VoIP slow to take in Canada

A recent study by Statistics Canada revealed that the majority of Canadian households still rely on land-line telephone services, although a full two-thirds also have cellular telephone service.

This time, when surveyed, respondents were also asked cable telephone services and VoIP services. “As of December 2006, about 10.6% of Canadian households reported using a cable telephone service or a ‘VoIP’ service. About 13.5% used them in Alberta and 13.2% in Quebec, the highest rates among the provinces. Only 4.9% used them in Newfoundland and Labrador, the lowest rate. Usage rates may reflect availability. Only 3.5% of households in rural areas reported using one or the other of these technologies, compared to 14.1% of households in urban areas with a population of 500,000 or more. Less than 1% of households reported cable telephone or VoIP services as their only means of telecommunication.”

Those households that did not have a landline cited the installation cost was prohibitive, but 31.7% of those without a landline did report that they were using cable telephone or VoiP services.

Recently we reported that the Canadian government was planning to deregulate VoIP in Canada in the hope that this will stimulate competition, reduce prices and increase VoIP usage.