Question Period Note: RELIABILITY OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS

What is the government doing to address the reliability of Canada’s telecom networks?

• The Government of Canada is working with telecommunications companies and partners to improve resiliency of Canada’s telecommunications networks and has taken decisive actions under the Telecommunications Reliability Agenda.

• Following Rogers’ network outage in 2022, the government directed major service providers to implement binding Memoranda of Understanding on Telecommunications Reliability.

• These memoranda require protocols on emergency roaming between providers, mutual assistance, as well as communication to the public and government authorities during a critical network failure.

• Working with partners, the government will use all the tools at its disposal to improve the reliability of telecommunications networks.

Following the major Rogers network outage in July 2022, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry announced the Telecommunications Reliability Agenda (TRA) in September 2022. The agenda has three pillars at its core: Robust Networks and Systems; Strengthening Accountability; and Coordinated Planning and Preparedness. The Government of Canada has a set of tools including government-industry committees, regulatory instruments, programs and legislation that advances the agenda.
To advance the TRA, Canada’s major telecommunication service providers have established a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Telecommunications Reliability. The MOU includes provisions on emergency roaming, mutual assistance, and emergency communications that have been operationalized. These provisions could potentially be activated during hurricane or wildfire scenarios to benefit Canadians, first responders, and the government. With all provisions operationalized, the MOU has been successfully used during incidents, and has improved the resilience of Canada’s telecommunications networks.
At the request of the Minister, Canadian Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (CSTAC) industry members developed recommendations to enhance network resiliency, which were released in March 2023. While some of the recommendations were targeted at government actions, others advise telecommunication service providers to assess the environmental threats to telecommunications infrastructure, and implement mitigation measures. Members are continuing to collaborate and advance these recommendations.
Further, to improve the resilience of Canada’s telecommunication networks against acts of theft, vandalism and arson, the government is collaborating with CSTAC to promote awareness around the serious impacts these acts can have on public health and safety.
The resiliency of the telecommunications networks is the responsibility of telecommunications service providers. These companies have emergency plans and procedures, and work to ensure the quickest recovery possible to their infrastructure. This includes substantial investments in system resiliency since failure can have a substantial impact on their business and Canadians. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) plays a key role to bring together the public and private sectors to exchange information and collaborate on these efforts.
To support the resilience of telecommunications networks, the government is also working with its international partners. Canada, in collaboration with the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan and Australia, established the Global Coalition on Telecommunications in September 2023 to coordinate multilateral initiatives that will ensure the security, resilience and innovation of telecommunication networks. Further, in February 2024, Canada joined its partners and allies in endorsing a set of shared principles for the research and development of 6G wireless communications systems, to support open, interoperable, reliable, resilient and secure connectivity.

• To advance the Telecommunications Reliability Agenda, in June 2024 the Government of Canada launched a consultation on a licensing framework for supplemental mobile coverage by satellite, which closed for comments on September 13, 2024, and will close for replies to comments on October 25, 2024.
• The emphasis of the consultation is on unserved and underserved areas.
• In addition, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is taking into consideration recommendations made by the Canadian Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee – which includes government and industry representatives –– to inform their work on telecommunications resilience.