Small world, big telcos

So what if Canada's cellular phone companies aren't fully and completely Canadian owned? That is the excuse that the incumbent companies have used to prevent the establishment of new competition in their industry.

In making that argument Rogers, Bell and Telus have become a bunch of school bullies who seem to be distracting curious citizens from questioning their own "commitment to Canada". Apparently, this will be the end of our cultural identity in the telecommunications sector if the new companies weren't entirely locally owned, but what does that have to do with the poor consumer?

Australians, for example, have been debating about foreign ownership for years, yet the second largest telecom company is owned by Singaporeans for quite a few years.

If "citizenship" had to do with Canadian values, then we are living in a third world country. For years, the "size of our map" was an excuse for charging outrageous rates, and these same companies can be accused of outsourcing to other countries.

Considering that cellular technology is now mostly manufactured in South Korea or China, I highly doubt that operators who are "fully Canadian" could stick to such a flimsy campaign to thwart off one company.

Aren't we in a small world after all?