Service Areas for Competitive Licensing: Tier 4 Service Areas - Minor Deviations

The Tier 4 service areas are based on 1996 Statistics Canada census divisions, and result in 172 areas covering all of Canada. Some other minor deviations are made around provincial borders to reflect certain wireline service areas and to avoid having a service area boundary cut through a population centre, so as to minimize potential interference problems.

Service areas are translated into areas based on Spectrum Grid cells¹ to facilitate their electronic storage and representation. Given that and individual grid cell is only 25 km² in area, spectrum grid cells offer sufficient granularity such that the variations between the borders of the grid-cell defined areas and the underlying Census Divisions and Subdivisions are minite. In the event that any interference issues must be resolved between two licensees, the boundary as defined by the Spectrum Grid cells will be the one used.

1 Spectrum Grid cells are six-sided figures with an area of 25 km² that fit together in an interlocking pattern over the geography of Canada.

The Tier 4 service area minor deviations from provincial borders are:

1. Sable Island of the coast of Nova Scotia is included in service area 4-011 Truro.
   
   

   

2. A portion of the Matapédia Census subdivision used to create the service area 4-024 Mont-Joli (Eastern Quebec), has been captured by service area 4-022 Campbellton (New Brunswick). Consequently, the towns of Runnymede, QC, Saint-Laurent, QC and Sellarsville, QC are included in service area 4-022 Cambellton whereas the towns of Mann Mountain, NB and Mann Mountain Settlement, NB are included in service area 4-024 Mont-Joli (Eastern Quebec).
   
   

   

3. The towns of Flin Flon, Manitoba and Channing, Manitoba are included in service area 4-117 Creighton/Flin Flon. However a rural portion of the Flin Flon Census subdivision has been captured by service area 4-130 Northern Saskatchewan.

   
   
   

   

4. A large rural portion of the Makaoo Census subdivision which lies in both Alberta and Saskatchewan is included in service area 4-127 Battleford (Saskatchewan). Onion Lake, Saskatchewan is included in service area 4-129 Lloydminster (Alberta). Also, a large portion of the Lloydminster Census subdivision which falls in both Saskatchewan and Alberta has been captured by service area 4-129 Lloydminster (Alberta). Consequently, the town of Lloydminster, Saskatchewan is included in service area 4-129 Lloydminster (Alberta).

   

Please note that the Tier 4 Service Area colours often display on screen much more precisely than any printed versions as most colour printers still have difficulty recreating fine variations in colour.