Apparently I am somewhat of an anomaly amongst my peers. I am 22 years old, an undergraduate university student (in Computer Science no less!), a city dweller, and I refuse to use a mobile phone.

So why do I hate on cell phones? I’m not a recluse nor a non-person for having this position, which is often the response I get from people when I inform them that I don’t have a cell (and that they would feel naked should they not have their phone on their person at all hours). And no, I’m not worried about poisoning myself with radiation or giving myself a brain tumor either.

While perusing University of Ottawa Law professor Michael Geist‘s blog today, I came across some interesting factoids that make my position somewhat more justifiable. In his recent article entitled “iPhone Arrival Places Spotlight on Canada’s Wireless Crisis“, Geist points out just how comparatively weak Canada’s mobile infrastructure is. It is an illuminating piece, so I thought I’d share some take-away points:

• Mobile data pricing in Canada is among the highest in the world, creating a significant barrier to the introduction of new mobile services and causing many consumers to carefully ration their mobile use for fear of being hit with a hefty bill at the end of the month;
• Canada ranked 75th [worldwide] in the number of mobile subscribers, trailing countries such as El Salvador, Kazahkstan, and Libya.  It also lagged behind countries such as the United Kingdom, Singapore, Italy, Sweden, and Norway on mobile pricing.
• Canadian data prices are far above the U.S. offer of unlimited data for US$20 per month;
• Last month, the World Economic Forum pointed to problems in the wireless market as a key reason for Canada’s slipping global ranking for “network readiness”;
• The year-long delay of the iPhone – Apple first launched the device last June in the United States followed by France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, and Austria – provided tangible evidence that the Canadian market desperately needs an injection of competition (as the sole GSM provider, Rogers was the only carrier capable of supporting the iPhone)

Despite these grim stats, it seems that there may be some good news on the way: An upcoming spectrum auction in Canada may allow for more healthy competition in the Canadian market. Geist has some additional comments and recommendations in this regard for Industry Canada that are well worth reading.

So what am I waiting for? More choice among providers and cheaper data plans would certainly be a start. Until then I will happily rely on email, IM, and land-line phones as primary means of communication. It sure beats missing all that fine print and ending up with a surprise $1000 bill at the end of the month for not clearly understanding your data plan, especially when the cost of sending a simple SMS is about 4.4 times as expensive as sending the equivalent amount of data from the Hubble space telescope.