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Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2026-9

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Gatineau, 15 January 2026

Public record: 1011-NOC2026-0009

Call for comments – Mobile reporting standard

Deadline for submission of interventions: 16 March 2026

Deadline for submission of replies: 15 April 2026

[Submit an intervention or view related documents]

Summary

Mobile services are critically important to Canadians. The Commission and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) each play a role in helping ensure that Canadians have access to high-quality mobile services. As part of its regulatory role, the Commission collects data about telecommunications service providers’ networks, including information on where service is available.

Data collected by the Commission is shared with ISED. This data supplements the information that ISED uses to manage Canada’s spectrum and to set telecommunications policy related to mobile services. ISED also uses data collected by the Commission to publish and maintain national coverage maps, including its National Broadband Map.

According to data collected by the Commission, while 99.5% of the Canadian population has access to mobile services, public opinion research shows that many Canadians still find that there are significant gaps in coverage.

An important step in closing these gaps is to improve the accuracy of information on where they are located. The Commission is therefore launching this public proceeding to develop a standardized, evidence-based methodology for mobile coverage reporting that will help identify coverage areas more accurately and address gaps in mobile coverage. The new methodology will also support other policy and funding decisions related to mobile services, including at ISED and at the Commission.

Introduction

Why we are launching this proceeding

  1. The Commission is launching this proceeding in response to concerns about mobile servicesFootnote 1 and to develop a new mobile reporting standard that will help identify coverage areas more accurately and better address gaps in coverage. The new mobile reporting standard would also allow for the Commission to obtain higher quality data from service providers that more accurately represent actual mobile coverage, while also helping Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) create and maintain more accurate coverage maps. The intent of this proceeding is not to add regulatory burden, but rather to develop standards to make an existing survey more efficient and effective.

Current framework

  1. Under paragraph 37(1)(b) of the Telecommunications Act (the Act), the Commission has broad authority to collect information from the industry for policy and regulatory purposes. The Commission also conducts various industry surveys through its data collection system. As part of these efforts, the Commission conducts an Annual Facilities Survey (the Survey) to collect mobile network coverage data from telecommunications service providers (TSPs). This information is shared with ISED, which processes it and publishes it in its National Broadband Map.Footnote 2 The Commission has a memorandum of understanding that outlines how staff collaborate with ISED on validating and mapping the data collected.
  2. The Survey is used to produce maps demonstrating broadband and mobile network coverage (e.g., ISED’s National Broadband Map and the Commission’s Internet availability and mobile coverage maps). These maps support connectivity programs and, among other things, are an important tool for informing Canadians, tracking progress, and designing programs to address coverage gaps.
  3. Mobile coverage data collected through the Survey is also used to support the Commission’s public alerting webpage. The Commission recently issued Telecom and Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2025-180, in which it sought comments on, among other things, how it can better identify and address gaps in wireless public alerting coverage in Canada.
  4. Mobile operators each generate their own coverage predictions for submission to the Commission through its annual surveys. There are no standard definitions or agreed-upon methodologies for generating the coverage predictions. This lack of standardization can complicate efforts by the Commission and ISED to validate the data submitted and the coverage maps.

Call for comments

  1. The Commission calls for comments on the development of a proposed mobile reporting standard. The Commission will accept interventions that it receives on or before 16 March 2026. Only parties to the proceeding can participate in later stages of the proceeding. The deadline for parties to file replies to matters raised during the intervention phase is 15 April 2026.

What we are examining in this proceeding

  1. The purpose of this proceeding is to develop a standardized, evidence-based methodology for mobile coverage reporting so that the Commission can improve the Survey to enhance collection of mobile coverage data. The new methodology would support other policy and funding decisions that address mobile coverage gaps, including at ISED and at the Commission.
  2. The Commission is seeking comments on two reports being released today.

Report by the Communications Research Centre

  1. To standardize and improve reporting, the Commission and ISED engaged the Communications Research Centre (CRC) to produce a report proposing mobile coverage standards (CRC Technical Report – Mobile Coverage Metrics, hereafter, the CRC Report).Footnote 3 The CRC, which is a division of ISED and was selected based on its applied research expertise on telecommunications and wireless technologies, proposed new coverage definitions, metrics, and criteria. The CRC Report is being released today.
  2. In its report, the CRC proposed a new definition of mobile service coverage comprising three service levels: Emergency, Basic, and Advanced. It also proposed recommended thresholds for each of these three service levels. The technical specifications for these levels of mobile service are outlined in the CRC Report.
  3. The CRC also proposed two metrics to identify mobile coverage areas: (i) data throughput, which reflects the actual quality of service experienced by users; and (ii) received signal power, which is easier to calculate and measure in the field. These metrics are applied across the three proposed service levels with recommended thresholds outlined in the CRC Report.
  4. The Commission is seeking views on the technical proposals made by the CRC in its report.


    Q1. What are your views on the proposed CRC technical mobile coverage standards and new coverage definitions, metrics, and criteria?

Report by FarrPoint

  1. The Commission and ISED contracted with FarrPoint, a telecommunications engineering consultancy company, to use the CRC Report to conduct interviews with mobile operators, undertake research on mobile reporting standards with regulators in select countries, and make recommendations to the Commission for a new mobile standard.
  2. The recommendations in the report produced by FarrPoint (Recommendations on a new reporting standard for mobile coverage, hereafter the FarrPoint Report) cover the format, modeling and thresholds, frequency, validation, and publication of the reporting standard for mobile coverage. The FarrPoint Report is being released today.
  3. The Commission is seeking views on the recommendations related to the new mobile reporting standard. These can be found in the FarrPoint Report.
Format (recommendations 1 to 4)

Q2. Which technologies should be covered by the new mobile reporting standard (2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G)?

Q3. Which level of detail should the new mobile reporting standard require (e.g., resolution of no less than 50 metres)?

Q4. Which geographic indexing system should be used (e.g., the H3 hexagonal indexing system)?

Q5. Which geographic information systems (GIS) software formats should be acceptable (e.g., ArcGIS, QGIS)?

Modelling and thresholds (recommendations 5 to 7)

Q6. Is it appropriate to label the lowest standard “Emergency”? What are the possible implications of this label?

Q7. How prescriptive should the Commission be about TSPs’ mobile coverage predictions?

Q8. What type of support might small operators need in making their mobile coverage data submissions?

Frequency (recommendation 8)

Q9. What would be the implications of moving from 12-month intervals to 6-month intervals for the collection of mobile coverage data?

Validation (recommendations 9 and 10)

Q10. How should the Commission validate mobile coverage submissions?

Q11. What role should crowdsourcing of data, consumer challenges to coverage submissions, and performance drive tests play in the validation of mobile coverage submissions?

Q12. Which quality of service metrics should be incorporated into the reporting of mobile coverage?

Publication (recommendation 11)

Q13. At which level of detail should the mobile coverage data be published (e.g., resolution of no less than 50 metres)?

Other issues

Q14. How should the Commission address low Earth orbit satellite-to-mobile technologies?

Q15. How could the proposed emergency service standards enhance the National Public Alerting System and ensure reliable communication during emergencies?

Q16. How could the service standards ensure that mobile services are accessible and inclusive, particularly for underserved and rural communities?

What you need to know to participate in this proceeding

Procedure

  1. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure (the Rules of Procedure) apply to the present proceeding. Accordingly, the procedure set out below must be read in conjunction with the Rules of Procedure and related documents, which can be found on the Commission’s website under Statutes and Regulations. The guidelines set out in Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin 2010-959 provide information to help interested persons and parties understand the Rules of Procedure so that they can more effectively participate in Commission proceedings.

Submitting comments

  1. The Commission invites comments that address the issues set out above. The Commission will accept interventions that it receives on or before 16 March 2026. Only parties to the proceeding can participate in later stages of the proceeding. The deadline for parties to file replies to matters raised during the intervention phase is 15 April 2026.
  2. Bell Mobility Inc.; Bragg Communications Inc., carrying on business as Eastlink; Cogeco Connexion Inc.; Execulink Telecom Inc.; Ice Wireless Inc.; Iris Technologies Inc.; Rogers Communications Canada Inc.; Saskatchewan Telecommunications; Sogetel inc.; SSI Micro Ltd.; TBayTel; TELUS Communications Inc.; and Videotron Ltd. and Freedom Mobile Inc. are made parties to this proceeding because they are part of the Mobile Facilities Survey Frame, from which the Commission collects data. Interested persons who wish to become parties to this proceeding must submit an intervention.
  3. Any interested persons and parties can request accommodations to participate in this Commission proceeding. This could be related to disability, or to other reasons, like religious observance, or to a combination of reasons. If you wish to request accommodations in filing your comments, you are encouraged to make your request within the first 15 days after this notice of consultation is posted on the Commission’s website.
  4. Interested persons and parties who require assistance submitting comments can contact the Commission’s Hearings & Public Proceedings group at hearing@crtc.gc.ca.
  5. For more information on accessibility and accommodations in Commission proceedings, see Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin 2025-95.
  6. Pursuant to Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin 2015-242, the Commission expects incorporated entities and associations, and encourages all interested persons and parties, to file submissions for Commission proceedings in accessible formats (for example, text-based file formats that allow text to be enlarged or modified, or read by screen readers). To provide assistance in this regard, the Commission has posted on its website guidelines for preparing documents in accessible formats.
  7. Interested persons and parties are permitted to coordinate, organize, and file, in a single submission, interventions by other interested persons or parties who share their position. Information on how to file this type of submission, known as a joint supporting intervention, as well as a template for the covering letter to be filed by the parties, can be found in Telecom Information Bulletin 2011-693.
  8. Submissions longer than five pages should include a summary. Each paragraph of all submissions should be numbered, and the line ***End of document*** should follow the last paragraph. This will help the Commission verify that the document has not been damaged during electronic transmission.
  9. All documents required to be served on parties to the proceeding must be served using the contact information contained in the interventions. An intervention or answer from a respondent must be filed with the Commission and served on the applicant on or before the above-mentioned date. An answer from a respondent must also be served on any other respondent.
  10. The Commission encourages interested persons and parties to monitor the record of the proceeding, available on the Commission’s website, for additional information that they may find useful when preparing their submissions.
  11. Submissions must be filed by sending them to the Secretary General of the Commission using only one of the following means:


    by completing the
    [Intervention/comment/answer form]

    or

    by mail to
    CRTC, Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0N2

    or

    by fax at
    819-994-0218

  12. In accordance with the Rules of Procedure, a document must be received by the Commission and all relevant parties by 5 p.m. Vancouver time (8 p.m. Gatineau time) on the date it is due. Parties are responsible for ensuring the timely delivery of their submissions and will not be notified if their submissions are received after the deadline. Late submissions, including those due to postal delays, will not be considered by the Commission and will not be made part of the public record.
  13. The Commission will not formally acknowledge submissions. It will, however, fully consider all submissions, which will form part of the public record of the proceeding, provided that the procedure for filing set out above has been followed.
  14. Parties who send documents electronically must ensure that they will be able to prove, upon Commission request, that filing, or where required, service of a particular document was completed. Accordingly, parties must keep proof of the sending and receipt of each document for 180 days after the date on which the document is filed or served. The Commission advises parties who file or serve documents by electronic means to exercise caution when using email for the service of documents, as it may be difficult to establish that service has occurred.

Confidentiality notice

  1. The Commission’s proceedings are designed to allow members of the public to provide input so that it can make better, more informed decisions. As a result, the general rule is that all information filed with the Commission is placed on the public record and can be reviewed by all parties and members of the public.
  2. However, the Commission also often needs detailed information from the companies it regulates and supervises to make an informed decision. This information can be commercially sensitive, especially as the environment in which the companies operate becomes more competitive. The Commission will therefore accept certain information as confidential.
  3. Parties can designate information as confidential under subsection 39(1) of the Act and provide a detailed rationale as to why that information should be considered confidential. The Commission reminds parties that when a document is filed with confidential information, an abridged version must also be filed so that it can be included in the public record.

Privacy notice

  1. Please note the following:
    • Documents will be posted on the Commission’s website exactly as received, in the official language and format in which they are received. This includes any personal information contained in them, such as full names, email addresses, postal/street addresses, and telephone and fax numbers.
    • All personal information parties provide as part of this public proceeding, except information designated as confidential, will be posted on the Commission’s website and can be accessed by others.
    • However, the information parties provide can only be accessed from the web page of this particular proceeding. As a result, a general search of the Commission’s website using either its search engine or a third-party search engine will not provide access to the information that was provided as part of this public proceeding.
    • The personal information that parties provide will be used and may be disclosed for the purpose for which the information was obtained or compiled by the Commission or for a use consistent with that purpose.

Availability of documents

  1. Links to interventions, as well as other documents referred to in this notice, are available on the Commission’s “Consultations and hearings: have your say” page.
  2. Interested persons can find electronic versions of the documents by clicking on “[Submit an intervention or view related documents]” at the top of this notice.
  3. Documents are available upon request during normal business hours by contacting:


    Documentation Centre
    Examinationroom@crtc.gc.ca

    Client Services
    Toll-free telephone: 1-877-249-2782
    Toll-free TTY: 1-877-909-2782

Secretary General

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