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This Friday CBC Marketplace Looks At Bell, Rogers and Telus
This Friday, Friday the 13th!, at 8pm the CBC tv show Marketplace will focus attention on the current cellphone situation here in Canada and why customers pay an arm and a leg for service from the Big 3: Bell, Rogers and Telus.
I don't think the excellent Marketplace team would go to the trouble of doing a whole show without having some meaty reporting and little known facts ready to share with viewers.
- RadioActive
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Re: This Friday CBC Marketplace Looks At Bell, Rogers and Telus
I will definitely DVR this. For a change, I'm glad it's the CBC. Any consumer segment done on a show from a Rogers or Bell owned station (say W5 for example) would almost certainly not be credible, if they ever chose to do this story at all. The CBC has nothing to lose, and hopefully they tell the truth. Marketplace usually does.
- Tomas Barlow
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Re: This Friday CBC Marketplace Looks At Bell, Rogers and Telus
If they have something good they'll run a story through the day on their hourly radio newscasts. They usually do that when they have a big scoop.
- Radiowiz
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Re: This Friday CBC Marketplace Looks At Bell, Rogers and Telus
Tomas Barlow wrote:
If they have something good they'll run a story through the day on their hourly radio newscasts. They usually do that when they have a big scoop.
Thankfully, CBC is mainly tax funded, so as long as there is no such thing (in Canada) as a government run cell phone service, I'm pretty sure we can trust Marketplace to find some excellent input that City and CTV wouldn't dare report on.
RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person.
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.
- Johnny B
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Re: This Friday CBC Marketplace Looks At Bell, Rogers and Telus
Say what you will about 'The Corps' but no other major TV media entity in Canada would touch this topic...glad someone can still shed light on these telecoms and their practices...I think the evidence clearly shows that Canadians pay too much for our TV, internet and cell services as compared to other similar countries...and that their talking point about 'competition' in the industry overall is more akin to 'collusion'...
- paterson1
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Re: This Friday CBC Marketplace Looks At Bell, Rogers and Telus
CBC had a long report and interview last night near the end of the National, promoting this weeks Marketplace.
The segment compared cell phone rates/plans here with Australia and Ireland. Bell, Telus and Rogers didn't come off very well. Australia is similar to Canada in many ways, and had a few large companies controlling most of the cellular business. Now they have lots of competition with many small start ups, and much, much lower rates than Canada.
I like Marketplace, but usually only watch a few times per year and mostly on CBC News Network. This could be one to take in on Friday. It will be interesting if any other media, especially print gives this topic any press on the weekend or next week.
- RadioActive
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Re: This Friday CBC Marketplace Looks At Bell, Rogers and Telus
A reminder that if you miss it on Friday, it will be online for free at CBC Gem.
- mace
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Re: This Friday CBC Marketplace Looks At Bell, Rogers and Telus
Marketplace has always been appointment viewing for me. The fact that it follows a double episode of Corrie Street certainly can't hurt its ratings.
- RadioActive
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Re: This Friday CBC Marketplace Looks At Bell, Rogers and Telus
The CBC's website explores what Marketplace found, in a lengthy early preview.
"A Marketplace investigation into the cost of telecom services in Canada has found that many of the oft-quoted industry explanations for high wireless prices — costly operating margins and a sparse Canadian population, for example — are insufficient to explain lower prices found in other countries and even between some provinces."
I find it significant that the program tried to get an interview with Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Francois-Phillipe Champagne, who oversees the CRTC and telecommunications, but he "would not sit down" for one. Neither would any reps from Bell, Rogers or Telus. That speaks volumes.
So does the fact the CBC article already boasts over 1,000 comments from readers. Three guesses what most of them say.
Why are Canadians' cellphone bills higher than other countries?
- Johnny B
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Re: This Friday CBC Marketplace Looks At Bell, Rogers and Telus
Send a pissed off note to the federal ministers responsible for Canadian Heritage, the CRTC and telecom regulation...I did.
FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE
Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
francois-philippe.champagne@parl.gc.ca
PABLO RODRIGUEZ
Minister of Canadian Heritage
pablo.rodriguez@parl.gc.ca
Last edited by Johnny B (January 13, 2023 2:23 pm)
- PwrSurge
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Re: This Friday CBC Marketplace Looks At Bell, Rogers and Telus
Watched on last Friday and it was a real eye opener to say the least where the 3 large telecom providers make it very difficult for existing customers to get a lower priced plan once you are signed up with them.
Fortunately, there are smaller providers such as Skychoice where one does not have to jump through hoops to get a good deal. They currently have a 3 month free promo until the end of the month with 6 months of cell phone service for the price of three on any of their plans which is probably the best deal out there for Canadian wireless. More info on their website at
Signed up myself and service is great, especially in 5G coverage areas in the city. Rogers towers are used but occasional roaming to Bell/Telus is included at no extra cost for areas with no Rogers coverage.
- paterson1
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Re: This Friday CBC Marketplace Looks At Bell, Rogers and Telus
Good report on Marketplace, hope there is some follow through in the weeks ahead. Print media (Globe, Star, Postmedia) need to get on this. Nothing will happen if the public and media (that is not owned by the big three) don't start putting big pressure on the feds, and Bell, Rogers, Telus.
Thought it was telling when one of the callers indicated they wanted to purchase a service, a live person answered to help in seconds. When a caller wanted to cancel, the customer was on hold for hours. Bell, Rogers and Telus should be hauled up on the carpet for this alone. This happened to me once with Rogers and I demanded and received a discount on my next invoice.
- RadioActive
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Re: This Friday CBC Marketplace Looks At Bell, Rogers and Telus
The only answer that works is real competition. If that means allowing non-Canadian firms in here, then so be it. I'd prefer it not be that, but the Big Three have sort of left us no other choice. Anytime there's a competitor that threatens the status quo, they either buy it outright or charge them so much money for access to their networks that they can't afford it.
The perfect example is Anthony Lacavera, who was forced to sell his Wind Mobile to Shaw in 2016 because of a lack of access to cell towers. When he tried to buy it back for $3.75 billion as the Rogers-Shaw deal was announced, Rogers turned around and said they would sell it to Quebecor for millions less than Lacavera was offering. The only possible explanation, according to Lacavera, is to keep out a competitor who might actually offer lower prices in key markets.
Despite that, the CRTC approved the deal and only the Competition Bureau gatekeepers raised the alarm.
We can only hope the new CRTC commissioner will actually be on the consumers' side, but as you heard on that Marketplace episode, the telcos have perhaps the most lobbyists with the most access of almost any Canadian business entity. And it appears the fix is in whenever someone tries to come up with a solution to this hostage taking.
I long for the days when Monopoly was just a board game!