Wireless Prices a Big Issue in Canadian Election

Prices for wireless service emerged as a major issue in Canada’s Oct. 21 federal election, a “cautionary tale” for the U.S., blogged Bronwyn Howell, American Enterprise Institute adjunct scholar, Monday. “The Liberal Party of Canada will, if successful at the ballot-box, intervene directly (via a method not yet disclosed) to set mobile telephony prices and mandate the sale of wholesale elements enabling mobile virtual network operators to resell services provided by existing network operators,” Howell said: The New Democratic Party pledged to impose price caps on wireless and require all carriers offer basic and unlimited data plans. “The politicization of mobile connection price flies in the face of conventional wisdom (if not even an article of faith) holding from at least the early 1990s that the long-term interests of telecommunications consumers are best served by political interests staying as far away as possible from day-to-day industry activities,” Howell said.