as an ex telecom guy, you're not wrong but not focused on the biggest cash cow - home internet. what a home actually needs and uses is a tiny fraction of the plan speeds sold to you. and to make it worse, the ISPs infrastructure can only support what is actually used at peak times, not what they have sold you. How is it allowed that someone can sell you a service they can't physically provide? The ISPs have small print saying their speeds are "up to". This is a far bigger rip off than wireless. And don't be fooled by the graphics that circulate showing the growth in home internet usage. look at the small print, these are always based on the top possible speed of the modem, not data usage.
Still blown away by my trip to Portugal last year. Four adults rented a portable wifi hub for two weeks, unlimited internet, used in rural and urban areas (only issue was in some urban areas with poor line of sight) total cost was around $65
Quite like the way you presented why this should be a burning platform. IMO it is an easy one for either Federal party to win the hearts and votes of the electors. There has to be a reason they aren't stepping up. Have Canadians not been loud enough around this?
I thought Champagne was a ‘just do it’ guy. Are there a lot of political risks for this government to do what Moscrop suggests and dismantle the telecom oligarchy? I’m trying to understand why the Liberal government isn’t doing this already, assuming that they have the will to do so 🤔
It seems that we lack the political will to tackle ANY monopoly. Imagine the political capital that could be created by hitting these straight on, yet...here we are, all these industries in a trenchcoat. What might it take to see real meaningful action?
Always divide by population or households when you hear national figures; otherwise they're just big, scary numbers.
Estimate Canada's count of "households" at 16M, that's 2.5 of us/household. So, the PROFIT is $445/household. The profit. Is $37/month.
Why do the newspapers that go on and ON about grocery prices and gasoline prices, never mention this price that must also be paid, in any practical sense a necessity, by every household?
It's a big reason why you have to come here (and soon all the way to "Ghost" that I'd never heard of) to read about this. Why no politician is talking about it, they way they are talking about housing and calling Weston to testify. Every telecom CEO needs to be a celebrity - in a bad way, like Weston.
Except in road-paving, a lot of electrical distribution, and most water-and-sewers. I'd love to compare my "uptime" in 30 years in Waterworks with Roger's telecom.
A non-profit, democratically-accountable telecom service would go a long way to keeping prices down as a player in the current market.
That same player would be a lot better as the only player in that market. All that revenue would have to return to Canadians. It would build our common wealth and make us more resilient as a nation.
There is no reason that industries that trend to monopoly shouldn’t eventually be brought under democratic control. The infrastructure should belong to all of us like the roads. Imagine if we still had private ownership of roads.
as an ex telecom guy, you're not wrong but not focused on the biggest cash cow - home internet. what a home actually needs and uses is a tiny fraction of the plan speeds sold to you. and to make it worse, the ISPs infrastructure can only support what is actually used at peak times, not what they have sold you. How is it allowed that someone can sell you a service they can't physically provide? The ISPs have small print saying their speeds are "up to". This is a far bigger rip off than wireless. And don't be fooled by the graphics that circulate showing the growth in home internet usage. look at the small print, these are always based on the top possible speed of the modem, not data usage.
Still blown away by my trip to Portugal last year. Four adults rented a portable wifi hub for two weeks, unlimited internet, used in rural and urban areas (only issue was in some urban areas with poor line of sight) total cost was around $65
Quite like the way you presented why this should be a burning platform. IMO it is an easy one for either Federal party to win the hearts and votes of the electors. There has to be a reason they aren't stepping up. Have Canadians not been loud enough around this?
The Liberals always make medium promises and under-deliver on this one.
I thought Champagne was a ‘just do it’ guy. Are there a lot of political risks for this government to do what Moscrop suggests and dismantle the telecom oligarchy? I’m trying to understand why the Liberal government isn’t doing this already, assuming that they have the will to do so 🤔
It seems that we lack the political will to tackle ANY monopoly. Imagine the political capital that could be created by hitting these straight on, yet...here we are, all these industries in a trenchcoat. What might it take to see real meaningful action?
What a great idea it was for Rogers to buy Shaw. It certainly seems to have helped prices. (...I mean profits!)
A telecom expert:
https://x.com/mark_goldberg/status/1745161214135599550?s=61&t=m6Ww1pOVXmhvwBzXjEwm5w
Always divide by population or households when you hear national figures; otherwise they're just big, scary numbers.
Estimate Canada's count of "households" at 16M, that's 2.5 of us/household. So, the PROFIT is $445/household. The profit. Is $37/month.
Why do the newspapers that go on and ON about grocery prices and gasoline prices, never mention this price that must also be paid, in any practical sense a necessity, by every household?
It's a big reason why you have to come here (and soon all the way to "Ghost" that I'd never heard of) to read about this. Why no politician is talking about it, they way they are talking about housing and calling Weston to testify. Every telecom CEO needs to be a celebrity - in a bad way, like Weston.
If you want a cheaper cell phone plan, here’s a site that offers dozens of choices: https://www.whistleout.ca/CellPhones/Canada
I agree Canadian oligopolies are a serious problem, but “state-run service”?! You must be kidding! That’s oxymoronic.
Except in road-paving, a lot of electrical distribution, and most water-and-sewers. I'd love to compare my "uptime" in 30 years in Waterworks with Roger's telecom.
A non-profit, democratically-accountable telecom service would go a long way to keeping prices down as a player in the current market.
That same player would be a lot better as the only player in that market. All that revenue would have to return to Canadians. It would build our common wealth and make us more resilient as a nation.
There is no reason that industries that trend to monopoly shouldn’t eventually be brought under democratic control. The infrastructure should belong to all of us like the roads. Imagine if we still had private ownership of roads.