To the editor:
In response to the claim by the TELUS general manager for Interior South BC, if the concern of the company is truly for fairness to people, then why does the company lock mobile phones to the company’s system even when the phone is owned outright by the customer?
Why is there such obscure pricing that it is not possible to see clearly what the cost of hardware is and what the cost of service is?
Why should the owner of a handset pay the same rates as a person who also must pay for the equipment?
Why is there no distinct choice to buy only service for those that own their own equipment and clear pricing for those who wish to buy handsets outright?
I spend a lot of time in foreign countries and need an unlocked handset to obtain whatever services I choose while travelling. I wish to pay only for wireless service while here at home. So why should I be required to pay the same rate as one who is paying for equipment?
The so-called concern for fairness of TELUS looks very unfair to me.
In China, where I spend much of my time, services are sold independent of handsets and no handsets are locked, yet Canada is supposedly a freer country.
Here the wireless companies try to prevent freedom to choose providers with our own phones. Is that really evidence of a concern for fairness?
David Ellsworth,
Kelowna
