Canadians lag behind other countries in using cell phones, a new study has found.
International market research firm TNS found that about 70 per cent of Canadians aged between 16 and 60 own a cell phone.
That puts us near the bottom of 32 countries surveyed: on par with Vietnam and Mexico, and just ahead of last place India.
And most of the 30 per cent of Canadians who don't have a cell phone say they don't plan to get one in the next year.
The reason we lag behind other countries might be that many developing countries have skipped land line phones and have gone directly to cell phone.
It's a much cheaper infrastructure. So the reason that 30 per cent of Canadians don't have a cell phone probably is they don't need one.
That's not good news for cell phone companies.
Telus, for example, just released its first quarter numbers which show it only got about half the new subscribers it was expecting.
That might be because Rogers has the iPhone. But it means Telus definitely wants to hold onto the customers it already has.
As a consumer that means you have the hammer.
If you are generally happy with your cell phone provider --Telus or otherwise -- contact them once a year and ask them very politely to review your bill and offer suggestions for cheaper plans.
And if you have a complaint about billing or service that your cell phone company has been unwilling to resolve, contact the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services in Ottawa.
See related link: Commissioner for Complaints
Oh, and if you're wondering what country in the survey uses the most cell phones, a number of countries were tied for first with 100 per cent use in urban centres including Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.
With a report by CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen
