A look at what’s to come in 2026 for telecoms, broadcasting, digital policy

The year ahead is going to look different for everyone, so we asked several telecommunications, digital policy, and broadcasting professionals to give us their predictions and wish lists for 2026. Susan Church, Blue Sky Net Susan Church is the executive director of Blue Sky Net, an organization aiming to enhance broadband infrastructure in Northern Ontario. She says she is worried about the race to connect rural, remote and Indigenous communities to telecom services. Church hopes to see new funding programs for building out in those regions, arguing that it is needed to advance remote infrastructure as market forces cannot be solely relied on in such places. “If it was easy to do, if there was a profit to be made, it would already be done,” she told The Wire Report in a December interview. Church also urges policymakers and service providers to do their due diligence to ensure each project is the best fit for each community. “I’m hoping that the solutions that are going to be , are going to be the solutions that make the most sense, not just because they’re fast and easy,” she says. Another troubling issue for Church is the broadband map the CRTC and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) rely on to determine which areas have broadband internet service connectivity. She says the map is not accurate, and therefore impedes which projects get approved. Church says there are many areas in northern Ontario, for example, that are shown as connected, but according to Blue Sky, do not have any service at all. Church says before discussing subsidies and meeting the 2030 universal connectivity goal, policymakers need to sit down and untangle the mapping mess. “I would jump for joy if someone would actually say, ‘We’re going to sit down and fix the mapping problem,’” she says. Further, Church says the government has become too wrapped up in its goal of providing high-speed internet to all Canadians and has lost focus on strengthening cellular connectivity. This is a much greater safety issue than the lack of broadband, says Church, noting that it is not exclusive to just rural areas and that even people in major urban centres can struggle with poor cell service. Church says it does not have to be a one or the other solution, and that providers can solve broadband and cell service problems at the same time with modern technology. “We need to wake up and realize that this needs to be dealt with in a much better way than funding broadband has been,” she says. “Safety is one of the biggest issues.” Ted Woodhead, Woodhead Regulatory Consulting Ted Woodhead provides telecom regulatory consulting and advisory services, and is former chief regulatory officer and head of government affairs at Rogers Communications Inc., and former senior vice president and strategic policy advisor at Telus Corp. Woodhead said he is expecting a lot in the telecom industry this year, but one of his biggest concerns is whether the government is committed to reupping the Universal Broadband Fund (UBF). The fund was not mentioned in Budget 2025, and questions linger about if the government will continue the program after 2027, the deadline all funded projects must be completed by. In a December email statement to The Wire Report, a spokesperson for ISED would not say if the government was committed to renewing the fund, but said, “We encourage you to stay tuned for future UBF announcements.” It also said Canada remains on track to meet its 2030 goal, and that “it is projected that by the end of 2026, 98.8 per cent of Canadian households will have access to minimum internet speeds of 50/10” megabits per second (Mbps). Woodhead says he expects to see carriers continue to reduce capital expenditures, and says the lack of a broadband fund could be detrimental to rural and remote infrastructure development. Last year saw several major asset deals take place, with Rogers selling a stake in its wireless backhaul infrastructure to American investment firm Blackstone Inc., BCE Inc. selling its Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment shares to Rogers, and Telus announcing plans to sell a minority stake in its own wireless tower network. Woodhead said he expects to see more of these deals from telecom companies in the coming year, due to the general financial health of the industry and large amount of company debt. Bell’s 2025 third quarter results reported the company’s net debt had reached $40 billion, up from the previous year’s $39.3 billion. Rogers’ 2025 third quarter results reported a similar net debt of $39.1 billion, which was down from the previous year’s $43.3 billion. As for Telus, its 2025 third quarter results reported net debt at $25.7 billion, down from the previous year’s $28.1 billion. Woodhead says carriers have promised the market they would reduce debt, and he argues asset deals are the only way to achieve that. As for his wishlist, Woodhead wants to see the CRTC slow down on all the new regulations it is trying to pump out. He also says policymakers need to pause and assess the impact new legislation will have. “I would like them to sort of slow down, pump the brakes, and just see what happens,” he says. Robert Ghiz, Canadian Telecommunications Association Robert Ghiz, president of the Canadian Telecommunications Association, says in 2026, he hopes to see the CRTC and federal government recognize the importance of facilities-based competition. He says in order to continue connecting rural, remote, and Indigenous communities, the government needs to implement policies that encourage that investment. In terms of the Universal Broadband Fund, Ghiz hopes the funding could be hidden somewhere else in the federal budget, like the major project funding, which aims to fast-track “nation-building projects.” He says in order to reach the 2030 goal, the fund would likely need more dollars. He also remains concerned about the 2024 decision by the CRTC to allow the Big Three telecoms (Bell, Rogers, and Telus) to sell wholesale services on each other's networks. He argues the CRTC made a mistake by going through with the decision, and he hopes to see it corrected in the new year. When asked if he would like to see a change in the speed at which the CRTC delivers decisions, Ghiz joked that “If they make decisions based on the evidence, and the evidence dictates that facilities-based competition is the best way to go, I hope they make those decisions in a hurry. If they're not going to do that, I hope it takes a long time.” Ghiz also said he has seen prices go down in the last five years, while consumption has gone up, and he hopes to see those numbers continue to trend in the “right direction.” Matt Hatfield, OpenMedia Matt Hatfield is the executive director of OpenMedia, a Canadian digital rights advocacy group. In an email statement to The Wire Report, Hatfield said he expects to see a replacement bill for the previous government’s online harms legislation, but worries it could be too narrow to make an impact or repeat errors of the previous bill. The Justin-Trudeau-era Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, was largely criticized by OpenMedia due to concerns about free expression and privacy impacts. In November, Justice Minister Sean Fraser promised to usher in new online harms legislation, with contributions from three ministers. In December, the feds tabled Bill C-16, amendments to the Criminal Code, which included changes to the Mandatory Reporting Act, and other online harms provisions. Government sources told The Hill Times later that month that a new version of the Online Harms Act would be introduced in the new year. Hatfield also expects new AI legislation from the feds, but says early signs from AI Minister Evan Solomon indicate the government will likely take a minimalist approach. He argues that Solomon’s public consultation and AI task force launched to develop the government’s next AI strategy has been “half-baked” and says Canadians want strong AI regulations. Hatfield also expects to see a privacy reform bill, but is concerned it will be “weaker than problematic Bill C-27.” Introduced in 2022, C-27 aimed to update Canadian privacy laws and give the privacy commissioner more decision-making powers. After the bill died when Parliament was prorogued in January, Hatfield called C-27 “the biggest mess the government had left on its plate.” Competition Commissioner Matthew Boswell announced his early resignation in early December. Hatfield says the new commissioner may be told by the feds to launch studies of big tech and big telecoms and break up monopoly practices. However, considering the ongoing trade war, he said the commissioner may also be directed to go easy on American giants to avoid making waves. Reynolds Mastin, Canadian Media Producers Association Reynolds Mastin is president of the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA). He expects the broadcasting sector will remain in a state of uncertainty and under considerable pressure in 2026. Trade uncertainties and the potential for further consolidation — as seen in Netflix’s $72 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in December — will weigh heavily on the industry. Despite the turbulence, Mastin says Canadian producers are “incredibly” entrepreneurial and creative, and expects they will be able to adapt to the constantly shifting sands. “I’m also pretty confident that while 2026 promises to have its rocky moments, that we will get through them, and that there are better and smoother days ahead,” Mastin told The Wire Report in a December interview. He said that while every industry goes through economic cycles, he expects the CRTC’s continued implementation of the Online Streaming Act will get to a point that results in significant new investment in the domestic production industry, leading to economic recovery. When Canada and the United States re-enter free trade negotiations over the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, Mastin hopes to come out on the other side with a preserved Online Streaming Act. Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump cited the act as a trade irritant. The demand for new content from Canadian consumers remains strong and “should always give us hope,” added Mastin. “That there always has been, always will be a demand for new content, new stories, new voices.” In December, the CMPA filed leave to appeal a recent CanCon decision from the CRTC. Reynolds says he hopes to see the decision revised to implement copyright retention safeguards. Despite the motion, Reynolds says he thinks the CRTC’s cup is overflowing, and understands the pressure it faces with the Online Streaming Act. Jonathan Holmes, Independent Telecommunications Providers Association Jonathan Holmes, executive director of the Independent Telecommunications Providers Association (ITPA) says he hopes to see the CRTC regulate retail pricing “abuses” by the big telecom providers. He alleged that big providers offer “predatory” promotions with conditions that are unclear to consumers, arguing that the companies offer plans at a discount, without being transparent about how, or when, prices will increase. He alleged that major telecoms will also offer the promotions below-cost, which smaller companies cannot match. Holmes says big companies use their deep pockets to attract as many customers as possible, but that it does not foster competition. Holmes hopes to see the CRTC implement boundaries on the promotions, allowing below-cost promotions on only short-term timelines. Further, Holmes hopes 2026 brings a reduction in the regulatory regime that he says is disproportionately burdening smaller players. “We're some of the smallest providers out in the industry, but some of the most heavily regulated right now,” he told The Wire Report. He also argued that as the CRTC determines whether or not to implement additional consumer protections, it should avoid lumping ITPA members in with the larger players. He says although there is an argument that all consumers should have access to the same protections, his members take “real good care” of their customers, and argues that means they should be exempt from any new consumer protection regulations. “We're concerned that any new regulatory obligations that really could be onerous and quite costly will be applied to us when there's really not a lot of evidence or justification to do so,” he says. What is your outlook for 2026? The perspectives above highlight just a few of the many issues converging in Canada's telecom, broadcasting, and digital landscape this year. We want to hear from you. What developments are you watching most closely in 2026? Send an email to news@thewirereport.ca with your thoughts. Whether you are working in the industry, advocating for policy change, or simply navigating these sectors as a consumer, your insights help inform our coverage. mcollins@thewirereport.ca

A look at what’s to come in 2026 for telecoms, broadcasting, digital policy

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