Cell Out? One month to big move.
by grfxguy
Think back, way back, to December 20, 2005. Due to overwhelming public response to a survey, the CRTC handed down a milestone decision: all cell phone providers in Canada must allow the porting of cell phone numbers. This almost slipped quietly under everybody's collective radar.
You can read the full press release here.
The short version is that in BC, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, as of March 14 of this year, you can move your number (including prepaid!) to any other provider. The rest of the provinces must follow suit by September 12. I took some time to call Telus, Rogers and Bell, and all three confirmed that this switch is on target and will be applied in one month.
There are some pro/con issues though:
Pros:
1. About 70% of people who want to try another company won't because they have to get a new number. This should hopefully stimulate competition between companies and we could eventually see the plan choices and prices that American companies offer.
2. The providers will have to step up customer service if they want to keep customers, or we will start to see a massive migration to start-ups like Virgin, who offers incredibly low rates and great service. We may also see new companies try and get in the mix in urban areas.
3. Companies trying to get an edge in the market will want to get new product in faster. Those snazzy new phones you see in commercials for Sprint and Verizon don't show up in the Great White North for another six months, sometimes a year later.
Cons:
1. Currently, all the networks feed off each other. Bell, Telus, and Rogers (being the big three) tend to have their own urban networks in major centres, but feed off of whoever has the best rural network in the area (for Alberta, it's Telus). We could start seeing those agreements go sour if heavy competition develops. And for those who don't know, Rogers owns Fido, and you can piggyback that nice per-second billing off of Rogers' network for $5/month.
Conclusion:
I'm all for moving towards a more competitive market in this industry. Those three companies are so intertwined that they all have gotten lax on service and selection. It's tough to say when you will start to see changes creep in, but over the next three years (as those nice big contracts with your provider run out) we should start to see a better offering.