Innovation Minister Champagne could solve connectivity in Canada

Earlier this fall, Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne mandated that Rogers share access to its networks with other providers to provide connectivity to all Torontonians travelling on the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). So why won’t he do the same for all Canadians? He didn’t step in from the start. In April 2023, Rogers entered an agreement to purchase the 5G infrastructure on the TTC. But shortly after its purchase, Rogers started using delay tactics to avoid sharing access to that network with other providers, with the likely intent of gaining a market advantage with Toronto customers. Unexpectedly, fate intervened: the confidence of Torontonians in their health and safety on the TTC was rocked by a series of violent incidents, and suddenly there was intense public scrutiny on why a telecom monopoly was being allowed to shut most of us out of contacting our loved ones on Canada’s largest transit network. Spectrum conditions—the terms on which wireless networks are granted exclusive access to a segment of our airwaves—were suddenly quite different in Champagne’s view, and in September, he decreed all wireless customers would have to have reasonable TTC access. By Oct. 2, all travellers on the TTC were able to access much-needed cellphone and internet services when riding along Line 1’s “Downtown U” stations. Mission accomplished. So, if all that held up universal network sharing in Toronto was Champagne’s word, why won’t he bring other Canadians the connectivity we need at the prices we deserve? It’s a fact: people in Canada pay some of the highest prices in the world for cellphone and internet services. That’s largely due to the oligopoly that grips our telecom market. The Big Three—Bell, Rogers, and Telus—own almost all the wired and wireless physical infrastructure in Canada, and can charge smaller and independent network providers whatever rates they want for access to those networks. And city dwellers are the lucky ones; the connectivity gap is significantly worse in rural Canada where many remote and Indigenous communities only have access to one provider that can charge every household hundreds of dollars a month for abysmal connection speeds. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned from the economic squeeze of the past year, it’s that more competition equals lower prices, and quasi monopolies—from telecom to groceries—will always squeeze Canadians dry. Rosa Addario is a writer and consultant based in Montréal. Photograph courtesy of Rosa Addario When a small number of companies dominate any given market, they dictate the prices that consumers pay. A strong and competitive economy drives down prices, promotes innovation, and provides the needed environment for small and medium-sized businesses to flourish. Right now, Rogers, Bell, and Telus don’t have to compete for your business because there is nowhere else to go. If you’re thinking that providers like Koodo and Fido are meaningful competition, I’ll beat you to it. Those are so-called “flanker” brands owned by the Big Three to create the illusion of choice. In reality, the very few independent telecom providers we have are disappearing at an alarming rate because they can’t afford to pay the rates the Big Three charge to access their physical infrastructure. In the last year alone, Oxio, Start.ca, Ebox, Distributel, Altima, and Vmedia have been bought out by larger providers—and TekSavvy, the largest of them all, is up for sale. So if the Big Three control the physical infrastructure, how can smaller providers get fair access to it? It only happens when the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) steps in—and mostly, they don’t. To date, they’ve denied wireless access altogether, while delaying basic wired internet decisions for years. But the TTC decision reminds us that the CRTC is not the only way. If and when the minister really wants action, he has broad discretionary power to change the game, whether by using spectrum conditions or directing the CRTC to fix things. We could have more competition within a year, and with a wealth of providers jostling for our business. Our telecom behemoths would finally be forced to offer competitive prices and incentive deals to retain us as customers. Yet he isn’t budging. Time and time again, Champagne has signalled that his priorities align more with corporate interests than the needs of everyday people across the country. From upholding the exorbitantly high wholesale network access rates that are driving small internet service providers out of business, to approving the Rogers-Shaw buyout, making Rogers the single biggest giant in Canadian connectivity history, so far he’s spoken up for Toronto—but not for Canada. We’re often told the minister is powerless, and the CRTC must decide. But when the chips are down, that’s not necessarily true. Champagne just showed us a key page in his playbook, and it’s a potent one. By using spectrum conditions to mandate TTC infrastructure access to all providers operating in Toronto, he’s let it slip that he has the power to bring affordable bills to the hands of people across the country. Now more than ever, all eyes are on Champagne. At a time when we need it most, when inflation has hit record highs, accusations of corporate profiteering are flying, and our own prime minister has acknowledged just how much the economy is squeezing families, can Canada continue to uphold the world’s least affordable connectivity? Ask Minister Champagne; he holds the key after all. Rosa Addario is a writer and consultant based in Montréal. Her work has appeared in The Toronto Star, and through publication by her former employer, OpenMedia. The Hill Times