1.2%家庭无电话 宽频电话使用率仅一成
(渥太华4日加新社电)加拿大统计局的调查显示，全国家庭多靠地线电话服务，2/3的家庭也有手提电话，只有1.2%的家庭完全不用电话，大约5%的家庭只有手提电话。
统计局的报告说，截止2006年12月，加拿大90.5%的家庭说有地线电话，66.8%的家庭至少有1部手机。
在所有省份中，阿尔伯达省的家庭手机普及率最高，约为80%。
纽宾士域省仅有57.5%的家庭用手机，魁北克省的普及率仅为57.9%。
只用手机家庭大约有5%，与前一年12月录得的4.8%比率基本相同。
截止2006年12月，大约10.6%的加拿大家庭说，他们使用有线电视网络或互联网宽频电话服务，阿省和魁省的使用率最高，分别为13.5%和13.2%，纽芬兰-拉布拉多省使用率较低，仅为4.9%。
加拿大有1.2%的家庭根本不用电话，比率与前一年保持一样。
Suits keep flying in wireless service marketing wars
Telus claim that Bell ad is misleading the latest skirmish in cutthroat industry
CATHERINE MCLEAN
TELECOM REPORTER
In the latest round of the wacky wireless marketing wars, Telus Corp. has gone to court over ads in which a Bell Mobility beaver brags it has the most powerful network in Western Canada, without mentioning that Telus owns most of it.
Telus alleges it has suffered unspecified losses and claims Bell has benefited from the ad, which started running in newspapers on March 10, according to filings made by Telus this week in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
A letter to Bell complaining that the ad is misleading did not get results, Telus says in the court documents. So now it is seeking an injunction to stop the campaign.
“The cell industry is highly competitive in Canada, and part of that competition is aggressive marketing and advertising campaigns,” said Shawn Hall, a spokesman for Vancouver-based Telus. “But those campaigns have to be based on fact. And this one is not.”
Bell spokesman Paolo Pasquini declined to comment, saying the dispute is before the courts. But in a letter to Telus included in the filings, Bell said it didn’t claim ownership over the network referred to in the ad.
Building a wireless network is expensive, so Bell and Telus have agreements that let them use each other’s assets outside their home base so they can sell cellphone service across the country.
Butting heads over marketing is nothing new for this industry or for the critters that peddle their products.
Telus itself raised the ire of Virgin Mobile Canada earlier this month when it launched a new ad campaign, starring a monkey, that claimed Telus has the happiest clients. Virgin Mobile Canada, which says it has the happiest clients, sent a letter to Telus, asking it to prove its claim or pull the ads.
Telus, however, hasn’t withdrawn the ads, and Mr. Hall said the company believes the ads are “appropriate.”
Virgin Mobile Canada is considering legal action, according to the company’s chief marketing officer, Nathan Rosenberg.
“We’re disappointed they didn’t respond to our first letter to them and didn’t take this seriously,” Mr. Rosenberg said.
Another marketing dispute last year involved a television commercial that showed a cheetah representing Bell eating and then throwing up a hare representing Rogers Wireless. It was supposed to demonstrate which company had the quickest wireless Internet service. But Rogers took offence and filed a lawsuit, alleging the spot tarnished its brand.
Bell’s ad, one of a series featuring two beavers, in turn, has upset Telus.
In its filings, Telus said it comes at a critical time for advertising, considering that transferable cellphone numbers were just launched last week. The change could lead to an increase in customer turnover, since consumers can now keep their phone numbers when they switch carriers.
“They’re effectively claiming ownership of Telus facilities,” Mr. Hall said. “We just can’t let that go.”
Bell has its own network in Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary and Edmonton, and uses the Telus network in the rest of Alberta and British Columbia, according to the Telus filings. The Bell ad doesn’t make that clear, Telus alleges. Telus says it is also concerned the ads make it look as if Bell has made big investments in Western Canada.
(Bell is a unit of Montreal-based BCE, which owns a minority interest in CTVglobemedia Inc., the owner of The Globe and Mail and CTV television network.)
“Bell is riding on the back of the investment that Telus has made and the goodwill that results from it with this advertising,” Mr. Hall said.
The ad wars reflect an industry that is still developing, according to Iain Grant, an analyst at telecom consultancy SeaBoard Group, who described it as a “great theatre.”
Humour, not lawsuits, may be the best way of dealing with such quarrels, he suggested.
“I look forward to the Telus ad that says it has the best network in the East,” he said, tongue in cheek.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070322.RWIRELESS22/TPStory/?query=telus
加通社多伦多电/周三开始，所有电话用户在转换电话公司时可以保留原用的电话号码。
这项新措施适用于手机转固网电话，固网电话转手机，以及手机之间的转换，只要地区字头相同便可。
联邦政府这项新猷将解除了消费者及公司目前所受到的流动电话公司的束缚。
不预期大批客户转换公司
然而，业内观察家并不预期有大批手机客户会因为这项新措施生效而转换公司。在商学院任职的Ken Wong表示，除了那些最不满意的消费者之外，没有人会只是因为突然可以这样做便转换公司。
目前本国的手机用户为数达到1,700万。
他续称，供应商正审慎地指出，转公司的过程未必畅顺及容易。
更改供应商也意味着要换电话，以致诸如储存在手机内的联络名单及相片等资料不可以保留。
此外，如果合约未完，可能会有罚则。与此同时，转换公司也可能会附带费用。
设法诱新客留旧客
然而，一些分析员认为，新措施会令到这个市场的竞争进一步加剧，逼使供应商找寻新的方法来吸引新客及挽留旧客。
这些方法可能是减价、增加产品、放宽合约条款或更好的服务。
贝尔(Bell)拒绝就电话号码转移措施作出回应，罗渣士(Rogers)表示业务如常，而研科(Telus)则形容这是有利的机会。
研科发言人在爱明顿表示，这措施排除了该公司在扩展加拿大中部市场的其中一个最大的障碍。
除了这3家主要的公司之外，本国的手机服务市场的供应商还包括了规模较细Virgin Mobile及魁北克省的Videotron。
（中央社记者禾枫云温哥华十二日专电）加拿大无线手机（行动电话）市场即将出现变化，在电信主管单位要求下，行动电话业者自十四日起，即须开放门号，客户今后转换电话公司，可把原有门号带着走，而且同一门号将可在无线手机和固网电话之间移换。
加国电信市场多年前即已开放固网电话门号，可随着客户转换电话公司，但无线手机却始终未开放这一服务，行销专家认为，这一限制导致不少消费者即使对价格、服务不满，也不愿轻易转换手机公司。
安省皇后大学教授黄凯恩表示，许多消费者当初是为获得免费手机，才与电话公司签下二年或三年合约，即使门号开放，他们若提前解约，还得缴交罚金，因此市场上短期内还不致出现客户大规模出走情况，当然也必然有少数对原本签约公司已极度不满的用户，会是例外。
加拿大无线通讯协会发言人周默表示，全加目前约有一千八百五十万门行动电话用户，其中有七成人在十四日当天，就会拥有门号转台的权利。
不过，由于同时牵涉手机门号在使用不同通讯系统的手机业者之间转换，以及门号在无线手机与固网电话网路系统间的切换，使得加国这次的门号开放作业，在技术上更形复杂。
周默表示，加拿大是继美国之后，全球第二个开放让门号在无线手机和固网电话之间转移的国家。不过，当年美国花了七年时间才完成这一作业，加拿大只花了十八个月。
据估计，一旦开放后，加国无线手机门号转换，未来在二个半小时内即可完成，手机和固网之间转换，则需两个工作天。
不过，即使市场开放，消费者要换到其他手机公司，还有些实际问题要考虑，譬如，Rogrs公司使用GSM通讯网路，Bell和Telus两家公司则使用CDMA网路，如果要在这两大阵营间转换，可能就得另再购买一支新手机。
专家也提醒消费者，门号转换只限目前仍在使用中的号码，因此民众不宜在转换之前，就先取消原有的服务或合约，另外，还有些地区只有一家电信业者，消费者仍然是别无选择。
Phone number portability comes tomorrow
Mar 13, 2007 01:26 PM
Canadian Press
Change cellphone carriers, keep your phone number.
Local wireless number portability arrives in Canada on Wednesday. That means millions of consumers and businesses can switch service providers without worrying about having to change numbers.
It won’t matter if the change is between landline and cellphone providers, or between mobile phone carriers.
The change was mandated by the federal regulator about 18 months ago.
It makes Canada the second country in the world, after the United States, to have complete number portability.
Industry observers expect people who are dissatisfied with their current providers will jump at the chance to switch.
They say that will likely settle down within months, but carriers will be pushed to beef up their services and possibly cut prices.
“The competition has always been quite fierce. So obviously it is going to be another layer of competition for the carriers,” says Marc Choma, spokesman for the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association.
供应商优惠拉客 用户须小心选择 2007年3月11日
明报/本国的手机用户将可从本周三(14日)起，可以携带原有的手机号码转台。有市场分析家认为，这个“可迁移无线号码”(Wireless Number Portability，简称WNP)的新政策实施后，可大大方便广大的手机用户。由于这给予手机用户很大的方便，所以实在是政府一项德政。
不过，由于有了这项新政策，可能促使很多手机用户转台，不过，这不一定会触发一场减价战，因为供应商为要保留现有和吸纳新的客户，将争相推出更多样化的服务和优惠，不一定单靠减价。
不论怎样，最大受益的仍会是消费者。
带手机号码转台 千呼万唤始出来
本地的手机用户如要转换电话公司，向来都要相应地改换手机号码。但本周三之后，要转台的手机用户将不用再为换号码而烦恼，皆因加拿大电台电视及电讯管理委员会(CRTC)将实施新政策，在全国大部分地区实施允许顾客带号入网，手机用户今后可携同原有的号码转往其他有线或无线通讯供应商，省却更改手机号码的麻烦。对于手机用户，这实在是等到颈都长的政府政策。
与此同时，手机用户更可把原有的固网电话号码，转为无线电话号码，或反之亦然。如要由一个无线服务供应商转到另一个供应商，新的服务应可于2.5小时内重新启用。如要把固网电话号码转到无线服务供应商，或由把无线电话号码转到固网电话供应商，新的服务亦应可在2个工作天后启动。
新政策逼供应商提供更优惠留客
对于本国这个将快实施的新政策，IDC Canada通讯行业分析员杨帆向本报指出，由于过往转台的最大障碍得以解除，将有助刺激本国整个通讯市场，服务供应商将推出更多样化的优惠和服务，譬如“套装计划”(bundle)、增加通话时间或免费拨电等优惠，从而保留现有客户，也同时吸纳新客户。
不过，他认为新政策触发减价战的可能性并不大，因为供应商早已做好防御措施，例如推出连同手机服务的住宅电话、上网及电视的八五折“套装计划”优惠，或推出更能吸引客户签约的通话计划。这个变相的减价，加上转台的自由选择性，新政策对消费者是很大的受益。
可以转台 消费者货比三家搵着数
加拿大无线电讯协会(Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association)会长巴恩斯(Peter Barnes)表示，以往手机用户不能携带号码转台，但新政策实施后，将会调节整个市场，用户将会比较不同的公司，寻找最佳的电话服务及收费。
贝尔流动 前所未有如此吸引优惠
在新政策即将实施之际，贝尔流动(Bell Mobility)为保留现有和吸引新的客户，上月底推出其标榜“前所未有如此吸引”的全新任讲优惠，让客户致电及接听任何贝尔手机、住宅或商业固网电话无限通电。
当中的3个不同收费的计划，贝尔手机用户之间或是贝尔手机用户与贝尔住宅电话之间无限通话计划，在月费中额外付10元。无限商业电话通话，每月额外20元。如选择以上3项服务，每月额外35元。
罗渣士无线 无限来电任讲拉客
至于贝尔流动的主要竞争对手罗渣士无线(Rogers Wireless)，亦刚于上月全新引入无限来电任讲计划，并同时推出让其住宅电话用户免费打本地打长途电话到其他罗渣士无线、固网及姊妹公司Fido的号码的新计划。
罗渣士无线向本报表示，他们对这项新政策已作好准备。然而，他们相信新政策实施后，其商业将会如常运作，继续配合客户所需，提供最创新的产品和服务。以美国和澳洲以往的经验来看，今次新政策不算什么一回事。
贝尔移动总裁奥斯特曼(Wade Oosterman)则称，新政策将会大大减低人们以往对拨电话的压抑。这是一项对人们用电话方式的重大和基本性的改变，而这亦从而改变了以往通话收费的体系结构。
不过，他也补充，他们今次新收费的宣布，跟临近实施的新政策无关。单是以其他国家的经验来看，该政策对部分市场绝对不造成太大的变化。虽然美国当年实施同样政策时，开始时曾牵起一点市场波动，但现已变得并非什么重大事央。
有电讯市场就新政策所进行的调查，估计新政策实施的首年，在这个每年有逾110亿元收入的市场中，将有约85万用户直接是因为可保留原有号码的原因而转换服务供应商。
专家指首年只有5%用户转台
杨帆指出，对于目前以签合约(post-paid)为主的加国市场，他相信新措施实行的首年，约会有5%的用户转台，并不会有太大的变化。就如美国2003年实行同样的措施时，也只有6%至7%的用户更换供应商。
不过，他认为，新政策将对整个市场带来促进性作用，使发展更为成熟。他说，目前本国的手机渗透率(wireless penetration rate)有57.5%，约为1870万用户，在发达国家中算是较低的数字(其他国家平均约达到90%)，所以增长空间相当大，估计今年会增加至61%，到了明年，将会达到65%。
新晋公司希望抢新客
对于今次的新政策，其他较“新晋”的电讯公司则热切期待，希望从中争取新客户。继有Solo电话公司推出无限来电的计划后，据称在美国市场表现不错的AMPD Mobile，也准备进军加国市场，希望在本国的预先付费(pre-paid)市场上分一杯羹。
Virgin Mobile Canada总裁布莱克(Andrew Black)表示，本地市场届时将会百花齐放，在公平的竞争之下争取客户。而该公司的目标则是为客户在少于2.5小时内办妥转台程序。
新计划复杂 消费者须小心选择
虽然有分析认为今后最能受惠的是消费者，但也有观察家担心市场上将有更多的消费“陷阱”，因为供应商之后所推出的新计划和优惠，有别于减价措施，表面上看似是节省了金钱，但其实会令客户承诺更大。
加拿大消费者协会(Consumers Association of Canada)表示，就如贝尔流动刚推出的新计划看似是优惠，但消费者可能最终要支付更多金钱。由于服务供应商所订出的计划将较复杂，以致客户较难决定最贴合自己使用量的计划，所以消费者要小心选择。
加国电讯市场一览
˙手机是历史上发展最快的消费产品。目前，本国共有超过半数的国民为手机用户。
˙直至去年年底，本国手机用户达到1850万人次，相等于全国约58%的无线渗透率。根据加拿大无线电讯协会(CWTA)的最近调查，估计现时的无线渗透率(wireless penetration rate)在主要城市已超过70%，而部分大都会地区，该数字已接近80%。
˙本国国民每年用手机拨出600万个911或其他紧急电话号码。
˙2005年，本国无线通讯行业的收入达到110亿元。
˙本国目前约有47%的电话接驳是无线，即是由手机打出的。
˙本国国民每日从手机发出超过1.8亿个文字讯息。
˙加拿大电台电视及资讯委员会(CRTC)调查发现，有七成受访者都认为转换手机公司时，能够保留其原有的号码是非常重要。
主要电讯公司最新优惠比并
贝尔流动
配合现有通话计划的额外服务(add-ons)，贝尔手机用户与其他贝尔手机用户之间、或是贝尔手机用户与贝尔住宅电话之间无限通话，在月费中额外付10元。贝尔手机用户与贝尔商业电话用户之间无限通话，每月额外付20元。如选择以上3项服务，每月额外多付35元。
罗渣士无线
除了需签约或续约3年的无限来电任讲(unlimited incoming)计划，另外也有由罗渣士住宅电话用户免费打本地打长途电话到其他罗渣士无线、固网及姊妹公司Fido的电话号码的新计划。
（星星生活记者捷克佳报导）保留电话号码转换通讯公司的新政策将于本月14日起在全加大部分地区施行。近日，拥有固定通话线路的罗杰士公司和贝尔公司相继推出优惠计划，以吸引持号观望的消费者。专家预期，新一轮争夺手机用户大战的好戏还在后面。
2005年12月，联邦通讯监管部门的加拿大电台电视及电讯管理委员会(CRTC)发布公告，要求加拿大无线通讯公司，自2007年3月14日起，在全国大部分地区实现允许顾客携号跨网(WNP, wireless number portability)。即顾客可以保留自己的原有号码，转往任何一间有线或无线通讯供应商。顾客更可将原有固网电话号码，转为无线电话号码，反之亦然。
实施携号跨网对消费者和商业用户来说是一个振奋人心的消息。WNP措施运行后，名片，信件、广告等上的电话号码无需更改，也不用逐一向亲朋好友通告新的号码。
CRTC指出，14日起将实施携号跨网新政策的地区包括卑诗、阿尔伯塔、安大略和魁北克省，涉及的电讯公司包括贝尔移动（Bell Mobility），罗杰士移动（Rogers Wireless）和研科传讯（Telus Mobility）几家无线营运商。
加拿大的移动通讯市场由上述三家营运商所主导。近日，罗杰士和贝尔公司相继推出新的计划拉拢客户，研科传讯则暂时仍按兵不动。
罗杰士通讯公司出笼的新促销方案是“自家联结”（My Home Connections），加拿大境内的罗杰士固话（住宅电话）用户与罗杰士移动电话和固话、及Fido用户的长途通话将免费。Fido曾经是独立的营运商Microcell Solutions的品牌，2004年被罗杰士收编。
贝尔加拿大公司推出的计划（Bell to Bell）亦是肥水内灌。新计划提供贝尔用户（移动、住宅和商用）间无限制的本地通话。贝尔公司表示这一新的通话费率将深刻影响人们利用移动电话的方式。
分析人士认为，目前公布的促销计划只是争夺手机用户大战的开端，手机短信和长途服务仍需要额外付费，更多因应消费者需求的计划将会接踵而至，好戏还在后面。
一家咨询公司席伯德集团（Seaboard Group）日前在一份调查报告中指出，在30个发达国家的调查中，加拿大的移动电话费入网以及通话费全球居冠，报告指出，高昂的通信费用又极大地阻碍了移动电话的发展和普及。加拿大只有56％的民众拥有手机，远低于美国的75％以及德国的86％。
该报告的作者建议，加拿大的通讯公司应该降低长途电话的费用，通过各种优惠活动来吸引更多的客户使用移动服务，此外更重要的是政府也应允许和鼓励市场竞争。
通讯业界的分析人士建议，手机用户在转换运营商前应确保取得最佳利益。安省一间电讯咨询公司的负责人罗伯塔-福克斯（Roberta Fox）认为，即将实施的携号跨网新政策对消费者而言是一个极好的机会，可以重新审视现有的通讯计划。
福克斯认为，届时情形会相当混乱。他举例说，就像当初的美国，短期内会有大量的客户游动，一些人为寻求更好的合约甚至于每日转换运营商。美国是在2003年实施类似计划的。
亦有专家建议，手机用户也应尽量避免签署所不希望的长期合同。渥太华大学从事加国互联网和电子商务研究的法律教授迈克尔-葛思（Michael Geis）警告说，“小心锁定计划，携号跨网具有灵活性，但消费者须注意合同陷阱。”除价钱外，她建议消费者应从使用需求、产品服务、计划变更等几方面考虑是否转换公司。
竞相压低价格抢夺客户是商战惯用的手段，价格战往往导致血流成河，商家通常只是作为最后的手段。
但分析人士认为，这次电信运营商不大可能这样比拼，因为近年来手机业务正变得有利可图。运营商已经摆脱单纯依靠长途收费盈利的局面，开始从其他新的服务如铃声、电邮、短信、游戏、摄影、录像、MP3等中提高自己的收入。
观察家预测，无论如何，消费者最终会从这场客户争夺大战中得益。
Pay Phones: A dying breed?
CBC News Online | Updated Feb. 27, 2007
The death of pay phones has been greatly exaggerated.
They can’t take photos, play videos, send e-mails or travel — like cellphones, their sleeker, technologically advanced counterparts, — but while pay phones are a dying breed, they won’t be extinct anytime soon, industry analysts say.
They’re evolving with the times, adding new features such as wireless internet access, capabilities for the hearing-impaired and even allowing users to make phone calls for free.
Pay phones going down, cellphones on the rise
Since the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission deregulated the pay phone market in 1998, the number of pay phones has steadily declined.
That year, the CRTC decided to allow new competitors to enter the pay-phone market. But the commission put in a few safeguards: new pay phones had to match existing services including 911 calls; it decided not to regulate the rates of new entrants, but kept a hold on the rates of existing pay telephone companies to establish healthy competition.
The CRTC said the move would encourage innovations in service, foster a viable domestic industry, and increase total market revenues. Pay phones by companies other than long-time players Bell Canada and Telus have begun popping up across the country. As of 2002, more than 350 potential payphone service providers had registered with the commission.
But, the increased affordability and popularity of cellphones hit the pay-phone market hard: Profits have dropped steeply, with toll revenues dropping 17 per cent annually. As well, the number of pay phones has dropped by about three to four per cent a year. In 1998, there were about 185,100 pay phones in Canada. By 2002, that figure had dropped to 157,000.
Pay phones by the numbers:
Telus
-in 1999, there were about 37,000 payphones
-in 2003, there were about 33,000
-in 2006, there are about 29,500
Bell Canada
-in 1999, there were about 100,000
-in 2006, there are about 85,000
Aliant
-there are about 15,000 payphones
-the number has stayed consistent, rising and falling about three per cent annually
Canada Payphone
-there are about 2,000 pay phones
-it has stayed consistent since entering the market in 1999
Number of cellphones in Canada
The number of Canadian cellphone users has grown exponentially — to more than 16.6 million in 2006 from 100,000 in 1987, according communications consulting firm, Yankee Group. And many Canadians cut their ties to land lines completely: Cellphones were the only line in 570,000 Canadian households in 2006, about 4.5 per cent of Canadian households, reports Statistics Canada. This is more than double the figure just two years earlier.
Albertans are leading the trend, with 75 per cent of provincial households owning a cell phone, the highest rate in the country. Ottawa is the most wireless city, with 80 per cent of households having a cellphone.
Some households can’t get enough. As of 2005, 40 per cent had one cell phone, 20 per cent had two cell phones, and seven per cent had three or more.
With the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunication Commission announcing in February 2007 a new service that will allow consumers to keep their numbers even if they change service providers, cellphones are likely to become increasingly popular.
Cellphone users by the numbers:
-in 1987, there were 100,000
-in 2001, there were more than 9.5 million
-in 2002, there were 11.6 million
-in March 2006, there were 16.6 million
-in 2010, expected to have 21.7 million, 65.4 per cent of Canadians.
But Jeff Leiper, director with the communications consulting firm, Yankee Group, said though cellphones are becoming increasingly popular, there’s a swath of Canadians who aren’t interested in the technology.
Leiper said in March 2006, 52 per cent of Canadians had cellphones, a total of 16.6 million users. By 2010, the Yankee Group forecasts that 65.4 per cent of Canadians will have cellphones - a total of 21.7 million users.
However, that still leaves one-third of Canadians with a quarter in hand, in need of a phone booth.
“For those folks, pay phones continue to be an important part of how they communicate,” Leiper said, adding that non-mobile users tend to live in rural areas, are older, and have lower incomes.
He says that the popularity of cellphones in Canada is lower than in the rest of the industrial world. In countries such as Sweden and Korea, more than 90 per cent of people have at least one cell phone, Leiper said.
“But in Canada, where we lag, the need is still pretty clear,” Leiper said.
Pay phones an essential service
Paulo Pasquini, spokesman for Bell Canada, said pay phones are required to back up cell phones.
“We have all had our instances of cellphones crapping out or losing their charge,” Pasquini said. “[Pay phones] are needed as an emergency tool, and in some places where cellphone service is unavailable.”
Shawn Hall, spokesman for Telus, which operates pay phones in B.C., Alberta and Quebec, agrees.
“They’re definitely declining, but they remain important,” he said.
Pay phones are still needed in areas frequented by tourists, such as bus depots, airports and ferries and public places such as schools and hospitals, Hall said, adding they’re important in low-income neighbourhoods.
Although pay phones have been disappearing, he said, they haven’t been proactively removed. Pay phones disappear through attrition, he said. If one is broken or damaged, the company decides whether to fix it after consulting the community or owner of the property where the phone is located, and looking at whether there’s a pay phone within a reasonable distance, Hall said.
“There are some pay phones that hardly see any use. There are some pay phones that remain popular … we’re hesitant to remove them all because of a legitimate demand from real users,” Hall said.
For this reason, in 2004, the CRTC stepped in to make sure pay phones would always be available to those who need them. After hearing from the public - including submissions from telecommunications companies and public interest advocates - they decided that pay phones were an essential service for Canadians. They didn’t force telecommunications companies to provide pay phones, but put in a clause to protect them. If the last pay phone in a community is to be removed, the telecommunications company must notify everyone in a high profile way, such as posting newspaper ads.
New technology: more than just phone calls
However, what is changing is what pay phones look like.
“You used to see a row of pay phones, now you might see only one,” Hall said.
Their capabilities are changing too. Phones now take credit cards, have internet ports and some are specially equipped for the hearing impaired.
Free Fone, a subsidiary of Canada Payphone, is slowly adding phones that provide free calls and create hotspots for free wireless internet access. These phones pay the bills by showing ads on a digital screen on the unit.
They have about 600 Free Fones across North America including 50 in Canada, mainly on university and college campuses. He says Free Fones are used more often than their regular pay phones - about 500 calls daily versus five to 10 calls a day.
Anthony Lacavera, CEO of Globalive Communications Corp, which owns Canada Payphone, says his firm is trying to partner up with the bigger players in the payphone market to try to replace pay phones with Free Fones. He agrees that pay phones are an essential service, but the regular 25-cent pay phone business is not profitable for the long-term.
“[Free Fones] really is a logical evolution of the business,” Lacavera said.
He says a chunk of their users are people who have cell phones, but want to save on charges for extra minutes.
But Leiper said as cell phone rates come down, the compelling case for a free phone seems to disappear. Although cellphone fees are higher here than in other developed countries, he said, the buckets of minutes they get now are large and will get larger.
“Currently, in the very short term, there are still Canadians who are looking at their cell phones minutes, but it is increasingly less of a consideration,” Leiper said.
And, in some phone booths, there is no phone at all.
Enter the Cell Zone, a soundproof booth for cellphone users, offering a quiet environment to chat in nightclubs, restaurants, libraries and other entertainment venues. It also muffles cellphone conversations, to keep from disturbing others.
Tony Ferranti, vice president and founding partner of Salemi Industries, the Massachusetts-based company that created the Cell Zone, said the idea came about after being bombarded by other people’s conversations during a night out.
“We’ve gone to dinner with our spouses and friends and became aggravated listening to other people’s cellphone conversations … We thought, ‘Wouldn’t be great to have a place to have a quiet conversation?’”
After some research, Salemi Industries launched the Cell Zone in May 2006. It’s a futuristic-looking upright tube with a sliding door that closes. It stands just a bit more than two metres high, but ranges in diameter from 76 to 1.7 metres. It costs about $2,500 to $3,500 U.S., depending on size and colour.
It can block out noise between 30 and 40 decibels, depending on where the cell zone is located and the type of noise. (By way of comparison, Ferranti said, a loud office with everyone talking on the phone has a level of 40 to 50 decibels.) And, he said, nothing can be heard outside the booth.
Ferranti said there are no Cell Zones in place yet, but there have been more than 6,000 inquiries. Ferranti said with cell phone use increasing and one million pay phones taken down in the U.S., according to the Federal Communications Commission, the Cell Zone could nudge the pay phone out.
“I truly believe these cellphone booths will take them over,” he said.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/cellphones/payphones.html
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/cellphones/newsarchive.html
Bell Canada
For 125 years Bell Canada has served Canadians’ communication needs. With local and long distance phone service, wireless voice and data services, internet access, satellite television, and a host of other solutions and services to Canadian homes and businesses.
As technologies converge and the internet’s potential is realized, Bell Canada is evolving to serve Canadians with innovative solutions and services for another 125 years and beyond. ……
http://www.bce.ca/en/aboutbce/bellcanada/
Rogers
Any history of the Rogers group of companies today must begin with a salute to Edward S. Rogers, Sr. Every time a radio is turned on in Canada, the dream of Edward S. Rogers, Sr. continues to be realized. He envisioned radio as an electric pipeline, reaching into people’s homes to entertain, inform and educate.
In 1925, Mr. Rogers, Sr. invented the world’s first alternating current (AC) radio tube, which enabled radios to be powered by ordinary household current. This was a dramatic breakthrough in technology and it became the key factor in popularizing radio reception. After this invention radios became far more commonplace.
In 1931, Mr. Rogers, Sr. was awarded an experimental TV licence. He was working on radar when on May 6, 1939 he died at the young age of 38. He left a widow, Velma, and a 5 year old son, Edward. His business interests were sold. However, his son Edward (Ted Rogers) was determined to carry on the important legacy. ……
http://www.shoprogers.com/aboutrogers/historyofrogers/overview.asp?shopperID=CBDKPKRA6RKE8PDWHL6RNJ9B58KB92C1
Fido
Originally launched by Microcell Solutions Inc. in 1996, Fido offers Personal Communications Services (PCS) and wireless data services in major centres across Canada. Fido has been a subsidiary of Rogers Wireless Inc. since November 2004.……
http://fido.ca/portal/en/medias/about.shtml
Telus
TELUS is one of the newest entrants on the national scene, yet we are building on more than 100 years of history in Canada. Our company was created in February 1999, when Alberta-based TELUS Corporation and BC-based BC TELECOM joined in a merger of equals. ……
http://about.telus.com/investors/profile_history.html
研科多市中心建30层高办公大楼 2006年7月11日22:7:48(京港台时间)
卑诗省为基地的研科公司(Telus Corp.)与Menkes Developments打算在多伦多市中心兴建一幢价值2.5亿元的办公室大楼，藉以支援研科在安省的业务拓展计划。
研科旗下的商业解决方案部门总裁纳塔尔(Joseph Natale)表示：「研科正在安省种下更深根基。那对我们来说是一个重要增长市场，我们决定在多伦多心脏地带投资兴建一幢崭新办公室大楼，显示公司对多伦多及安省的承担。」
该幢位于加航中心(Air Canada Centre)隔邻的办公室大楼楼高30层，写字楼用地合共78万平方尺。研科将是大楼的主要租户，占用整体可租用面积的60%左右。大楼的建筑工程将于今年秋季展开，预期可于2009年1月1日落成启用。
研科年度收入为82亿元，名下客户有1,030万个。该公司主要提供固网及无线通讯产品及服务，当中包括数据、互联网协议、话音、娱乐及视象服务。该公司于2000年斥资66亿元购入科域传讯(Clearnet Communications)，从而扩充在安省的业务。公司现时聘有员工逾5,200人。
http://news.newstarnet.com/gb/MainNews/Region/Toronto/2006_7_11_10_7_48_52.html
Fact sheet: Cellular (Wireless) Telephone Services
Rates, Quality of Service and Business Practices
While the CRTC regulates several areas of the Canadian telecommunications industry, the degree of the regulation varies depending on the services being offered and the degree of competition. In the cellular (wireless) telephone services industry, the Commission continues to play a role in ensuring the confidentiality of customer information and ensuring that customers are not subject to undue preference or unjust discrimination. However, the CRTC does not regulate the rates, quality of service or business practices of cellular (wireless) service providers.
Cellular telephone subscribers who have complaints about their service should contact their provider directly. In a competitive telecommunications environment it is in the provider’s best interest to address the needs and concerns of its current and potential subscribers.
Industry Canada’s the Office of Consumer Affairs website has a section entitled Complaining Effectively. It gives the steps to follow when filing a complaint as well as contacts for the organizations, or local, provincial and federal offices that provide help to consumers.
System Access/911/Contribution Charges
The Commission does not approve or regulate the various charges or methods by which cellular service companies recover their costs. Customers should contact their provider if they have questions on the purpose and make-up of the costs being recovered by the system access charge.
The Commission also does not determine the method by which cellular service providers pass on other fees authorized by the Commission such as 9-1-1 and contribution charges.
Cellular companies obtain access to emergency 9-1-1 service through the telephone companies since 9-1-1 service is provided by municipalies in conjunction with the telephone companies. The Commission has determined that the costs incurred by municipalities and telephone companies are to be recovered from all telecommunications services users. It also decided that the wireless service companies would be charged on a per telephone number basis and devised a formula for determining the rates. The CRTC decision neither directed the cellular telephone companies to pass on this charge to their customers nor approved any new wireless 9-1-1 charge imposed by them. Any determination to do so is at the discretion of the cellular service provider.
In 2001, the CRTC introduced a revenue-based contribution regime to subsidize residential local telephone service in high-cost rural and remote areas of Canada. All telecommunications service providers, including cellular companies, contribute to this fund. Although the Commission did not provide directions to the cellular telephone companies in this regard, some service providers have chosen to create a separate charge and have applied it to various services, while others have included the cost of the contribution regime as part of their rates. Customers should contact their service provider if they have questions concerning how the costs of the contribution regime are applied to them.
Wireless Number Portability
Currently, Local Number Portability is available to customers of wireless service companies in Canada that have undertaken to comply with the requirements to become Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs).
In the February 2005 federal budget, the government identified wireless number portability as a priority item. Also, in April 2005, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) announced that Canada ’s wireless carriers have agreed to implement number portability in Canada and have begun the planning efforts required to achieve this result.
In December 2005, the CRTC issued a decision requiring all Canadian wireless telephone companies to implement wireless number portability (WNP) by March 14, 2007, in most of Canada.
By March 14, 2007 Bell Mobility, Rogers Wireless and the mobility division of TELUS Communications Inc. will be required to provide WNP to their customers in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Québec. This means that customers in any of these provinces will be able to switch to any service provider in that province (wireline or wireless) and keep their phone number.
Throughout Canada, all wireless carriers will, by the same date, be required to release a phone number to another carrier (port-out customers) and by no later than September 12, 2007, to accept a phone number from another carrier (port-in customers).
Coverage Areas and Coverage Maps
The CRTC does not require cellular telephone companies to provide service in currently unserved areas and it does not maintain coverage maps. Information about products and services offered by various cellular telephone companies is available on the website of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunication Association.
The CRTC also does not allocate blocks of frequencies for wireless services and it is not involved in the selection or approval of specific locations to erect communications towers. These matters are under the jurisdiction of Industry Canada. More information on spectrum allocation can be found at http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/en/h_sf00000e.html .
Health and Safety Issues
For information on health and safety issues related to wireless communications, you can access the websites of Health Canada and of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunication Association.
Date Modified: 2006-11-30
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/INFO_SHT/t1021.htm
【eNet硅谷动力消息】作者：林牧/成本太高，导致加拿大人不愿意使用手机？根据一项最新调查，在全球发达国家当中，加拿大的手机电话费全球居冠，影响所及导致手机的普及率却也吊车尾。加拿大席伯德科技顾问集团在一份调查报告中指出，加拿大只有56％的民众拥有手机，远低于美国的75％以及德国的86％。
根据这项报告显示，以每个月500分钟的平均用量而言，加拿大用户的通话费比美国用户高出33％，如果是每月1200分钟的通话加上资料传输的高用量，加拿大用户的话费更足足高出1.5倍。席伯德集团也因此认定，加拿大手机和PDA等无线通信工具的普及率，在30个发达国家中排在末位，高昂的通信费显然正是主要原因。
加拿大一般手机用户除了月租之外，还有911连线、互联网连线服务等基础费，一旦通话量超出基础月费配额，超量部分的费用将加倍收取。这份报告的作者建议移动运营商，以取消长途话费、拉高月费通话量等措施，来鼓励更多用户使用移动服务，另外，政府也应允许和鼓励市场竞争。 一位加拿大消费保护专家表示，过去许多人宁可付较高月费，留在原来的手机公司，也不愿转往其他公司，主要是想继续留用原有的电话号码，但这一状况下周就会有所转变。在加拿大电信主管单位要求下，加拿大运营商从14日起，即须开放号码，也就是说客户即使转换运营商仍可把原有号码带着走，也就目前我国移动运营上里的携号跨网转网服务，此项服务开通估计在市场上将会掀起客户争夺战。
费用太高严重阻碍加拿大手机普及率
（中央社记者禾枫云温哥华六日专电）成本太高，导致加拿大人不愿意使用手机（行动电话）？根据一项最新调查，在全球已开发国家当中，加国的手机电话费全球居冠，影响所及，这种无线通讯工具的普及率却也吊车尾。
加国席伯德科技顾问集团在一份调查报告中指出，加国只有百分之五十六的民众拥有手机，远低于美国的百分之七十五以及德国的百分之八十六。
根据这项报告，以每个月五百分钟的平均用量而言，加国用户所付的价格比美国用户高出百分之三十三，如果是每月一千二百分钟的通话加上资料传输的高用量，加国用户的话费更足足高出一倍半。
席伯德集团也因此认定，加国手机和PDA等无线通讯工具的普及率，在经济合作开发组织三十个国家中敬陪末座，高昂价格显然正是主要原因。
加拿大一般手机用户除了月费之外，还有九一一连线、网路连线服务等规费，一旦通话量超出月费配额，超量部分的费用更加高昂。
这份报告的作者建议无线电信业者，以取消长途电话通话费、拉高月费通话量配额等措施，来鼓励更多民众开台，另外，政府也应允许和鼓励市场竞争。
一位加国消费保护专家表示，过去许多人宁可付较高月费，留在原来的手机公司，也不愿转往其他公司，主要是想继续留用原有的门号，但这一状况下周就会有所转变。
在加国电信主管单位要求下，加国无线手机业者由十四日起，即须开放门号，客户即使转换电话公司，仍可把原有门号带着走，估计市场上将会因此掀起一番客户争夺战。
Number portability can bring ‘big benefits’ to Canadian cell phone users
Muse before you choose, advise analysts
By: Nestor E. Arellano
ITWorldCanada.com (20 Feb 2007)
With less than a month to go before local cell phone number portability is implemented in Canada, telecommunications analysts urge wireless users to ensure they are getting the best deal before switching carriers.
The looming mobile number liberation is an excellent opportunity to revisit existing wireless plans, according to Roberta Fox, principal of Fox Group Telecom Consulting in Mount Albert, Ont.
Fox expects considerable disruption when the Canadian Radio Telecommunication Commission (CRTC), on March 14, finally allows mobile phone users to keep their local phone numbers even when they transfer service providers.
“Just like in the U.S., there will be a lot of churn in the short term. Some customer will switch providers daily as they search for better bargains.”
Mobile phone users should also be wary of getting sucked into long term contracts that they don’t want, warns Michael Geist, Canada research chair in Internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa. “Be careful about getting locked-in. Portability offers flexibility but it can be trumped by consumer contracts.”
Geist said number portability “will open doors to greater opportunity for consumers” but added other changes should be carried out such as reducing the industry’s reliance on long-term contracts and locked devices.
Price is not the only criterion said Fox, whose company also offers organizations analysis of cellular and wireless technology services.
She suggested users also ask themselves the following:
? Does my current plan serve my business needs?
? What types of services and products would be most appropriate for my needs?
? Do I need to upgrade or downgrade?
? Am I getting the lowest price for my services?
Fox also urged companies and individuals to be aware of what switching carriers may entail. “Some people mistakenly think all it takes is a call.”
She said there would be paper work to consider. Users should also look out for instances of double billing that could occur in the ensuing paper shuffle, the analyst said. She said just as many consumers have been waiting for portability to be implemented, some carriers have been working overtime to get users locked into multi-year service plans before March 14.
Number portability, also known as wireless local number portability (WLNP), has been sought by Canadian businesses as far back as 1994. A similar structure was adopted in the U.S. in 2003.
Fox, who chaired a WLNP lobby committee under the then Canadian Business Telecommunications Alliance (CBTA), said it took CRTC 13 years to implement LNP because “the dominant carriers didn’t want to do it.” She said it was seen as an opportunity for consumers to leave existing providers and shop around for lower prices usually offered by new entrants to the market.
“The providers have been dragging their heels because they said WLNP provided no value and was complicated.”
Geist agrees; “I think the foot-dragging of the current wireless carriers who sought lengthy delays is the primary reason for the long wait. Indeed, the current implementation timeline was imposed on the carriers”
Canada’s growing cell phone and wireless service market is led by three providers: Bell Canada, Rogers Communications Inc, and Telus Corp.
In a statement yesterday, however, Rogers Communication suggested that WLNP would not really have much of an impact.
“We think ultimately WLNP will be a non-event, said Taanta Gupta, vice president, Rogers Communications.
Gupta said she based this assumption on the experience of the U.S., where less than six per cent of American wireless users ported their numbers a year after WLNP was implemented.
She said when the U.S. introduced WLNP, industry experts had predicted more than 39 million users would switch carriers during the first year of implementation. However, she said Federal Communications Commission numbers later revealed only 8.5 million switched carriers.
“There was no long term effect on churn rates in the U.S.”
Last year, a start-up voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service provider had filed before the CRTC complaints of anti-competitive behaviour against Rogers over the issue of WLNP restriction .
Comwave Telecom Inc., of Toronto alleged it was losing business because Rogers was unjustly restricting provision of local number portability service to Rogers customers who wanted to switch to Comwave. Another Canadian carrier, Telus Corp., views WLNP as a positive development.
“Telus considers number portability as an opportunity,” said Darren Entwistle, the company chief executive. He said the inability of mobile users to port their numbers is one of the “biggest impediments” Telus faces to growing its “relatively low market share within Central Canada.”
The company has been working for the past 18 months on adjustments to its system to ease the porting of numbers according to Chris Langdon, vice-president, network services, Telus.
“There probably going to be a pent-up demand to switch. We might lose some customers but we’ll also gain new ones. We’re geared for client satisfaction in tems of customer care, network infrastructure and availability of cool products,” said Langdon.
http://www.itworldcanada.com/a/News/8b9640b9-607e-486f-819d-186398f89b5d.html
The start of something big
Jack Kapica, 01/03/07 at 3:36 PM EST
It’s a small change, but the introduction of “number portability” is shaking the Canadian telecom industry.
Beginning March 14, cellphone owners will be able to shop around for better rate plans for competing carriers while still keeping their telephone numbers. This has been available since 2003 in the United States, but Canadian telecoms have resisted it fiercely.
Now that it’s on the visible horizon, the telecoms are expecting major subscriber shifts.
In an effort to pump up subscriber loyalty, both Bell Canada and Rogers Communications Inc. have introduced new subscriber plans. Two days ago, Rogers introduced its new plan, My Home Connections, to allow its home-phone subscribers to make free long-distance calls within Canada to other Rogers wireless, land-line and Fido numbers.
Not to be outdone, Bell Canada countered late last night with the Bell to Bell calling plan, allowing unlimited local calls between Bell mobile phones and residential and business lines.
The telecoms hope customers will find these plans appealing because they allow more flexible packages depending on a user’s needs.
More rate plans are expected to come. The just-announced offerings are baby steps, analysts say, and there are many more possibilities in the telecom marketing bag of tricks.
Bell’s plan calls for unlimited calls between Bell cellphones and residential phones for $10 a month, and unlimited business calls for $20 a month. If you want to make unlimited calls between any of these three, it will cost $35 a month. Rogers’ plan starts at $21.95.
It would have been simpler just to slash prices, but price wars are usually an exercise in blood-letting, and that route is used only as a last resort. This time, the telecoms are not likely to go that way because for the first time in several years, being in the cellphone business has become profitable.
After years of offering us lowest-price phone calls and relying on long-distance charges to provide the profits, the telecoms had finally added enough new services — ring tones, e-mail, text messaging, games, photography and video, MP3 playing and so on — to boost their revenues.
But subscribers are getting wary to the strategies of charging for all these little extras — all they have to do is to look at their skyrocketing monthly bills — and demanded the freedom to change contracts in search of a better deal without losing their cellphone numbers. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission agreed, and thereby forced telecoms to offer more competitive packages by taking away a major club held over the subscribers’ heads.
Without the threat of stripping a customer of a familiar telephone number, the telecoms are being forced to compete by cobbling together pricing plans that will keep their customers from bolting.
But the plans are not as generous as they might seem. A lot of the extras — such as the increasingly large amount of data being transmitted to and from cellphones — are not changing, at least not for the moment. Among them, text messaging and long-distance charges will remain extra for both Bell and Rogers customers.
How profound will all this be?
Not as profound as the telecoms are suggesting by their actions. When the Americans introduced number portability the population shift was immediate, but not earth-shaking, and that market is now stable.
But it did usher in a landscape of constantly changing rate plans, which has benefited customers.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070301.WBcyberia20070301153644/WBStory/WBcyberia
Wireless wars
MANU FERNANDEZ/AP PHOTO
The wireless war between Rogers and Bell is heating up as the two companies have sweetened their cellphone service bundles.
Deals unveiled as number portability nears
Mar 01, 2007 04:30 AM
Surya Bhattacharya
Business Reporter
The countdown to wireless number portability has officially begun.
BCE Inc. unit Bell Canada yesterday made its first move to hang on to customers who on March 14 will be able to leave the company in search of better rates without changing their cellphone number.
Bell Mobility introduced its new set of rates, called Bell to Bell calling plans, that allow unlimited local calls between Bell mobile phones and residential and business lines.
Bell’s move comes two days after Rogers Communications Inc. introduced its My Home Connections plan that allows Rogers home-phone subscribers to make free long-distance calls within Canada to other Rogers wireless, landline and Fido numbers.
Analysts said these are the first of many incentives that will be rolled out by wireless providers this year.
In light of wireless number portability, “we can expect a lot of these bundle initiatives in wireless,” said Lawrence Surtees, a telecom analyst with IDC Canada.
“Providers will compete in offering new plans to give you a bunch more minutes for calling or call people for free as a … way of competing without engaging in a suicidal price competition war.”
It may seem to consumers that they are saving money, but it’s not the same as a company slashing prices, he added.
While the Rogers home phone plan starts at $21.95, Bell is offering a three-tier price package. Unlimited calls between Bell cellphones, and between residential phones, will cost $10 a month, whereas unlimited business calls will cost $20 a month. Unlimited calls between any of the above three options will cost $35 a month. Text messaging and long distance are extra charges.
“It eliminates to a great extent any inhibitions you might have had about making calls,” said Wade Oosterman, president of Bell Mobility. “It is a profound and fundamental shift in the way people will use their devices and that changes the architecture of billing of calls.”
Oosterman added that the new rate announcements had nothing to do with upcoming number portability.
“You can only look at experiences in other parts of the world…in some markets it was absolutely meaningless, but in the U.S., there was an initial flurry and now it’s become a non-event,” he said.
But Surtees argued that a number of wireless family plans and unlimited calling plans were similarly introduced in the U.S. in 2003, when the country adopted wireless number portability.
“We can expect to see a proliferation of a lot more over this year because there’s a lot more they can do,” he said. “A lot more aggressive plans are in place in the U.S. and ones that Canadian wireless providers are likely to emulate.”
Kevin Restivo, a telecom analyst with SeaBoard Group, said that such new initiatives would help Bell retain customers, after losing a number of them a few years ago due to billing problems. Service providers in Canada are offering bigger bundles that help them retain their customers so they may in turn subscribe to more than one of their services, he added.
With North America the only continent that charges for incoming calls, the elimination of the charge by Bell is worth noting, Surtees said.
“Canadian consumers have loathed it. The one thing we hate is paying for incoming calls.”
http://www.thestar.com/article/186947
多伦多信息港（记者吴越报道）：据最新的一项调查显示，加拿大人打电话的费用要高于其他任何一个发达国家，而高费用又极大的阻碍了移动电话的普及。
星期一的时候，一家专门提供电信技术信息以及咨询服务的公司-Seaboard Group公布了他们的调查结果。该结果显示，平均而言加拿大人的话费清单至少高出美国人的三分之一。在2005年的时候，该组织也做过此项调查，那时的结果更是令人惊讶：加拿大人的话费要高出美国人的60%。虽然目前来看，打电话的费用在下降，但不得不承认，居高的话费仍旧是移动通讯技术发展的一大障碍。
“在30个国家的调查中，加拿大的移动电话普及是最后一位，而它的入网以及通话费用却是最高的一个国家。”
据统计，在加拿大每一百个人仅仅有56人拥有移动电话，而美国的使用率达到了75%，英国以及德国分别达到了102.2%以及86.4%。很显然，加拿大在这一方面落后于其他的发达国家。
该报告的作者建议，加拿大的通讯公司应该降低长途电话的费用，通过各种优惠活动来吸引更多的客户，同时更重要的是，政府应该允许和鼓励更多通信公司进行正当竞争。
据加拿大移动通信协会统计，到去年年底，加拿大全国拥有移动电话的数量达到了185万人，在一些主要的城市和地区，移动电话的普及率达到70%。
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070305.RWIRELESS05/TPStory/
High fees prompt Canadians to leave cellphones on hold
Usage here lags rest of developed world
SIMON AVERY
TECHNOLOGY REPORTER
The average cellphone bill is one-third more in Canada than in the United States, and although the price gap is closing, it continues to hinder the adoption of wireless communications in this country, a report to be released today says.
Just 56 per cent of Canadians have a mobile phone, compared with an average of about 90 per cent in the rest of the developed world. The discrepancy leaves the country at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to using a basic productivity tool that has become the world’s most common communications device.
“Canadian wireless adoption is a national disgrace,” concludes the telecommunications consultancy Seaboard Group, in a report entitled Lament for a Wireless Nation.
Twenty-four years after the federal government issued its first licences for cellphone service, only about one of every two Canadians has a device, compared with about three-quarters of the population in the United States, which began going mobile at the same time.
While Canada can boast to pioneering such technology as Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry wireless device, the country’s adoption rate for cellphones puts it on par with Tunisia (average per capita income of $8,600 U.S.) and slightly behind Turkey.
“Being the rump of the wireless world should not be our national dream,” said the report’s co-authors, Iain Grant, based in Montreal, and Kevin Restivo, of Toronto.
The report breaks the market into three categories of users. The high-end business user, who uses 1,200 minutes of voice plus data monthly, pays 150 per cent more than a subscriber in the United States.
The average user, defined as someone using 500 minutes a month, pays a 33-per-cent premium. And the light user, someone who keeps the phone packed away most of the month and spurns add-on features such as voice mail and call display, actually comes out ahead, paying 27 per cent less.
However, Canadians pay more in all three categories when compared with Europeans, the report said.
“Canadians aren’t tech laggards, as has been suggested in recent discussions on the country’s state of wireless phone competition. Instead, they are rational economic beings. Canadians hesitate to buy cellphones or to hit the send button on a cellphone knowing full well the cost at the end of the month will be breathtaking,” it said.
Seaboard suggests the government take several steps to improve the situation for Canadians, including allocating wireless spectrum for one or more new competitors. The spectrum could be awarded to a new national carrier or one or more regional operators. In the United States, regional phone companies such as Dallas-based MetroPCS Wireless Inc. have helped promote national competition. In addition, the report recommends that regulators consider minority foreign ownership in a new carrier.
Competition over wireless pricing in Canada has stalled since major operators swallowed the two independent companies; Vancouver-based Telus Corp. bought Clearnet Communications Inc. in 2000 for $6.6-billion (Canadian) and Toronto-based Rogers Wireless Communications Inc. purchased Microcell Telecommunications Inc. in 2004 for $1.4-billion. The government has an opportunity in its upcoming radio spectrum auction to fix that, and inject more competition in the market, the report said.
To give new entrants a fair chance, Seaboard also suggests the government require incumbents to share their tower space for a fee.
Among recommendations made to the industry itself, the report advised mobile phone companies to target new demographics, such as seniors, with appropriate pricing; eliminate long-distance charges; and focus on adding new customers rather than just trying to increase average revenue per user.
A report from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission last summer said phone companies for the first time generated more revenue in 2005 from wireless products than from local service, their traditional bread and butter. The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association says 47 per cent of all phone connections in Canada are wireless.
/**圣诞新年之后，新一轮的抢夺消费者之战已经正式开始。贝尔公司本月初利用自己的通信网络优势首挑战端，试图在手机可保留号码实施后拉拢客户，贝尔用户的手机、住宅、商用之间的本地通话免费。不过，仔细研究费率并不便宜，长途依然收费，美国电讯商全国晚间免费通话的计划并未有出现。面对贝尔首挑战，相信其它几家无线通讯的运营商也会跟进，消费者将会从这场竞争中受益。此外，中文的报道有误，实际费用远非如此，10元只是现有用户可增添的服务费率。 –Jack**/
贝尔加拿大推出10元任打新费率
光纤在线 2007-03-03 13:18 /贝尔加拿大为应对激烈的竞争将推出允许移动用户无限制拨打贝尔固网和移动用户的新通话费率方案贝尔到贝尔。该方案预计费率每月10元。贝尔公司表示这一新的通话费率将深刻影响人们利用移动电话的方式。这一费率也是加拿大移动市场上最具竞争性的费率方案。
Being with Bell just got a whole lot better
Introducing unlimited calling to anyone with any Bell phone.
With Bell Mobility’s new calling plans you can get free local calls between any Bell mobile, residential or business phone. And because almost everyone has at least one Bell line, that’s a lot of free calls. Get Bell to Bell calling today for as little as $10/month.
See the new plans (PDF)
http://www.bell.ca/web/wireless/all_languages/all_regions/pdfs/englishPlans.pdf
There’s never been a better time to be with Bell.
Hurry, offer ends March 31, 2007. Visit a Bell store or call 1 888 4MOBILE to order.
Applies to airtime for calls to and from mobile, residential and/or business phones from Bell in Ontario and Quebec; long distance charges extra. Available for a monthly fee with select plans and add-ons on a minimum 1-year contract. A one-time Bell to Bell Calling charge of $35 applies to current Mobility clients. Bell to Bell calling add-ons can be added to select $20 to $35 plans only.
http://www.bell.ca/shopping/PrsShpPromo_Pns_bell2bell.page?ADV3=ON_ON_EN_Q1JAN152007_homepage_main_left_Mobility_bell2bell_MARCH1
加拿大手提电话用户从3月14日起，转换服务供应商时，可保留原有的电话号码。业界人士认为，新政策实施后，消费者转换公司或许产生轻微混乱，但过往转换供应商最大的障碍得以解决，会令收费下降，消费者得益。
电台电视及电讯管理委员会(CRTC)要求加国的无线通讯公司在今年3月14日前，在全国大部分地区实现允许顾客带号入网，即顾客将可转用任何1间有线、无线通讯供应商，并保留自己的号码。
顾客更可将原有固网电话号码，转为无线电话号码，反之亦然。
观察家预测，消费者希望从保留电话号码政策中得益，寻找最佳的电话服务及收费时，电话产业将出现一定程度的混乱。
加拿大广播电视暨电讯委员会(CRTC)周五表示，加拿大的有规模电话公司所提供的网络电话服务在定价及竞争方面仍然受管制。此决策似乎与保守党政府提倡的自由市场理念背道而驰。
CRTC表示，该委员会将深入检讨管制贝尔(Bell)及研科 (Telus)等大型电话公司的规定。CRTC副董事长法兰治(Richard French)表示，与其从网络电话服务开始解禁，不如一举解除电话公司所受的限制，但此事必须从长计议。尽管如此，电话公司仍然怨声载道。贝尔母公司 BCE的执行副总裁享德(Lawson Hunter)表示，CRTC并没有依照联邦政府的旨意行事，业者希望能改变现状。
CRTC未依渥京旨意行事
研科传讯的叶尔(Janet Yale)表示，消费者是最终的受害者，假如该公司受到限制，但竞争对手却不受管制，该公司无法推出品质最优良的产品及服务，而竞争者也毋须不断提高服务品质。
大规模电话公司的住宅电话服务收益占市场的95%，远超过CRTC设定的标准。CRTC规定这些公司的收益不得超过业界总收入的75%，唯有低于此比率，CRTC才会考虑取消管制。
为了避免大型电话公司垄断市场，CRTC管制传统电话市场，禁止业者利用手机及高速上网服务的收益来降低电话服务费用。业者向政府申诉之后，联邦政府要求CRTC覆核先前做出的裁决，工业部长伯尼尔(Maxime Bernier)也认为市场应开放。
(来源：加通社 星岛日报)
2005年9月13日13:54:59(京港台时间)
（星星生活记者捷克佳报导）加拿大无线通讯协会表示，受技术条件等方面的限制，无线通讯用户的号码可携带性措施将在两年后实行。一些业内人士认为，这个时间表简直难以令人接受。
无线通讯用户号码可携带性WNP（wireless number portability）措施是指用户在转换服务商时可保留原有号码，而避免目前换公司时不得不换新的号码。对于用户来说，如果WNP措施运行，名片，信件、广告等上的电话号码无需更改，也不用逐一向亲朋好友通告新的号码。
加拿大无线通讯协会（CWTA）12日表示，在一份由独立机构完成的64页的综合报告中，检查发现有数百个技术上、运营商之间、条规等方面存在的问题需要解决。经过CWTA的专家WNP小组全面审核该报告，决定在2007年年中将在部分地区试行电话号码在无线通讯运营商之间，以及有线通讯公司与无线通讯公司之间转换而无需更换号码，整个计划将在2007年9月起在全国推行。
届时，这一令个人和企业用户受益的计划将在全国绝大部分地区同步实施，而不是在不同地区分时分段实施。WNP小组相信，这一显著的新措施将对所有的国人提供公平，和缓以及可靠的服务。CWTA说，国内主要的几家运营商–贝尔移动通讯，罗杰士无线网络和研科传讯–计划在2007年9月开始在全国范围内实施保留移动通讯号码。在此之前，将在部分地区进行短期的试运行。
总部设在渥太华的CWTA协会总裁和首席执行官把巴恩斯（Peter Barnes）说，“加拿大将是世界上第三个能完全提供无线对无线，无线对有线，有线对无线之间转换可保留原号码的国家。所委托公司的报告建议的时间表是合理的和十分积极的，无线通讯业确信可为加拿大人提供这项新的服务。”
根据该份报告，美国是目前世界上唯一执行号码可携带性的国家，丹麦将于2006年实施此措施，加拿大将成为第三个国家。
巴恩斯为两年后才能执行此计划辩护，他说，这个跨有线与无线的运作系统极为复杂。因为有许多规章条例和技术问题需要处理，包括账单系统和商业上的步骤。
但渥太华公共利益行为研究中心研究员劳弗德（John Lawford）批评道，这是行业垄断行为，没有什么理由将无线用户携带号码计划在两年后执行。劳弗德说，“我期待是6个月。问题出在哪里？我们只有三间公司，这不会太难。”
弗珍移动电话公司（Virgin Mobile Canada）的总裁布兰克（Andrew Black）说，自己被排除在决策过程之外。他说，推迟到2007年是一种推托，那些运营商想把用户再多锁定两年，这对于用户来说极不公平。该集团公司的创始人、亿万富翁布然索（Richard Branso）表示，他计划给各大媒体写公开信，呼吁用户抗议这一延期。
弗珍公司一项近期的调查报告显示，如果更换服务商并可保留原号码，有多达30%的用户准备转换公司。但加拿大业界一直阻止电话号码可携带性，辩称用户在这方面的需求量低，同时还有高额的手机费用和服务费。
今年2月份，在联邦工业部的督促下，几大无线运营商不得不立即宣布将提供这项服务，并委托PricewaterhouseCoopers公司准备详细的项目计划。
一间咨询公司的总裁认为，“事实上，美国已经实施此类计划意味着技术问题已经解决，方法与措施也应该知晓。”
2005年4月21日20:47:3(京港台时间)（星星生活记者捷克佳报导）加拿大的无线运营商21日达成协议，将允许手机的持有者在转换到竞争对手的公司时保留他们原有的电话号码。
目前，加拿大无线通讯协会并没有给出具体的时间表，何时可以让全加一千五百万手机用户可以在转换电话公司时保留原号码。
协议中的这一过程计划将在9月1日完成，包括贝尔移动（Bell Mobility），研科传讯（Telus Mobility）和罗渣士无线公司（Rogers Wireless）在内的几家无线运营商将批准这一计划并将照章执行。
对消费者和商业用户来说，这是一个振奋人心的消息。此前，他们想转换却感觉被固定，因为不能保留原号码。无线运营商承认，转换电话公司在通讯行业是不可避免的。
联邦政府在今年2月曾要求联邦通讯监管部门CRTC(Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission)迅速执行移动电话可以将号码固定。