Phone Contracts

If I ran this country (and I really think I should), things would be different.

A  recent CRTC decision against Wind Mobile is a blow to competition in the mobile communications arena in Canada, which is too bad. We need all the competition we can get.

To step up the competition, I would implement the following: No cell-phone contracts with a duration exceeding 2 months.


Removing contracts would force companies to compete on a month by month basis and treat their customers better. As it is, most people in Canada are on 2 or 3 year contracts. The telcos bully their customers as they know you're locked in for a long period of time. Many people forget about the abuse, or forgive it as being "less abuse than the other guy gave me".

Companies would still be allowed to provide cell-phones on a long-term payment plan, but it would be in no way attached to the communications plan, just another long-term purchase. They would not be allowed to "lock" the phones. GSM vs. CDMA would cause a minor inconvenience, but consumers should be aware of the difference anyway.

Canada has the highest (or at least very close to it) mobile communication prices in the world. We need more competition!