.......He said it was time for the federal government to rescue the nation's cell phone users by banning the system access fee along with extra charges like call display, roaming fees and 911 service.
He said the Canadian cellular service industry has collected billions of dollars through 'misleading' charges over the last 25 years. And all of those extra charges double the cost of most rate plans, contract terms change as rapidly as 'no service' zones in Newfoundland, and agreements are clouded with unnecessary words and vague clauses.
How many of you received a series of letters last month from Bell Canada advising you your MSN Live service was now going to cost $5 per month? Or how about purchasing unlimited web and text messaging only to discover not all of your messaging is free?
Maybe it's not all little Johnny's fault when mom and dad get that $600 cellular bill? Especially when not even the grown-ups know about the extra charges?
But this isn't the first time cell fees have been called into question. Four years ago, Telus was forced to refund customers it had double-billed.
Three years ago, a CBC Marketplace investigation discovered there was no real reason for the system access fee, then about $6.95.
It reported cell service providers separate the charge from regular plans so they can advertise lower prices, but consumers tend to think it's something charged by government.
The Marketplace report, aired in 2005, said there's no reason long distance fees are what they are on a cell phone. There's no longer a need to switch the radio signal into an analog telephone line, so there's really no actual need, other than profit, for cell carriers to charge an average of 100 per cent more per minute - unless you've hedged that need by adding a few long distance minutes to your plan.
Let's not even go into the per-minute versus per-second billing, but a well-known US service provider offers its clients unlimited North American calling for just $5 per month.
Defending the industry was the same Peter Barnes who defended the industry to Marketplace. He's the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association president and he said Mr. McGuinty was basing his arguments on misconceptions and faulty comparisons.
He said rates have dropped an average of 45 per cent over the last five years and the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission has reviewed the industry each year and consistently advised against regulating cell phone prices.
Granted, for early adopters of consumer-grade cellular two decades ago, prices have come down. In that day, the government permitted the system access fee to help providers set aside funds to build the network standard of today. The problem is those fees should be built into monthly plans instead of added-on in a kind of bait-and-switch manoeuver.
Mr. Barnes said all people really need to do is look at their contracts. All of the charges, surcharges and extra fees are spelled out in black and white. If you managed to wade through the impossible two-point type and you're still feeling like you've been suckered, you're not alone.
Last fall, a Saskatchewan judge allowed a class action suit to proceed against Canada's cell phone providers. It's valued at some $12 billion (plus interest) and alleges the providers misled monthly subscribers by implying system access fees are somehow required by federal regulators. It will be interesting to see how this pans out.
And that $4 billion figure at the top? Mr. McGuinty said that's the estimated annual profit split amongst Canada's cell service providers. Gotta like those extras.