TORONTO – A new report says the focus of Canada’s telecommunications policy should shift from lowering consumer prices to creating better conditions for companies to invest in their networks at a time when traditional revenues are plateauing and capital costs are on the rise.
The paper from U.K.-based Global System for Mobile Communications calls for a “policy reset” that prioritizes affordable and predictable spectrum pricing, support for 5G and AI infrastructure such as data centres, and improved regulatory certainty.
It says mobile technologies and services generated 5.4 per cent of Canada’s GDP last year, or roughly $120 billion of economic value — a figure expected to rise to $170 billion by 2030, thanks to growing adoption of technologies such as 5G, Internet of Things and AI.
In recent years, the CRTC has introduced various measures aimed at boosting cellphone and internet competition in Canada, empowering consumers, and lowering costs.
But without a policy shift, the report warns that network quality and innovation could gradually weaken.
It points to challenges facing telecom operators in Canada such as fewer new subscribers because of slower immigration, flat revenues and the rising cost of spectrum licences.
The Global System for Mobile Communications is an organization representing mobile operators worldwide. This is its first Canadian policy report.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2026.
