Improving Tower Sharing in Canada: The Potential Role of a Healthy Independent Tower Industry
The Conference Board of Canada, 23 pages,
December 1, 2022
Impact Paper
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This impact paper delves into Canada’s telecommunications industry to understand the potential role that a healthy independent tower industry can play in alleviating tower sharing challenges in Canada.
Document Highlights
- Canada has the lowest number of mobile broadband subscriptions per capita among the G7 countries and consistently ranks as one of the lowest in mobile data usage per subscription.
- Increased tower sharing can provide several additional benefits, such as allowing for more tower development in rural and remote regions, eliminating redundancies in infrastructure development, and reducing the environmental impact of passive infrastructure.
- A competitive independent tower industry in Canada could expand mobile coverage, lower service costs, reduce the environmental impact of telecom infrastructure, and increase competition in Canada’s telecom industry.
- The size of the independent tower industry may have implications for 5G deployment, because the cost of deploying this network and the resulting retail prices are functions of infrastructure cost. As of 2021, Canada ranks above the G7 average in 5G deployment, but 5G availability doesn’t necessarily translate into economic and societal gains.
Table of Contents
Key Findings
Introduction
The Canadian Context
Independent Towers and Telecom Key Performance Indicators
Conclusion
Appendix A—Methodology
Appendix B—Bibliography
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