Issue

Expanding cellular infrastructure in rural and remote regions of Canada, particularly within First Nations communities, faces significant challenges such as harsh weather, rugged terrain, and rising material costs. These obstacles limit coverage and require substantial capital investments, impacting supply chain operations and emergency responsiveness. By investing in cellular networks, Canada can stimulate economic progress in rural and First Nations regions, enhance the resiliency of the national supply chain, and spur industry growth.

Background

Wireless communication in Canada has evolved significantly since the early 1900s when a signal sent from a station in Cornwall, England was received at Signal Hill in St. Johns, Newfoundland. Today, 93.9% of Canadian households own at least one mobile device.  The telecom industry is a key economic driver, contributing an estimated $80.8 billion to Canada’s GDP and supporting 782,000 jobs across all sectors in 2023.   Despite these significant investments, the sector faces challenges ranging from growing consumer demands for more data at lower costs and escalating expenses, impacting the progress for underserved rural, remote, and First Nations communities as companies now need to evaluate planned capital investments and labour needs versus expenditures.

Cell towers are integral to Canada’s communication infrastructure, connecting cell phones and mobile technology with wireless services through radio signals. The CRTC projects LTE network coverage to reach 100% of the population by 2026, while 5G and 5G+ deployment continues, requiring significant investments to cover rural, remote, and last-mile areas.

Reliable cellular coverage is critical for supply chain continuity, enabling real-time communication and data exchange across production, distribution, and retail stages. Dead zones on major transportation highways pose significant impacts to operations, leading to potential delays and safety risks. Addressing these dead zones is crucial for maintaining a seamless supply chain, ensuring the resilience and competitiveness of Canadian businesses in the global market. 

Leveraging 5G for IoT upgrades benefits various sectors, including agriculture, healthcare, technology, mining, and consumer services, bridging the digital gap between rural and urban regions. Modern telecommunications play a vital role in Canada’s economic development, competitiveness, social progress, and democratic engagement. Since 2016, the CRTC reports that the average annual download/upload traffic per mobile data subscriber per month has increased by 4.6 GB, largely supported by the availability of lower-priced and high to unlimited data plans and will continue to rise as dependence of IoT technology and data-intense applications grow. 

The telecom industry has invested over $147 billion in infrastructure from 2010 to 2022, despite ongoing challenges such as aging infrastructure, rising costs, lack of skilled talent, and high spectrum costs. These investments are essential to meet service demands and will continue to increase as the digital economy continues to grow. For Canada to remain a leader in telecommunications, it is imperative to support the telecom industry by alleviating capital costs by incentivizing infrastructure investment and developing workforce initiatives that build a skilled talent pipeline. 

Investing in Canada’s national cellular network and telecom industry is essential for growing the country’s economic competitiveness, maintaining public safety, and closing the digital divide.

Recommendations

That the Government of Canada:

1. Reinvest a portion of revenue from spectrum auctions into subsidies and incentives supporting innovative and robust networks, such as satellite-to-cellular networks. This reinvestment should focus on rural and remote areas, critical transportation routes and workforce programs that address shortages in skilled talent within the sector.
2. Encourage collaboration between government, industry and communities for project success, efficient resource allocation, addressing unique regional challenges and increasing program accessibility. Regularly assess economic and community impacts of expanded cellular coverage to support future telecommunications activities.
3. Promote economic reconciliation and consult Indigenous leaders and First Nations communities as partners in policy and development. Incorporate traditional knowledge with modern technology, fostering trust and creating sustainable innovative solutions for a more economically inclusive and prosperous future.

Submitted by Timmins Chamber of Commerce, Co-sponsored by Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce and Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce