Good morning! Welcome back to Queen Street Analytics' weekly roundup of regulatory developments, legislative discussions, political announcements and other government-related news concerning cellphone and wireless carriers, ISPs, satellite communications, broadband access, 5G, remote communities, and CRTC spectrum licences.

Every Monday, we break down the most important updates in this space in under five minutes.

Join our thousands of subscribers. Sign up here!

Start Date: 2025-03-16
End Date: 2025-03-22

Top Headlines

Main Stories

CRTC Advocates for Indigenous Connectivity

Claire Anderson, the CRTC Commissioner, addressed the Spectrum Summit 2025, emphasizing the importance of spectrum access for Indigenous-led companies. Highlighting the CRTC's recent regulatory measures, she mentioned initiatives aimed at easing access to infrastructure, thereby facilitating the deployment of new networks. Indigenous communities are expected to benefit from the new Indigenous priority window spectrum policy framework by ISED. The CRTC is also evaluating regulations to potentially allow third parties to attach wireless equipment to existing infrastructure, a decision expected soon.

Sources: Announcements: www.canada.ca

ISED's New Spectrum Fee Framework

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada announced a new fee framework for spectrum licenses below 10 GHz. The fees, effective April 2026, are tiered based on MHz-Pop, with three fee rates applied depending on the licensee's aggregate spectrum holdings. This decision follows a consultation process and repeals previous radio authorization fees, affecting licenses such as AWS-4 and advanced wireless services.

Sources: Gazette, Part I: www.gazette.gc.ca, Gazette, Part I: www.gazette.gc.ca