The 2017 edition of The State of Competition in Canada’s Telecommunications Industry encourages Ottawa to reconsider its telecom priorities. As the Internet of Things (IoT) is revolutionizing the world, the coming of this “fourth industrial revolution” will certainly affect everything that’s connected to the internet, according to an MEI media release.
In Canada, the value of this IoT telecom market will reach $21 billion by 2018. As everything from healthcare to road traffic to telecommunications becomes interconnected over the next few years, data traffic will increase, requiring more network bandwidth and ushering in 5G technology.
According to Martin Masse, Senior Writer and Editor at MEI and co-author of the report that was released May 5, “Major network investments will, therefore, be required to accommodate this exponential growth of traffic. Yet only solid national and regional providers with their own infrastructure have the means to invest in the wireline and wireless networks that will be required to keep up with IoT developments. These providers invest more than $11 billion on average every year in network infrastructure, while resellers only invest about $30 million.”
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is being encouraged to alter laws to better use available spectrum to accommodate the IoT moving forward. Currently, according to the CRTC, spectrum is being undercapitalized by wireless players and internet service resellers, leading to waste and the misallocation of wireless resources. The concern is that if these policies stand in Ottawa, it may delay the deployment of the IoT.
For Canadians to benefit from continued competitive, quality telecom services, change is essential. Putting policies in place to prepare for the IoT relies on telecom providers that can deliver a certain level of technology. Paul Beaudry, Associate Researcher at MEI and co-author of the report told MEI, “In any case, only providers with their own wireline and wireless infrastructure will be able to manage the networks so as to ensure the safety and robustness required, for example, for the navigation systems of self-driving cars. Resellers will have no role to play in this market.”
May 8, 2017
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