{"id":19019,"date":"2025-03-13T05:14:04","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T09:14:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=19019"},"modified":"2025-03-12T13:44:27","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T17:44:27","slug":"foreign-ownership-restrictions-in-turbulent-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=19019","title":{"rendered":"Foreign ownership restrictions in turbulent times"},"content":{"rendered":"

In view of the current international trade tensions, what are your thoughts on foreign ownership restrictions in Canadian telecom?<\/p>\n

That was a question posed to me earlier this week. Over the years, I’ve talked about foreign ownership<\/a> more than 200 times, so I’d like to hear your thoughts<\/a>. View this as an invitation to share your thoughts as a comment<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"CanadianLet’s start by clarifying the current rules<\/a>, which are often misunderstood. Ownership and Control restrictions are set out in Section 16<\/a> of the Telecommunications Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Section 16(2)c), we see that there are no ownership restrictions if the company “has annual revenues from the provision of telecommunications services in Canada that represent less than 10% of the total annual revenues, as determined by the Commission, from the provision of telecommunications services in Canada.” In Section 16(6) we see that the company can grow beyond 10% of the telecom market, as long as it grows beyond that threshold organically (ie. not by acquisition). <\/p>\n

Earlier this week, the CRTC released<\/a> the 2023 market size as $59.6B, meaning the 10% threshold is just shy of $6B. There are only 3 companies in Canada with telecom revenues exceeding 10% of the total market: Bell, Rogers, and TELUS. <\/p>\n

Number 4 player Quebecor (Videotron) reported revenues of just over $4.8B in 2024. Other than Bell, Rogers and TELUS, foreign acquisition is permissible. A foreign-owned service provider could be built or assembled by acquisitions (up to $5.96B in revenues) and then grown.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind that broadcasting has its own restrictions, creating a “poisoned pill”<\/a> for most converged communications companies, since broadcast distribution (cable or IPTV) is regulated under the Broadcasting Act<\/a>. There are various creative corporate structures that could enable a competitor to work around the broadcast issues.<\/p>\n

What are your thoughts? Would Canada’s communications infrastructure face increased risk of disruption with lightened foreign ownership restrictions? Benefits? Risks? Are concerns real?<\/p>\n

Please leave a comment<\/a>. You don’t have to use your real name, but I do require a real email address (which won’t be posted).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In view of the current international trade tensions, what are your thoughts on foreign ownership restrictions in Canadian telecom? That was a question posed to me earlier this week. Over the years, I’ve talked about foreign ownership more than 200 times, so I’d like to hear your thoughts. View this as an invitation to share …<\/p>\n

Foreign ownership restrictions in turbulent times<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","two_page_speed":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nForeign ownership restrictions in turbulent times • Telecom Trends<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In view of the current international trade tensions, what are your thoughts on foreign ownership restrictions in Canadian telecom? 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