Federal budget offers measures to cut telecom costs, citing lack of competition

OTTAWA – The federal government says it plans to take measures aimed at increasing competition in Canada’s telecommunications sector and lowering consumers’ cellphone and internet costs.

Ottawa outlined parts of that strategy in the budget Tuesday, including a new “dig once” policy that would encourage companies to co-ordinate when installing fibre optic lines.

It also says it will reduce regulatory hurdles when deploying telecom infrastructure across the country, including by consulting on a streamlined tower-siting process later this year.

Meanwhile, the federal government will release additional wireless spectrum, the electromagnetic frequencies that enable smartphone communications, and develop modernized spectrum licence transfer rules in late 2025-26.

Ottawa says the Canadian tel