OTTAWA - A University of Toronto professor says Canada's overall economy -- not just consumers -- would benefit if Canada were to open its telecom industry to greater competition through upcoming North American free trade talks.

Walid Hejazi says opening the telecom industry to foreign players would result in new jobs, increased productivity across a wide range of industries and cheaper wireless rates for consumers.

But another academic says getting to that point at the NAFTA negotiating table may just be wishful thinking.

Paul Beaudry at the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy predicts U-S demands for greater access to Canada's telecom market won't survive to the final round of bargaining.

In its objectives for the NAFTA renegotiation, the Trump administration included telecommunications among a list of trade irritants made public last week.

The U.S. says it wants to promote the competitive supply of telecommunications services and secure commitments "to provide reasonable network access for telecommunications suppliers."

Canada's telecom market was partially liberalized in 2012 when the federal government opened the door to foreign ownership of Canadian cellphone service carriers that have less than 10 per cent of the Canadian market share.

However, current regulations forbid foreign majority ownership of a major telecom company.

The trade negotiations are set to begin Aug. 16.