The ruling comes as the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) looks to lower the cost of cellphone plans and increase competition.

For years, Canadian consumers have complained about high cellular bills, which rank among the steepest in the world, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has threatened to take action if the providers failed to cut bills by 25 per cent.

The CRTC has since been under pressure to increase competition and lower prices where three companies — Bell, Telus and Rogers — control over 80 per cent of the mobile subscriber market.

Antitrust regulators for this reason have stalled the $16 billion acquisition of Shaw Communications by Rogers, on the grounds that the deal would further reduce competition.

In April last year, CRTC ruled that large telecoms firms must offer wholesale wireless access to so-called mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) — smaller outfits that can then resell the capacity at reduced retail prices and pass on the savings to consumers — but with several stipulations that were seen as wins for big companies.

In Wednesday’s ruling — which, along with the nationwide big three, will also apply to SaskTel, Saskatchewan’s Crown-owned phone and cellular utility — CRTC said the service will be mandated for seven years, giving the regional providers time to build and expand their wireless networks.

The CRTC said Wednesday its new ruling is “opening the door for more companies, in particular smaller regional wireless providers in more rural areas, to provide greater competition and choice to more Canadians by accessing the wireless networks of Canada’s largest providers.”

In addition, prices for MVNO access must be negotiated between the providers.

Bell, Telus and Rogers did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

— Reporting for Reuters by Eva Mathews in Bangalore; includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.

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The House of Commons’ standing committee on industry, science and technology, chaired by Vancouver area Liberal MP Dan Ruimy, on Tuesday released its report and recommendations for meeting federal targets on rural broadband connectivity.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 2016 declared broadband internet to be an “essential service” in Canada and set minimal performance standards of 50-megabit per second download and 10 Mbps upload, working with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) to fund broadband deployment in rural and remote areas.

However, the committee wrote, evidence it received from various stakeholders shows the digital divide to still be “prominent” in Canada and the CRTC targets “may not be appropriate to all rural and remote areas.”

Licensed incumbents in the broadband sector “tend to only invest in high-density areas that are more economically profitable,” the committee wrote, but if Ottawa were to “adapt” its regulatory framework, particularly on spectrum and network management, “small providers, non-profit providers or non-incumbent providers” could deploy rural broadband in “an economically profitable manner.”

The government also needs to “consider ways to increase the accessibility of funding programs for small providers, non-profit providers and non-incumbent providers, and consider the spectrum allocation process for the purpose of broadband deployment.”

Ottawa also needs to take steps, possibly through legislation in tandem with the provinces, for such providers to be able to accessing “existing infrastructures for the purpose of deploying broadband access,” such as granting easements or servitudes, “especially in regards to utility poles.”

The government also needs to consider the spectrum allocation process, focusing on the “scope of licences, pricing and effective use of allocated spectrum, including ensuring that small providers, non-profit providers, and non-incumbent providers have reasonable access to spectrum for broadband deployment.”

The committee also urged the government to “consider new ways of collecting service and performance data in addition to the speed of internet services, including, but not limited to, adding new indicators, using local knowledge.”

The CRTC, the committee said, should also consider not only broadband speed, but other indicators in its targets, such as “standards of parity between urban and rural centers, network performance, purchased consumer packages, latency and redundancy.”

(“Latency” refers to the time it takes for a given signal to get from a transmitter to a receiver, usually measured in milliseconds.)

The CRTC should also consider “regularly reviewing” its target broadband speeds to make sure they “remain relevant with technological development and international standards.”

Some witnesses during the committee’s hearings on the matter cautioned that the CRTC will have to “regularly update” its broadband speed targets “to keep up with technological change.”

Corroborating those witnesses, the committee said, is “the fact that actual broadband speeds in Canada substantially lag behind many countries that invest more in digital infrastructure.”

A monitoring report, the committee said, shows 99 per cent of Canadians living in rural areas have some form of internet access, including wireless, but to speeds between 1.5 and 4.9 Mbps — and only 42 per cent have access to speeds between 30 and 49.9 Mbps.

“Thus, while most Canadian communities do have Internet coverage, in many rural communities, the available speeds are so low that they only allow for a limited number of uses.” — AGCanada.com Network

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The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on Thursday issued a directive to that effect to all wireless service providers.

The alert system would allow emergency management officials to warn Canadians via mobile devices of “dangers to life and property.”

The alerts would go to mobile phones and other mobile devices connected to LTE (long-term evolution) networks, which are available to over 97 per cent of Canadians, the CRTC said.

Messages would be issued by federal, provincial and territorial governments and emergency management officials to warn the public of “imminent threats” such as fires, tornadoes, floods, water contamination and Amber alerts, the CRTC said.

Service providers are expected to work with their federal, provincial and territorial counterparts to develop an awareness campaign and a test schedule.

The CRTC’s interconnection steering committee network technology working group is expected to file a progress report by July 5 and a final report by Oct. 3, 2017, on a proposed awareness campaign and test schedule.

The exact launch date for the distribution of alerts would be announced once “all required functionalities are in place,” the commission said.

Requiring “pre-LTE” networks such as 2G and 3G to carry alerts would increase deployment costs and delay deployment of wireless alerts, the CRTC said, while exempting pre-LTE networks would have “minimal impact” on alert coverage.

Canadians getting alerts via mobile devices would hear the same alert tone as they now do via radio and TV, and receive a “unique vibration cadence” when an alert is issued.

The CRTC has required since 2014 that AM, FM and over-the-air TV stations and “subscription-based” service providers must broadcast emergency alert messages. — AGCanada.com Network

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The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) said it was establishing a new fund that providers will pay into that will invest $750 million over five years to build or upgrade broadband infrastructure with a focus on improving access in underserved areas.

Telecom companies with revenues of $10 million or more already contribute a percentage of their profits to subsidize basic phone services. Companies currently pay about 0.5 per cent of their telecom revenue.

Internet revenues, which are currently excluded, will now be included in the calculation of what companies have to pay for the new fund, potentially chipping away at an increasingly profitable area for providers.

With consumers moving to streaming services such as Netflix, offering internet access has become more lucrative for Canadian companies than offering television services.

Canadian telecom and cable companies made $9.81 billion in revenue from the supply of internet connections in 2015, outstripping the $8.92 billion companies made from cable, satellite and internet-enabled television subscriptions, the CRTC said in October.

The CRTC also set a download speed target of 50 megabits per second, well above its previous target of five megabits, and recommended providers offer an unlimited data option for fixed broadband. The regulator did not set a price cap.

In 2015, about 82 per cent of Canadians had access to internet at those speeds.

Providers that are not able to meet those targets will be able to apply for financing from the new fund, which will be run at arms’ length from the CRTC. Only those applying for funding will be obliged to meet the targets.

Applicants will be required to secure supplementary funding from the regional or federal government and put their own investment into the proposed project.

In its budget earlier this year, the Canadian government set aside up to $500 million over five years for improving broadband service in rural and remote communities.

— Reporting for Reuters by Leah Schnurr.

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“Even two years ago, it was way worse out there in terms of apps, in terms of what’s possible,” said Dean Harder, a Manitoba rep and board member with the National Farmers Union (NFU).

Technology has been edging into farming for years — not just in machinery such as combines or tractors, but in sensors for measuring yield and soil moisture, drones for scouting fields, mobile apps and more.

“It really spreads the gamut, between just basic simple apps for recording your input in a more succinct way, to stuff like figuring out your nutrient level,” said Harder, a grain and oilseed grower near Lowe Farm, Man., about 45 km northeast of Winkler.

“I think the shifts are happening. We’re just barely on the verge.”

But the extent to which farmers are able to connect with ag tech also depends on their connections.

People living in rural areas are more likely to experience slower download speeds and monthly caps, and are twice as likely as their urban counterparts to be dissatisfied with their service, according to the most recent survey from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), released March 18.

“This has been an issue for years,” Harder said.

Many farmers have turned to using data on their phones, which outpaces their Wi-Fi services — but using that data often comes at a higher cost, he said.

“There needs to be room for us to play. To be able to work with it, for it to be able to work with our farms.”

Since Harder’s farm is about an hour out of Winnipeg, his service is sometimes slow but OK overall.

“Top of the hill”

Next door in Saskatchewan, however, an interactive map of high-speed internet availability in Canada, released last week by the CRTC, shows many blank spots in rural areas.

“The coverage is there if you’re on top of the hill, but if you go into the field the coverage is gone,” said Norm Hall, president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) and a farmer at Wynyard, Sask., about 140 km northwest of Yorkton.

A lack of coverage — and even an inability to make cellphone calls — is more than an inconvenience for farmers, he said. “It’s a safety issue. That cellphone is your lifeline.”

Slow and sometimes unavailable internet isn’t the only reason some farmers are apprehensive about integrating technology.

“My father’s old-school, he doesn’t even use a computer at all,” Harder said. “And you also have to have workers on the farm who also are willing to integrate that.”

But some apps are catering to that, Harder said, noting one app he uses with quick-convert options for recording how much grain goes into a bin.

“What’s nice is you can do it in pounds, kilograms or bushels right on the spot,” he said. “It’s so nice when you’re dealing with a variety of generations.”

Technology can be used to improve crop management and unnecessary spraying, said Hall, who added he has seen producers use drones to scout fields rather than walk through and pick out individual leaves.

“The younger guys coming in are using a whole lot more,” he said.

Learning about new technology isn’t worthwhile for some producers, especially those nearing retirement, he added.

“You’re not going to spend the money and do the education that needs to happen to get to that point, and to be able to use this stuff,” he said.

“But if you’ve got your whole career ahead of you, you’re going to do everything you can to improve the management and operation of your farm if you can.”

Some producers are concerned about companies being able to record and use their information against them, Harder said.

“There’s kind of a fear amongst farmers of like ‘If you’re able to record all my information — what I do, what I put in the field, and then what my outcome is in terms of harvest — is that OK for the company to have?'”

To an extent, he said, data can show a farmer did a good job, but sometimes technology such as yield monitors hasn’t been synchronized properly and could be inaccurate.

The NFU sees an opportunity for technology to be used more on farms, he said.

“Farmers have been open to things like tractor technology,” he said. “But there’s so much potential, especially as we move forward.”

— Jade Markus writes for Commodity News Service Canada, a Winnipeg company specializing in grain and commodity market reporting. Follow her at @jade_markus on Twitter.

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