Canada and United States Cellphone Plans Highest in the World

By Ihor Cap

Canada is the world’s most expensive place to own a cell phone, says the latest non-profit New America Foundation Open Technology Initiative (OTI) Report that compared minimum cost cell phone price plans on a per month basis in 11 countries. Canadians paid $67.50 on their pre-set minimum monthly plans. The remaining countries ranked as follows: the United States ($59.99), Finland ($40.10), Denmark ($39.00), South Korea ($36.20), Sweden ($34.05), United Kingdom ($32.40), and Taiwan ($23.74). Price plans are significantly lower in Japan (18.60), Hong Kong ($13.50), and India (12.90).

While most countries charge for outgoing calls only, cell phone users in Canada and the United States pay for both incoming and outgoing calls. “Cost structures and business models undoubtedly vary as a result of the level of competition and innovation in each country,” said the Open Technology Initiative report.

The OTI Report only confirms what well-travelled North Americans already know about cell phone use in other countries. There is a call for greater competition in the telecommunications industry. More companies outside the existing regional providers are fighting to get into the marketplace in order to drive prices down. However, that may not happen soon unless there is government intervention to nudge the process forward. Canadian and American regulating authorities are continuing to investigate the matter. A more recent CRTC cellphone survey of wireless prices in the G7 and Australia shows that little has changed in 2016.   

Author Information:
Ihor Cap is a web author and a dad. 

Complete Details of OTI Report here: https://www.newamerica.org/oti/policy-papers/an-international-comparison-of-cell-phone-plans-and-prices/
Complete details of the CRTC report can be found here: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/publications/reports/wall2015/rp150618.htm
About New America Foundation
The New America Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute that invests in new thinkers and new ideas to address the next generation of challenges facing the United States.
Image Attribution:
Attribution By Tim Parkinson [CC BY 2.0  (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons