after SUV goes over Disraeli Bridge
- Car's plunge off Disraeli fatal
- Local shooting spoofed on SNL
- Canadian woman 'badly injured' in Mexico, local media report apparent beating
- Winnipeg mother watches as car stolen with child inside
- Swedish bunny's sheep herding skills becomes click-monster on YouTube
- League encourages hazing secrecy
- The cost of calories: It's expensive to eat healthily


You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010; View the changes. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.