Industry Canada Seeks Input on Proposal to Harmonize Licensing for Wireless CarriersOTTAWA, December 23, 2002 — Industry Canada announced the beginning of a public consultation on a proposed new licensing and fee structure for carriers of personal communications services, such as cellular phones and handheld Internet terminals.
Currently, carriers licensed in the 1995 comparative process and those who hold cellular radiotelephone licences gained in 1983 are subject to two different licensing regimes.
This proposal seeks to:
- harmonize the fee and licensing regimes by applying the same requirements to both types of carriers;
- simplify licensing requirements; and
- ensure enough flexibility to allow companies to deliver new, innovative services.
This consultation builds on the Government of Canada's commitment to smart regulation made in the Speech from the Throne. Reducing administrative and regulatory burdens will help sustain economic growth, create jobs and foster innovation. Smart regulation keeps Canadian companies competitive with the rest of the world.
This discussion paper was issued in the Canada Gazette on December 21, 2002. It can be read on the Web at: http://strategis.gc.ca/spectrum. Those wishing to submit comments on the proposal may do so no later than March 5, 2003, in electronic form by e-mailing licence.transition@ic.gc.ca, or by writing to:
Manager
Operational Policies
Radiocommunication and Broadcasting Regulatory Branch
Room 1596D
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0C8
A detailed backgrounder is attached.
For more information, please contact:
Earl Hoeg
Director, Spectrum Management
Industry Canada
(613) 990-7176
Backgrounder
Today, Canadian personal communications services (PCS) carriers are subject to different licensing requirements. Industry Canada's proposal seeks to simplify and harmonize the licensing and fee structure for these wireless carriers.
Those issued licenses in 1995, for instance, were granted multiple licenses with five-year terms. Fees, meantime, are applied on a per station basis with no charges levied for unused spectrum resources, or radiocommunication frequencies.
In comparison, carriers acquiring licenses in the 2000 spectrum auction received one overarching spectrum license with a 10-year term. These carriers are subject to just one fixed fee, which is applied whether all of their spectrum resources are being used or not.
Industry Canada is now proposing a new, harmonized licensing and fee regime with the following features:
- 10-year term licenses for all carriers;
- a single fee structure for all carriers; and
- measures that support the most efficient use of the radiocommunication frequency spectrum, by charging carriers for all frequency bands they hold, instead of only those they actually use.
The objectives of this proposal are to:
- harmonize the regulatory regime for carriers by subjecting them to the same fees and licensing requirements;
- reduce administrative and regulatory burdens by simplifying licensing requirements; and
- ensure that carriers have the flexibility to allow them to be innovative and to facilitate the delivery of wireless service to underserved areas.
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