Travelling abroad is expensive enough already, but Canadian vacationers should be wary of one particularly costly travel expense: their mobile phone.

In a report released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Wednesday, Canada was found to have the highest data roaming fees out of all 34 countries surveyed. For 1Mb (megabyte) of data sent from a cellular roaming zone, less than the size of one high-resolution photograph, Canadians pay an average of US$24.61.

That is more than double the overall average cost of US$9.48 to transmit a single megabyte of data. It is also more than five times the US$4.17 per megabyte charged in Greece, which the OECD found to have the lowest average data roaming fees among its member states.

“The wide difference in prices can be explained by Greek mobile phone companies being charged less by wholesale operators than Canadian operators and passing those savings onto customers,” the report said.

“Or it could reflect greater competition in the Greek retail roaming market than in Canada.”

Explanations of the disparity aside, the high cost of mobile phone usage has long been an issue of national concern. Competition in the Canadian wireless sector has only recently expanded beyond an oligopoly controlled by massive telecommunications firms such as BCE Inc.’s Bell Canada unit, Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp.

Ever since Ottawa opened up access to the wireless spectrum in 2008, a number of new players such as Wind Mobile, Public Mobile and Mobilicity have gradually rolled out competitively priced cellular services across the country, which have started to drive prices down. However, most of the downward pressure in the market overall has been focused on core voice plans, with the cost of data being generally unchanged.

Average price (USD) for 1MB of roaming data by traveller's country of origin (Source: OECD)

Simple measures such as sending a text message message warning customers whenever they enter a data roaming zone or establishing a finite limit to the amount of mobile data a subscriber can consume while roaming are some of the suggestions the OECD recommends be implemented by carriers. Such initiatives would help avoid the rude awakening experienced by many consumers upon receiving a surprisingly hefty monthly statement from their wireless carriers — commonly known as “bill shock.”

David Orazietti, a member of the Ontario provincial legislature for Sault Ste. Marie, introduced a private members’ bill at Queen’s Park last November that would force all wireless carriers to warn customers before incurring potentially unexpected charges on their account. The bill passed its second reading in April, clearly the way towards one final vote before it becomes law.

Last July, Quebec amended its Consumer Protection Act to include restrictions on charges wireless carriers can levy on their customers. At the federal level, the Cell Phone Freedom Act also introduced last year aims to do the same thing and appears to be gaining support.

“While the implementation of consumer protection measures is not cost free, the data roaming cut-off limit has been successful in providing protection against bill shock,” the OECD report said.

“It will certainly assist in avoiding situations in which users incur a several-thousand dollar bill when returning from foreign travel.”

Companies such as Montreal-based Anomalous Networks Inc. have developed technology to help companies manage data usage. Other Canadian software outfits such as Waterloo Ont.-based Sandvine Corp., Mississauga-based Redknee Solutions Inc. and Ottawa-based Bridgewater Systems Inc. all offer Bill Shock-curbing solutions which can be applied directly to wireless networks.

“The question is when these regulations will be enacted,” Sameet Kanade, an analyst with Northern Securities in Toronto, told clients last November.

“Not if.”