CTA co-hosting conference on Canadian telecom issues in May

The present and future of Canadian telecom will be studied at a one-day conference to be held in Ottawa in May. Connecting Canada: Performance, Pressures and Policy Priorities for Canada’s Telecommunications Sector is being presented at the National Arts Centre on May 20, and will look at various issues related to Canadian telecom. The Canadian Telecommunications Association (CTA) and GSMA, an organization for global mobile communications, are co-sponsors of the event. “What we’re trying to do is bring together both Canadian and international industry and experts as well to discuss the Canadian telecommunications sector, the status of the industry, some of the challenges and pressures it’s facing, and some of the policy priorities, and how all those things look together,” Eric Smith, senior vice president of the CTA tells The Wire Report. Topics to be discussed include resilience, connectivity, cell coverage, preventing frauds and scams, and the general economic health of the industry. When the CTA was still known as the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, it held these sessions regularly, but the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to the meetings. Smith expects industry officials, government representatives and academics to attend the conference, while presentations will be done by a mixture of people from the sector. Telecom has never been more important to the nation than it is now, the SVP believes. He also said adoption is on the uptick, while technology is changing rapidly. “But telecommunications, it’s more than just a retail service,” he states. “I think traditionally that is how people have thought of it but really it’s a critical infrastructure that underpins Canada’s economy, its security, its sovereignty.” As an example, Smith looks at the government’s goal to have all Canadians connected to the internet by 2030. This has raised related questions about mobile coverage and whether ubiquity is possible in a nation as geographically wide as Canada. Many rural and remote regions are still suffering from poor cell service as it is not economically feasible for companies to offer coverage. ppark@thewirereport.ca

CTA co-hosting conference on Canadian telecom issues in May

Telecom |
By Paul Park
|March 5, 2026

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CTA co-hosting conference on Canadian telecom issues in May

Telecom | By Paul Park |March 5, 2026

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Telecom |
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|March 5, 2026