The COVID-19 pandemic has seen more Canadians working from home, engaging in distance learning, and buying essential goods and accessing social services online. This shift has made access to high-quality and affordable wireless services absolutely essential. That is why the Government of Canada is taking action to support competition, rural connectivity and the effective deployment of Wi-Fi and 5G technologies.

“More than ever before, Canadians are relying on access to high-quality wireless services. That’s why we are making the right spectrum available to increase connectivity and the speed of wireless services so that Canadians can connect to work, school, services and their loved ones. We will continue to improve rural Internet access and support the timely deployment of 5G connectivity while increasing the level of competition to lower prices for Canadians.”
- The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

• The launch of the consultation marks the beginning of a 60-day comment period, which will be followed by a 30-day reply period.

• The proposal put forth for consultation would align Canada with the United States’ recent decision on the 6 GHz band, allowing for a common North American Wi-Fi ecosystem.

• The government is committed to making spectrum available at the right time to support the deployment of 5G. The 3500 MHz spectrum auction is scheduled to start on June 15, 2021.

Associated links

• What Is Spectrum?
• Spectrum Outlook 2018–2022

John Power
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
john.power@canada.ca

Media Relations
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
ic.mediarelations-mediasrelations.ic@canada.ca

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