March 7, 2013- Christian Paradis, minister of industry, announced new measures the federal government is taking to increase competition in the wireless sector to provide Canadians “with more choices and access to the latest technology at better prices”.

“Canadian families work hard for their money, and our government wants them to keep more of it,” said Paradis. “Through better use of existing cellphone towers and by taking action to promote at least four wireless providers in every region of the country, our government is making it possible for all Canadians to have access to world-class wireless service they can afford, no matter where they live.”

Through increased competition in every region, the government aims to provide more choices at better prices to consumers. It says it will achieve this by:

• Reviewing the policy on spectrum licence transfer requests with the objective of promoting a competitive environment.
• Expanding and extending the requirement for companies to provide roaming to competitors, thereby increasing competition.
• Strengthening cell tower sharing rules to further reduce proliferation and deliver better services
• Ensuring at least four providers in every region can acquire spectrum in the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction, to start November 19, 2013, as part of the Licensing Framework for this spectrum.

The government also released the Commercial Mobile Spectrum Outlook study, which outlines its plan to make spectrum available to meet the consumer demand of a growing digital economy.