The latest Bank of America Global Wireless Matrix (July 15, 2022) provides more evidence that Canada’s mobile market is among the least concentrated in the developed world.
Recall that just a few weeks ago I wrote that the Inclusive Internet Index from the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Canada’s wireless market as the 90th of 100 countries in concentration, measured using the Hirschman-Herfindahl Index (HHI). According to Bank of America Global Research, Canada’s wireless HHI ranks 3rd lowest among the 20 developed economies.
These 2 recent authoritative reports from BofA and The Economist should make people challenge populist claims that “Canada’s mobile wireless markets feature persistently high levels of concentration”.
“Persistently high levels” compared to what? It is misleading to say that Canadian wireless markets feature high level of concentration without providing context. Many capital intensive industries, including telecom, are highly concentrated. It should be important to examine Canada’s wireless HHI relative to the HHI found in other countries.
Quite simply, those who imply that Canadian wireless is more concentrated than other countries are misrepresenting the facts. The data clearly shows that Canadian telecom ranks among the least concentrated in the world.
