Sharing Towers: Canada’s Potential for an Independent Tower Industry

communication tower against a blue sky backdrop

Canada’s Potential for an Independent Tower Industry

December 7, 2022

Telecom services are an integral part of advanced economies. They save time, energy, labour, and capital by condensing the time and space required for production, consumption, market activities, government operations, and educational and health services.

Canada lags behind its peers on some of the key telecommunications performance indicators. The country has the lowest rate of mobile broadband users among the G7 countries and consistently ranks among the lowest in mobile data usage. While the country ranks above the G7 average on 5G availability, Canadians are paying the highest prices for 5G mobile plans among G7 countries.

As automation and digital technologies become increasingly integrated into the economy, reliable and high-speed mobile connectivity will become even more critical. As such, the quality of telecom infrastructure and services is important to a country’s preparedness for the future.

In this research, we explore the association between tower sharing via independent tower ownership and a variety of telecom competitiveness key performance indicators and provide recommendations to improve tower sharing in Canada.

What Can the Federal Government Do?

Dispute resolution mechanism

Create an official, clear, and timely dispute resolution mechanism for tower siting issues, delays, and overcharging from municipalities and utility providers.

Rural and remote regions

Explore how the Canada Infrastructure Bank or other agencies could help facilitate tower development in rural and remote regions by de-risking capital through the tower sharing enabled by independent tower companies.

Shot clock

Implement a “shot clock” for timely approvals for new towers at the municipal level, similar to the Federal Communications Commission in the United States.

Separation distance

Require mobile network operators to justify a separation distance for new tower developments of less than 800 metres from existing towers to encourage tower sharing.

Time frames for spectrum use

Create reasonable time frames for mobile network operators to use spectrum once it’s auctioned off, which could encourage tower sharing due to the inherent specialization and speed of development that independent tower companies possess.

What Can the Municipal Government Do?

Tower siting protocols

Encourage independent towers and tower sharing in municipal tower siting protocols.

Market rates and zoning

Adopt market rates for public lands and rights of way, and adopt zoning to allow for tower sites on public lands and appropriate sites within the municipality.

Co-location

Encourage the co-location of new tower developments and communicate with residents about the environmental and economic benefits of tower sharing.

Sharing Towers

Increased tower sharing can allow for more tower development in rural and remote regions, eliminate redundancies in infrastructure development, reduce the environmental impact of passive infrastructure, and lead to improved connectivity.