Adam Scott to the Canadian Telecom Summit

Adam Scott updates the Canadian Telecom Summit on ongoing work at the CRTC and telecommunications across Canada generally.

Adam Scott, Vice-Chairperson, Telecommunications
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)

Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge that we are on the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples. I thank them and pay respect to their Elders.

I’m happy to be back at the Telecom Summit. I’m always grateful for the opportunity to speak to the business leaders in Canada’s telecom sector—the ones actually building the networks, running the companies, and connecting the customers. 

As a regulator, sometimes we get accused of living in an Ottawa bubble, or even an ivory tower. Those of you who have been to the CRTC offices know that our ivory tower is in fact a modest 7-story office building from the 1970s utilitarian school of architecture. 

We are undergoing some renovations, but ultimately, nobody cares how the regulator looks. People care about how clearly the regulator can see. So, I thought I would start today by sharing what I see when I look out my window as Vice-Chair of Telecom. 

I see more Canadians with access to advanced networks, more Canadians subscribing to faster Internet services, and an intensification of mobile and high-speed Internet competition from providers entering new geographic markets. 

I see much better pricing being offered overall, but I still see some consumers not reaping the pricing benefits of stronger competition. 

I see satellites providing faster and more reliable Internet connectivity than they ever have before, with pricing that is trending dramatically downward. I see more Low Earth Orbit competitors poised to launch and give Canadians choice between multiple broadband services in areas where, for a long time, people considered it almost impossible to get even one.