Facts & Figures

 

World-Leading Wireless Networks

Despite having a population spread across vast regions, Canada’s facilities-based carriers have implemented some of the world’s fastest and most reliable wireless networks, reaching every province and territory.

  • Canadian wireless subscribers enjoy the fastest average mobile download connection speeds in the G7, including twice the average speed found in the United States (OpenSignal, State of LTE – Global, February 2018)
  • Long term evolution (LTE) networks, which deliver higher speeds than previous generation networks, are available to 99% of Canadians. LTE-advanced (LTE-A) networks, offering even higher speeds than LTE, are now available to over 83% of Canadians. (CRTC, Communications Monitoring Report, 2017)
  • In describing the state of Canada’s mobile wireless networks, OpenSignal states: “There’s no question Canada is a global 4G superpower today. That likely means there are few other countries better prepared than Canada to deploy the 5G networks of the future.” (OpenSignal, State of Mobile Networks: Canada, February 2018)

Investment

Canada’s leadership in wireless is possible only because of the significant investments made by Canadian facilities-based carriers.

  • Canadian operators’ investment in telecommunications as a percentage of revenue is 4th amongst OECD nations and 1st in the G7. (OECD Digital Economy Outlook, October 2017)
  • Canada’s facilities-based wireless carriers invested approximately $48 billion in
    communications infrastructure     between the years of 1985 and 2017. (Historical data from Nordicity, CRTC, and CWTA)
  • It is estimated that, between 2020 and 2026, $26 billion will be spent in deploying 5G infrastructure in Canada, with most of such investment being made by Canada’s facilities-based wireless operators. (Accenture, Fuel for Innovation, 2018)
  • Facilities-based wireless service providers have provided the Canadian government with over $14.1 billion in spectrum auction revenues between the years 1987-2016. (Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED), Government of Canada)
  • Canada’s wireless service providers pay annual spectrum licence fees in excess of $185 million each year – nearly two-thirds of the total fees collected by Industry Canada from all spectrum users. (CWTA statistics collected from ISED)
  • In total, these providers have paid nearly $3.3 billion in spectrum license fees between 1987-2016. (CWTA statistics collected from ISED)
  • Based on annual spectrum licence fees, Canadian service providers pay the government more than 30 times per subscriber than their US counterparts. (CWTA statistics collected from the US Federal Communications Commission and ISED)

Canadians increasingly rely on wireless services

Wireless services have become an integral part of Canadians’ lives. Whether to stay in touch with family and friends, consume content, or work while on the move, wireless services have become indispensable for most Canadians.

  • As of December 2017, 31.5 million people subscribe to wireless services in Canada (CRTC and Statistics Canada, Joint Quarterly Survey Q4 2017). This represents approximately 90% of Canada’s population based on the latest national census. (StatCan, Census of the Population, 2016)
  • More Canadians have mobile phones (90%) than landlines (38%), while at least 27.5% of households rely exclusively on wireless services. (CRTC, Joint Quarterly Survey Q4 2017, and Communications Monitoring Report, 2017)

Data Consumption Continues Strong Growth

Canadians consume more wireless data than ever, and the speed and reach of Canada’s leading mobile wireless networks allow them to do this.  Forecasts indicate that this growth will continue for the foreseeable future.

  • The average Canadian smartphone generated 2.27 GB of traffic per month in 2016.  (Cisco Mobile VNI, 2016-2021)
  • Data consumption per Canadian smartphone increased by 35% in 2015-2016. (Cisco, Mobile VNI, 2016-2021)
  • 69% of wireless subscribers have plans that provide 1 GB or more of data usage per month. (CRTC, Communications Monitoring Report, 2017)
  • By 2021, mobile data traffic per device is expected to grow to 8.62 GB per month in Canada. (Cisco, VNI Mobile Forecast Highlights, 2016-2021)
  • The average smartphone in North America generates 7.2 GB of traffic per month when including data over both wireless networks and Wi-Fi. (Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2018)
  • When taking both wireless networks and Wi-Fi into account, the average smartphone in North America will generate approximately 49 GB of traffic per month by the year 2023. (Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2018)

Economic Impact

Canada’s mobile wireless industry has not only transformed the way in which Canadians communicate, work, and play, it also fuels economic growth and innovation.

  • In 2016, Canada’s wireless industry employed more than 138,000 people as a result of its activities. (Nordicity, August 2017)
  • Taking into account direct, indirect and induced impacts, the Canadian wireless industry generated a total contribution of $25.2 billion in GDP to the Canadian economy in 2016. (Nordicity, August 2017)
  • It is estimated that by 2026, the annual GDP impact of introducing 5G in Canada will be $40 billion. (Accenture, Fuel for Innovation, 2018)
  • Through the adoption of 5G, approximately 250,000 permanent jobs will be added to the economy by 2026.
  • Nearly 150,000 short-term jobs will be created in construction and engineering when Canada’s 5G networks are built between 2020-2026. (Accenture, Fuel for Innovation, 2018)

Industry Reports

Industry Statistics

Canadian wireless subscriber numbers:

Back to Top