Canada’s Mobile Data Prices vs. the World in One Chart
Canada is, and for a little while has been, being sold out from under the feet of Canadians. Just recently the head of the CRTC (Canada&#x27;s broadcast regulatory body) came under fire for having drinks at a pub with executives from some Canadian telecom companies, just weeks before some regulations that heavily favored them were released.<p>The major reason for the prices is the federally enforced monopoly that Canadian telecom companies have in Canada. It&#x27;s effectively illegal for foreign telecom companies to do business in Canada, which results in a market where prices are high, and rather similar across the board. In other-words: we&#x27;re seeing classic monopoly economics happen thanks to regulation specifically designed to enable monopolies.<p>The CRTC is frequently criticized as being an unelected and unaccountable agency. What&#x27;s making things more difficult for Canadians too is the current administration&#x27;s approach to the CRTC, which has been to vastly expand their power as an agency. That, and frequent back-tracking on regulatory decisions which are unpopular with the telecom companies, but popular with the Canadian people.