CBC: No, Telus, your advertised speeds don’t prove anything

Big Telecom has a statistics problem. Article by Sophia Harris for The CBC Arguments by Telus against increased competition in the Canadian wireless sector include misleading statistics that don’t reflect reality, critics charge.

The big three telecoms — Bell, Rogers and Telus — all told the CRTC at a recent hearing that further regulating the wholesale wireless market to stimulate competition could lead to inferior cellphone service, because it would discourage them from continuing to invest in Canada’s high-quality wireless networks.

Europe — where countries tend to have more competition and cheaper cellphone rates — was held up as a cautionary tale. “Wholesale regulation in Europe has led to depressed investment levels, poor quality networks and a digital deficit,” warned Ted Woodhead, Telus’s senior vice-president of federal government and regulatory affairs.

- Read more at The CBC