ANALYSIS: Consumers risk losing out on 5G with Canada's high spectrum prices

By Roberto Balmer

CANADIANS OFTEN HEAR that their wireless prices are among the highest in the world. Now, however, a new study by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) sheds some light on the opposite side of the coin. Canadian telecom companies pay among the highest prices in the world to access the spectrum needed to transmit voice and data signals. According to the study, which uses data across 64 countries and 229 operators, such high spectrum prices are increasing retail prices for consumers and businesses, reducing network speed and causing delays in the roll out of coverage for the suburban...