Consequences of High Spectrum Costs

Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault should start fresh on Bill C-10 – Globe and Mail Op-ed

Controversial government efforts forcing streaming companies to pay into official Canadian culture funds will only gain public acceptance if the legislative club currently being used is replaced with a scalpel.

The main aim of Bill C-10, an Act to Amend the Broadcasting Act, was originally to regulate online streaming companies such as Netflix and to level the playing field between traditional broadcasters and those services. Fair enough, but using the Broadcasting Act and granting the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) sweeping powers over the internet is at best an awkward solution, and at worst an unworkable and damaging one. Both the Act and the CRTC were designed to…

David Vaillancourt – A Private Right Of Action For Abuse Of Dominance

High Spectrum Costs, Regulatory Impediments Slow 5G Rollout: Telecommunications Policy Working Group

April 21, 2021 – High spectrum costs and regulatory impediments impact the rollout of 5G and undermines Canada’s technological competitiveness, says a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute.  

At their recent meetings, the Telecommunications Policy Working Group discussed spectrum policy and the consequences of high spectrum costs.

The Working Group agrees Ottawa’s primary goal should be to allocate spectrum most efficiently and ensure competitive access to spectrum. Improved spectrum allocation policy will enable the critically needed 5G infrastructure of the future.

Ottawa’s policy of auctioning off radiofrequency spectrum for telecommunications purposes is designed to minimize interference and ensure its…

Taxer les netflix et autres multinationales – La Presse Opinion

Même si le fardeau des impôts payés par les entreprises est ultimement porté par des personnes – actionnaires, employés et consommateurs –, le sens commun exige que les compagnies fassent leur part et on s’insurge lorsque les plus grandes profitent des paradis fiscaux pour se défiler.

L’administration Biden a ravivé l’espoir d’un accord international sur un taux d’imposition minimal et sur la capacité des pays à taxer les ventes faites à distance par les FANG (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google) sur leur territoire national.

Selon l’Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques (OCDE), les stratégies fiscales qui exploitent les différentes règles des pays pour faire disparaître des profits ou les déplacer…

Benjamin Dachis – Better Data Would Yield Better Telecom Decisions

Ian Irvine – Smart Youth Drive Enormous Smoking Declines

Wireless prices are down, but we need better tracking – National Newswatch Op-Ed

Today the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology begins to dig into the telecoms matter of the day. It would be useful for them to know that cellular service prices have fallen 25 percent over the past five years, a decline that aligns with Ottawa’s promised wireless rate cut. This is important and surprising news for both Canadian consumers and the government.

The Prime Minister’s 2019 Mandate Letter to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry provided express political direction to reducing the average cost of cellphone services and expand mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) in the market. It directed the minister to:

“Use all available instruments … to reduce the average cost of cellular…

Benjamin Dachis – The Mandated Access Dance Faced By The Crtc

Telecom Prices Dropped 25 Percent Over Five Years: Telecommunications Policy Working Group

March 24, 2021 – Cellular services have seen a 25 percent price drop over the past five years, a decline that aligns with Ottawa’s promised wireless rate cut, says a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute.  

At their recent meetings, the Telecommunications Policy Working Group discussed the regulation of prices, modernizing the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and mandated access (requiring facilities-based wireless carriers to allow service providers access to those facilities at rates set by the CRTC).

With the federal government’s focus on wireless pricing, the Working Group stressed the importance of timely and transparent telecommunications data that reflects actual prices paid…

High stakes in the telecom wars – Financial Post Op-Ed

Policy decisions coming soon from the CRTC, the federal telecommunications regulator, are going to shape major investment decisions with critical impacts on our economy. Canadian governments need to get the right balance between investment and sustainable competition. Failure to do so will jeopardize efforts to get Canadian communities digitally connected and hence our ability as a nation to participate in an increasingly digital world economy.

The next generation of technology investment — “5G” — is critical to the economy’s future. For example, it will be key to commercializing innovations in precision agriculture. It will enable rural economic development, such as automated hauling at mine sites, and underpin further…

Von Finckenstein, Mitchell – A Simpler Way To Integrate Streamers Into The Broadcasting System