Telecommunications: Connecting Canadians

Gross value added as a percentage of gross domestic product at basic prices, by region, 2019^{Share of gross domestic product table, note 1}

Region	Direct Value Added	Indirect Value Added	Induced Value Added	Total Value Added in Open Model	Total Value Added in Closed Model
Canada	0.7	0.3	0.2	1.1	1.2
Atlantic Region	0.8	0.2	0.1	1.1	1.2
Quebec	0.6	0.3	0.1	0.9	1.1
Ontario	0.8	0.4	0.2	1.2	1.4
Prairies, British Columbia and Territories	0.8	0.3	0.2	1.0	1.2
Share of gross domestic product table, note 1 Due to rounding, the values in this table may not sum to the totals shown. Return to Share of gross domestic product table, note 1 referrer

What is it?

Gross value added

Gross value added, is defined as the value of output less the value of intermediate consumption. Gross value added is estimated at basic prices, and this is sometimes referred to as gross domestic product at basic prices. Basic prices are market prices, minus taxes, less subsidies on products.

Direct Impact

The direct impacts are the output, gross domestic product and jobs of the wireless telecommunications carriers industry.

Indirect Impact

The indirect impacts cover upstream economic activities associated with supplying intermediate inputs (the current expenditures on goods and services used up in the production process) to the wireless telecommunications carriers industry.

Induced impact

The induced impact measures the changes in the production of goods and services in response to consumer expenditures induced by households' incomes (i.e., wages) generated by the production of the direct and indirect requirements.

Total impact in open model

The total impact in the open model is equal to the sum of the direct and indirect impacts.

Total impact in closed model

Total impact in closed model is equal to the sum of the direct, indirect and induced impacts.

Mobile telecommunication industry

The wireless telecommunications carriers industry is defined as the production of mobile telecommunications services (excluding mobile television) produced by establishments in North American Industry Classification System industry 51731, wired and wireless telecommunications carriers (except satellite).

Source:

• Table 36-10-0669-01 Wireless telecommunications carriers industry economic impact
• Table 36-10-0487-01 Gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices, by sector and industry, provincial and territorial

Output, in billions of dollars, by region, 2020^{Output table, note 1}

Region	Direct Output	Indirect Output	Induced Output	Total Output, Open Model	Total Output, Closed Model
Canada	26.6	12.3	6.3	39.0	45.2
Atlantic Region	1.6	0.5	0.3	2.1	2.3
Quebec	4.8	2.4	1.1	7.3	8.4
Ontario	10.9	6.2	2.8	17.0	19.8
Prairies, British Columbia and Territories	9.3	3.3	2.1	12.6	14.7
Output table, note 1 Due to rounding, the values in this table may not sum to the totals shown. Return to Output table, note 1 referrer

What is it?

Output

Output consists of those goods and services that are produced within an establishment that become available for use outside that establishment, plus any goods and services produced for own final use.

Direct Impact

The direct impacts are the output, gross domestic product and jobs of the wireless telecommunications carriers industry.

Indirect Impact

The indirect impacts cover upstream economic activities associated with supplying intermediate inputs (the current expenditures on goods and services used up in the production process) to the wireless telecommunications carriers industry.

Induced impact

The induced impact measures the changes in the production of goods and services in response to consumer expenditures induced by households' incomes (i.e., wages) generated by the production of the direct and indirect requirements.

Total impact in open model

The total impact in the open model is equal to the sum of the direct and indirect impacts.

Total impact in closed model

Total impact in closed model is equal to the sum of the direct, indirect and induced impacts.

Mobile telecommunication industry

The wireless telecommunications carriers industry is defined as the production of mobile telecommunications services (excluding mobile television) produced by establishments in North American Industry Classification System industry 51731, wired and wireless telecommunications carriers (except satellite).

Source:

Table 36-10-0669-01 Wireless telecommunications carriers industry economic impact

Gross Value Added, billions of dollars, by region, 2020^{Gross Value Added table, note 1}

Region	Direct Value Added	Indirect Value Added	Induced Value Added	Total Value Added, Open Model	Total Value Added, Closed Model
Canada	15.3	6.6	3.6	21.9	25.5
Atlantic Region	1.0	0.3	0.2	1.3	1.4
Quebec	2.6	1.2	0.6	3.8	4.5
Ontario	6.0	3.2	1.6	9.3	10.9
Prairies, British Columbia and Territories	5.6	1.9	1.2	7.5	8.8
Gross Value Added table, note Due to rounding, the values in this table may not sum to the totals shown. Return to Gross Value Added table, note 1 referrer

What is it?

Gross value added

Gross value added, is defined as the value of output less the value of intermediate consumption. Gross value added is estimated at basic prices, and this is sometimes referred to as gross domestic product at basic prices. Basic prices are market prices, minus taxes, less subsidies on products.

Direct Impact

The direct impacts are the output, gross domestic product and jobs of the wireless telecommunications carriers industry.

Indirect Impact

The indirect impacts cover upstream economic activities associated with supplying intermediate inputs (the current expenditures on goods and services used up in the production process) to the wireless telecommunications carriers industry.

Induced impact

The induced impact measures the changes in the production of goods and services in response to consumer expenditures induced by households' incomes (i.e., wages) generated by the production of the direct and indirect requirements.

Total impact in open model

The total impact in the open model is equal to the sum of the direct and indirect impacts.

Total impact in closed model

Total impact in closed model is equal to the sum of the direct, indirect and induced impacts.

Mobile telecommunication industry

The wireless telecommunications carriers industry is defined as the production of mobile telecommunications services (excluding mobile television) produced by establishments in North American Industry Classification System industry 51731, wired and wireless telecommunications carriers (except satellite).

Source:

Table 36-10-0669-01 Wireless telecommunications carriers industry economic impact

Number of jobs, in thousands, by region, 2020^{Jobs table, note 1}

Region	Direct Jobs	Indirect Jobs	Induced Jobs	Total Jobs, Open Model	Total Jobs, Closed Model
Canada	55.2	57.3	33.2	112.5	145.7
Atlantic Region	3.0	2.3	1.5	5.3	6.9
Quebec	10.9	12.9	6.6	23.8	30.4
Ontario	22.3	26.1	14.7	48.4	63.1
Prairies, British Columbia and Territories	19.0	16.0	10.3	35.0	45.3
Tablenote 1 Due to rounding, the values in this table may not sum to the totals shown. Return to Jobs table, note 1 referrer

What is it?

Jobs

The total number of jobs includes full-time, part-time, temporary jobs and self-employed jobs. It does not take into account the number of hours worked per employee.

Direct Impact

The direct impacts are the output, gross domestic product and jobs of the wireless telecommunications carriers industry.

Indirect Impact

The indirect impacts cover upstream economic activities associated with supplying intermediate inputs (the current expenditures on goods and services used up in the production process) to the wireless telecommunications carriers industry.

Induced impact

The induced impact measures the changes in the production of goods and services in response to consumer expenditures induced by households' incomes (i.e., wages) generated by the production of the direct and indirect requirements.

Total impact in open model

The total impact in the open model is equal to the sum of the direct and indirect impacts.

Total impact in closed model

Total impact in closed model is equal to the sum of the direct, indirect and induced impacts.

Mobile telecommunication industry

The wireless telecommunications carriers industry is defined as the production of mobile telecommunications services (excluding mobile television) produced by establishments in North American Industry Classification System industry 51731, wired and wireless telecommunications carriers (except satellite).

Source:

Table 36-10-0669-01 Wireless telecommunications carriers industry economic impact

Percentage of Canadians who own a smartphone, based on selected socio-economic characteristics, 2018-2020

Group	Year
	2018	2020
	Percentage of Canadians
All individuals	80.3	84.4
Age groups
15 to 24	96.5	96.3
25 to 44	95.3	96.5
45 to 64	81.6	86.7
65 and over	42.8	54.1
Gender
Male	81.1	85.5
Female	79.5	83.2
Aboriginal identity
Aboriginal person	78.4	79.6
Non-Aboriginal person	80.5	84.1
Employment status
Employed	90.8	93.5
Unemployed	62.9	71.0

What is it?

Smartphone

A smartphone is a mobile phone that performs many of the functions of a computer, typically having a touchscreen interface, internet access, and an operating system capable of running downloaded applications. Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy are examples of smartphones.

Gender

Gender refers to current gender which may be different from sex assigned at birth and may be different from what is indicated on legal documents. For data quality and confidentiality reasons, and because of the small population being measured, the dissemination of data according to "Non binary" gender is not possible for this statistical program. So, this release uses a gender variable with only two categories. This variable is derived by looking at a large number of demographic characteristics from the respondent, allowing us to disseminate data on gender that are reliable and unbiased.

Aboriginal identity

Aboriginal people are usually those with ancestors who resided in North America prior to European contact and who identify with one of the three Aboriginal groups listed: First Nations (North American Indian), Métis and Inuk.

Employment status

Respondents were considered employed if they worked at a job or business in the week prior to completing the survey.

Source:

Canadian Internet Use Survey (CIUS)

Smartphone habits of Canadians, by age group, 2018-2020

Smartphone habit	Age groups
	All individuals		15 to 24 years	25 to 44 years	45 to 64 years	65 years and over
	Year
	2018	2020	2020
	Percentage of Canadians
Check their smartphone at least every 30 minutes	36.5	43.4	70.6	59.8	35.0	12.3
Check their smartphone as the last thing they do before going to sleep	45.0	51.2	75.4	68.6	44.4	18.4
Use their smartphone while watching television	43.0	47.0	60.3	63.8	42.2	19.1
Use their smartphone while eating dinner with others	16.6	13.0	20.9	20.6	8.5	3.0
Check their smartphone as the first thing they do after waking up	..	53.2	75.6	68.7	47.6	22.4
.. not available for a specific reference period

What is it?

Smartphone

A smartphone is a mobile phone that performs many of the functions of a computer, typically having a touchscreen interface, internet access, and an operating system capable of running downloaded applications. Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy are examples of smartphones.

Source:

Table 22-10-0143-01 Smartphone personal use and selected smartphone habits by gender and age group

Percentage of households with cellphone and no landline, by age group, 2010 and 2019

Age group	2010	2019
All	10.0	45.1
Age less than 30	39.5	84.8
Age 30 to 39	16.4	74.2
Age 40 to 54	6.7	49.1
Age 55 to 64	3.3	34.1
Age 65 and over	0.9	15.2

What is it?

Percentage of households that reported they had a cellphone and no landline. Household age is determined by the respondent who reported for the Survey of Household Spending.

Source:

Survey of Household Spending, 2019

What is it?

Employees

Persons receiving pay for services rendered in Canada or for an employer paid absence, and for whom the employer is require to complete a Canada Revenue Agency T4 slip. These persons may work on a full-time, part-time, casual or temporary basis.
Employee count in this graph is the sum of employees paid by the hour, salaried employees and other employees.

Wired and wireless telecommunications carriers (except satellite) (NAICS 5173)

This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing telecommunications and video entertainment services to their customer premises and/or to mobile telecommunication devices over network facilities operated by them. These establishments can own a network, lease a network or combine leased and owned facilities and their networks can integrate various technologies.

Source:

• Survey of Employees Payroll and Hours
• Table 14-10-0202-01 Employment by Industry, Annual

What is it?

Average weekly earnings

The gross taxable payroll of an employee, including pay for overtime.

Wired and wireless telecommunications carriers (except satellite) (NAICS 5173)

This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing telecommunications and video entertainment services to their customer premises and/or to mobile telecommunication devices over network facilities operated by them. These establishments can own a network, lease a network or combine leased and owned facilities and their networks can integrate various technologies.

Source:

• Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH)
• Table 14-10-0204-01 Average Weekly Earnings by Industry, annual

What is it?

Labour productivity calculation

Labour productivity, or real output per hour, is calculated by dividing the real output of an industry, sector or economy by the number of hours worked used in its production process. The real output is measured in terms of real value added (in chained 2012 dollars).
By assessing the levels and growth rates of this ratio (output per hour worked) over time, data users can gain a general indication of the efficiency and quality of human capital in the production process for a given economic context. In particular, it can provide an indication of the impact of innovations on the production of an industry, sector or economy.

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures

In 2020 and 2021, productivity data were particularly volatile, reflecting the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures on economic activity and the labour market.

Source:

Table 36-10-0480-011 Labour productivity and related measures by business sector industry and by non-commercial activity consistent with the industry accounts

Labour productivity growth in the telecommunications industry and all industries, 2011-2021

Year	Growth rate (%)
	All industries	Telecommunications
2011 to 2012	0.4	0.9
2012 to 2013	1.8	6.3
2013 to 2014	3.0	8.0
2014 to 2015	0.0	3.7
2015 to 2016	0.3	1.4
2016 to 2017	1.7	-2.3
2017 to 2018	0.5	0.3
2018 to 2019	0.7	6.2
2019 to 2020	7.4	7.5
2020 to 2021	-5.4	-11.5
2011 to 2021	10.4	20.7

What is it?

Labour productivity calculation

Labour productivity, or real output per hour, is calculated by dividing the real output of an industry, sector or economy by the number of hours worked used in its production process. The real output is measured in terms of real value added (in chained 2012 dollars).
By assessing the levels and growth rates of this ratio (output per hour worked) over time, data users can gain a general indication of the efficiency and quality of human capital in the production process for a given economic context. In particular, it can provide an indication of the impact of innovations on the production of an industry, sector or economy.

Growth rates interpretation

The average annual productivity growth rates presented in the introductory paragraph of this indicator (e.g., "+1.9% per year on average") refer to the compound annual growth rates over the indicated period. All other growth rates presented for this indicator represent the percentage change in the levels of productivity between the two indicated years.

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures

In 2020 and 2021, productivity data were particularly volatile, reflecting the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures on economic activity and the labour market.

Source:

Table 36-10-0480-01 Labour productivity and related measures by business sector industry and by non-commercial activity consistent with the industry accounts

What is it?

The cellular services index measures the change in prices experienced by consumers for cellular services. These services include local and long distance voice calls, text messaging and internet access on a cellular device. The index is part of the telephone services sub-group of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Source:

Table 18-10-0004-01 Consumer Price Index, Monthly, Not Seasonally Adjusted

What is it?

The cellular services index measures the change in prices experienced by consumers for cellular services. These services include local and long distance voice calls, text messaging and internet access on a cellular device. The index is part of the telephone services sub-group of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

To display both indexes with the same reference period in the chart, the all-items CPI line uses a reference period of 2017=100, which differs from other publications.

Due to rounding, the values in the chart may not match the values in other publications.

Source:

Table 18-10-0005-01 Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted

Monthly spending on cell phone services as a percent of total expenditures after tax, by income quintile, 2019

	All quintiles	Lowest quintile	Second quintile	Third quintile	Fourth quintile	Highest quintile
Monthly expenditure after tax	6,379.75	3,069.33	4,288.92	5,822.17	7,674.33	11,024.08
Monthly cell phone and pager services	111.92	56.08	79.92	109.67	140.50	173.42
Percentage of expenditure on cell service	1.8%	1.8%	1.9%	1.9%	1.8%	1.6%

What is it?

The cellular services index measures the change in prices experienced by consumers for cellular services. These services include local and long distance voice calls, text messaging and internet access on a cellular device. The index is part of the telephone services sub-group of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Expenditures refers to the values of the amounts that buyers pay, or agree to pay, to sellers in exchange for goods or services that sellers provide to them or to other institutional units designated by the buyers. The buyer incurring the liability to pay need not be the same unit that takes possession of the good or service. It is common for government units or non-profit institutions serving households to pay for goods or services that the sellers provide to households.

Household refers to a person or group of persons who occupy the same dwelling and do not have a usual place of residence elsewhere in Canada or abroad. The dwelling may be either a collective dwelling or a private dwelling. The household may consist of a family group such as a census family, of two or more families sharing a dwelling, of a group of unrelated persons or of a person living alone. Household members who are temporarily absent on reference day are considered part of their usual household.

Income used in the survey of household spending is from the previous year. For example, reference year 2019 uses revenues from 2018.

Source:

Table: 11-10-0223-01 Household spending by household income quintile, Canada, regions and provinces

Other information:

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada - More affordable telecom services
This webpage provides information that helps Canadian consumers make informed decisions on mobile and wireless services. It includes service plans price comparisons (talk, text and data) for different mobile service providers for each province.

This map shows LTE coverage in Canada. The shaded areas show where LTE networks are in operation, and the non-shaded areas show where there are no LTE networks currently in operation. Visit an interactive version at 2014-2019 Expansion of LTE coverage on the CRTC website.

For the above map, the data is available for export through the Cartovista Data panel using the Export button; the Data panel is available on the bottom left-hand side of the map. Detailed instructions on how to use Cartovista maps are available on the Cartovista website.

Percentage of Canadians with access to LTE networks, by year

Year	Percentage of Canadians	Percentage of Canadians with access to 5G
2016	98.5	-
2017	99.0	-
2018	99.3	-
2019	99.5	-
2020	99.5	53.3
2021	99.4	87.8

What is it?

Percentage of Canadians with access to Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 5G networks.

Source:

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Communications Monitoring Report

What is it?

Monthly data usage is the monthly average of data traffic to and from mobile devices. This indicator represents changes in preferences of consumers and data traffic on mobile infrastructure.

Source:

• Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Communications Monitoring Report
• OECD Going Digital Toolkit

Download and upload speeds, by region

Region	2022 Q2		2022 Q3		2022 Q4
	Average Download Speed (Mbps)	Average Upload Speed (Mbps)	Average Download Speed (Mbps)	Average Upload Speed (Mbps)	Average Download Speed (Mbps)	Average Upload Speed (Mbps)
Canada	57.0	10.5	54.6	9.8	60.2	11.1
Atlantic provinces	54.1	8.8	49.8	7.9	59.0	9.1
Quebec	53.7	10.5	51.8	9.9	56.2	11.1
Ontario	57.6	10.2	55.2	9.7	62.1	11.2
Manitoba	63.4	10.0	59.4	9.3	75.2	11.0
Saskatchewan	52.8	9.0	47.8	8.4	54.6	9.6
Alberta	62.2	11.7	60.8	11.1	63.2	12.1
British Columbia	58.9	10.9	56.1	10.2	60.3	11.4
North	34.9	6.5	31.7	6.2	36.7	7.7
Source: Opensignal ©2023 Opensignal Limited – All rights reserved

What is it?

Mbps

Megabits per second

Download speed (Mbps)

Download speed is a measure of how fast information comes to your connected device through the mobile network. Measured in Mbps, the indicator represents the average download speed experienced by users across all operators' 3G, 4G and 5G networks during the reference time period. Higher speeds are more desirable, as it allows users to retrieve or download content, such as web pages, videos, files or music more quickly.

Upload speed (Mbps)

Upload speed is a measure of how fast information goes from your connected device through the mobile network. Measured in Mbps, the indicator represents the average upload speed experienced by users across all operators' 3G, 4G and 5G networks during the reference time period. Higher speeds can allow for pictures, music, and documents to be uploaded and shared more quickly.

Source:

Opensignal

Total in-house R&D expenditures within Canada

Industry	2018	2019	2020
	Millions of dollars
Telecommunications (NAICS 517)	845	840	837
Wired and wireless telecommunications carriers (except satellite) (NAICS 5173)	801	801	798
Satellite telecommunications and Other telecommunications (NAICS 5174 & 5179)	44	39	39

What is it?

R&D: R&D comprise creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge - including knowledge of humankind, culture and society - and to devise new applications of available knowledge. In-house R&D expenditures include current costs (comprised of wages and salaries of permanent, temporary and casual employees; services to support R&D; R&D materials; and all other current costs) and capital costs (comprised of software; land; buildings and structures; and equipment, machinery and all other capital costs).

Industry Definitions

NAICS 517 - Telecommunications

This subsector comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing telecommunications and/or video entertainment services over their own networks, or over networks operated by others. The establishments of this subsector are grouped into industries on the basis of the nature of services provided (fixed or mobile), the type of network used to deliver those services (wireline or wireless), and the business model they employ (facilities-based or resale).

NAICS 5173 - Wired and wireless telecommunications carriers (except satellite)

This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing telecommunications and video entertainment services to their customer premises and/or to mobile telecommunication devices over network facilities operated by them. These establishments can own a network, lease a network or combine leased and owned facilities and their networks can integrate various technologies.

NAICS 5174 - Satellite telecommunications

This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing mobile and fixed telecommunications services over satellite network facilities operated by them or by distributing the services of other satellite network operators. These establishments typically serve a business clientele (telecommunication carriers, private business networks, broadcasters) but can also provide services to individual customers that are beyond the reach of terrestrial networks (e.g., high speed Internet).

NAICS 5179 - Other telecommunications

This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing telecommunications and/or video entertainment services over network facilities operated by others and establishments primarily engaged in operating telecommunications networks or providing telecommunication services not elsewhere classified.

Source:

Annual Survey of Research and Development in Canadian Industry (RDCI)

Annual capital expenditures

Year	Total Capital Expenditure (Billions)	Capital Expenditure per Capita
2013	$5.6	$159.39
2014	$8.5	$238.10
2015	$9.4	$261.03
2016	$9.5	$262.23
2017	$10.7	$292.02
2018	$10.7	$286.79
2019	$10.6	$280.05
2020	$10.0	$255.46

What is it?

Capital expenditure includes new capital construction expenditures, and well as capital machinery expenditures. Capital construction for the telecom sector includes assets such as telecommunication cables, towers, poles etc. Capital machinery usually includes assets like computers and telephone and data communications equipment.

Wired and wireless telecommunications carriers (except satellite) (NAICS 5173)

This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing telecommunications and video entertainment services to their customer premises and/or to mobile telecommunication devices over network facilities operated by them. These establishments can own a network, lease a network or combine leased and owned facilities and their networks can integrate various technologies.

Source:

• Annual Capital Expenditures Survey: Actual, Preliminary Estimate and Intentions (CAPEX)
• Quarterly Demographic Estimates

Results of major spectrum auctions, 2008 to 2021

Licence Type	Total Proceeds ($)	Number of Licences	$/MHz-pop	$/capita
Advanced Wireless Services AWS 1 (2008)Spectrum table footnote 1
Open	2,663,694,000	177	1.78
Set-Aside	1,513,809,000	87	1.26
All	4,177,503,000	264	1.55	125.18
700 MHz (2014)
AllSpectrum table footnote 2	5,270,636,002	97	2.32	148.22
Advanced Wireless Services AWS 3 (2015)
Open	2,010,989,763	28	3.00
Set-Aside	98,157,658	11	0.11
All	2,109,147,421	39	1.32	58.88
2500 MHz (2015)
AllSpectrum table footnote 2	755,371,001	302	0.29	21.09
600 MHz(2019)
Open	2,656,244,000	64	1.89
Set-Aside	814,084,000	40	0.81
All	3,470,328,000	104	1.44	91.80
3500 MHz (2021)
Open	7,300,464,989	749	3.25
Set-AsideSpectrum table footnote 3	1,530,564,809	746	0.92
All	8,831,029,798	1495	2.26	230.90
Footnote 1 Only licences for AWS 1 band were included Return to footnote 1 referrer Footnote 2 No spectrum was set aside; however, spectrum caps were used Return to the first footnote 2 referrer Footnote 3 Includes all spectrum won by set-aside bidders in service areas where the set-aside spectrum was available and where they were eligible to bid on set-aside. Return to footnote 3 referrer

What is it?

Spectrum and Auctions

Spectrum refers to the radio frequencies used by the telecommunications industry and other sectors for communication and broadcasting over the airways. The radio frequency spectrum is a unique, finite resource that is an integral component of Canada's telecommunications infrastructure– it is what makes wireless communications possible. The Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) is responsible for spectrum management in Canada.
Spectrum provides access to a broad range of wireless services that benefit all Canadians, including private, commercial, consumer, defence, national security, scientific and public safety services. Mobile wireless services are used by Canadians on a day-to-day basis. These services include cellular phone services delivered over networks using third- and fourth-generation technologies (also known as 3G and 4G). The introduction of new mobile wireless technologies such as 5th generation mobile (5G) is driven by demand for ever-increasing amounts of data, which translates into a greater demand for spectrum.
Licences for mobile wireless services are generally assigned using "spectrum licences" which allow the use of specified frequencies within a defined geographic area. Starting in 1999, auctions have been used as the main tool for the assignment of spectrum licences in Canada when the demand for these licences was expected to exceed the supply.

Mechanisms of Auction Marketplace

The government has a variety of policy measures it may use in spectrum auctions. These may include spectrum "set-asides", where some frequency blocks of spectrum are reserved for auction participants that meet specific eligibility (such as companies that are not established national service providers) and the remainder are "open" for all auction participants. They may also include "spectrum caps" that limit the amount of spectrum any one entity may hold.

MHz-Pop (or MHz * Population)

The amount of spectrum applied to a population within a geographic service area covered by a spectrum license. Mathematically, this is simply the multiplication of the population and the amount of spectrum (in MHz) for each licence.

$/MHz-Pop

A method for standardizing the price of spectrum. The numerator is the total price paid for a licence or group of licences (in dollars) and the denominator is the amount of spectrum multiplied by the population in the geographic area covered by the licence or group of licences (MHz-Pop).

Auction results

All spectrum auctions are unique. The prices paid for spectrum in any particular auction are influenced by a number of factors, including but not limited to: demand and supply of spectrum in the particular band; the characteristics of the spectrum (i.e., how much area it can cover); the availability of equipment that can use the spectrum to provide a specific wireless service; the format used in the auction; and the economic environment at the time. As a result, auction results do not necessarily reflect the relative value of different bands of spectrum.

$/Capita

A measure for expressing the price of spectrum as it compares to the population of Canada. The numerator is the price paid for a licence or group of licences (in dollars) and the denominator is the total population for Canada, as measured in the last quarter of the reference period.

Sources:

• Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) - Spectrum management and telecommunications
• Quarterly Demographic Estimates

The prime rate is the interest rate a financial institution uses as a base to determine interest rates for loan products. Each financial institution sets its own prime rate, and is influenced by the target for the overnight rate set by the Bank of Canada.

The overnight rate is the interest rate at which major financial institutions borrow and lend one-day (or "overnight") funds among themselves; the Bank of Canada sets a target level for that rate. This target for the overnight rate is often referred to as the Bank of Canada's policy interest rate. Changes in the target for the overnight rate influence other interest rates, such as those for consumer loans and mortgages. They can also affect the exchange rate of the Canadian dollar.

Source:

Table 10-10-0145-01 Financial market statistics, as at Wednesday, Bank of Canada

The foreign exchange market determines how much our dollar is worth. Exchange rates are expressed as 1 unit of the foreign currency converted into Canadian dollars.

Source

Table 33-10-0163-01 Monthly average foreign exchange rates in Canadian dollars, Bank of Canada