The Canada Day Call That Changed the Country: 40 Years Later, Rogers Continues Wireless Investment and Innovation

Step back in time to July 1, 1985, at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto. The concrete cityscape looked much like it does today, but the world of communication was about to change forever. On that momentous day, with thousands of onlookers on the steps of Toronto City Hall, Rogers Communications made history with Canada’s very first wireless call.

Ted Rogers, the founder of Rogers Communications, was onstage for the pivotal moment when Art Eggleton, Toronto’s mayor at the time, placed the call to his Montreal counterpart, Jean Drapeau. The mobile device they used was a far cry from today’s sleek smartphones. Weighing 10 pounds, it resembled a briefcase complete with a shoulder strap so users could haul it around.

“What exactly is a cellular telephone, you may be asking,” began the Rogers Cable TV reporter who covered the event. “It’s about to revolutionize our telecommunications system. It’s a portable telephone. It is so portable, in fact, that you’ll be able to install it in your car or even carry it over your shoulder.”

Forty years later, Canadians rely on wireless technology every day to stay connected, innovators use it to create new technologies, and businesses need it to power their operations.

Starting with 1G technology through to 5G+ today, the wireless revolution has transformed every part of Canadians’ lives. From the first voice call back in 1985 to the advent of texting in Canada in 2002 to the proliferation of mobile email, Internet and smartphones throughout the 2000s, the technology has kept getting better and better.

Speeds increased, latency decreased, and with that, the on-demand economy was created, led by such companies as Amazon, Uber and Airbnb.

Wireless operators like Rogers have been at the forefront of it all through decades of investing and risk-taking. But companies can’t make these big, long-term bets unless there’s a policy environment that encourages innovation and rewards investment.

In a sector known for high capital costs, returns on investment often come in decades, not quarters or years. In the case of wireless, Rogers didn’t make any cash profit in wireless for 25 years.

To bring Canada to where we are today—with some of the world’s best networks—Rogers has invested $45 billion in wireless technology since the 1980s. The Canadian appetite for cutting-edge connectivity is limitless, and network builders say the right regulatory environment is as important as the commitment to invest, especially in Canada.

“Canada’s vast geography and low population density makes it immensely challenging to build wireless networks,” says Robert Ghiz, president and CEO of the Canadian Telecommunications Association. “To sustain and enhance our world-class wireless networks, it is essential that we have a stable regulatory environment that recognizes these difficult conditions and encourages continued investment.”

The challenges facing the sector are multifaceted and can be exacerbated by poor policy-setting, both intentional and unintentional. For example, the impact of inconsistent changes in government policy is compounded by ill-advised decisions attempting to create artificial competition. This includes forcing those companies that build the networks to allow smaller wireless carriers to resell those networks, which only harms truly ambitious new investment. At the same time, federal government policy creates artificially high spectrum costs for some carriers while subsidizing others, creating unfair and unequal cost structures. Canada has higher government-set spectrum pricing compared to peer countries, with one study indicating high spectrum costs in Canada can account for about 10 per cent of the average bill for customers.

Taken together, this approach can discourage the kind of big investment and risk-taking that has driven innovation and fuelled the economy. Removing the barriers to the kind of investment needed to turbo-charge Canada’s digital infrastructure and power the Canadian economy is only positive for Canadians.

Back in 1985 at Nathan Phillips Square, it was impossible to imagine the vast potential and opportunities of wireless technology with that bulky mobile phone. But in the 40 years since, Canadians have seen the size of their phones drastically shrink while the possibilities of wireless have grown immensely, powered by bold investments from network builders like Rogers. They just need a partner in government to help get this right for the next 40 years and beyond.