This week I delivered the opening speech at the annual Spectrum 20/20 conference that focused on the state of Canadian wireless marketplace. As the title of this blog posts suggest, I believe that Canadian wireless is in a state of crisis, with limited competition and high data prices. The talk and slides have been posted to Blip.tv and are embedded below.
Note that I also covered the issue this week in my technology law column (Toronto Star version, Ottawa Citizen version, Vancouver Sun version, homepage version). I begin by noting that last week's announcement that the Apple iPhone will make its long awaited Canadian debut later this year generated considerable excitement. While analysts focused on the bottom line impact for Rogers Wireless, it may be that the most important effects have already been felt in Canada since more than any industry statistics or speeches, the iPhone's slow entry into Canada has crystallized the view that the Canadian wireless market is hopelessly behind the rest of the world with limited competition, higher prices, and less choice.
