As part of the agreement, the major carriers agreed to support and assist their competitors during any future major network outages so customers can make calls, access 911 emergency services and conduct business. The companies also agreed to provide “clear and timely communication” to customers during holidays. “Telecom companies have complied with our request to take meaningful steps to increase and improve the reliability of the network in our country,” Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champan said at a press conference in Vancouver. “The outage at Rogers on July 8 was clearly unacceptable and we must continue to do everything possible to ensure that something similar does not happen again in the future.” You can read the full agreement here. The Rogers outage, which began early on July 8 and — for some customers — lasted for days, left millions without cell phone and Internet service. The company later said the failure was caused by a bug during an internal system update. Champagne said he was unhappy with the level of communication Rogers provided during the outage. “You should have been more attentive,” he said. ATTENTION: Federal Government Announces Telecom Deal for Network Outages
The Liberals announce an emergency deal on telecommunications outages
Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announces a telecom deal in response to the Rogers shutdown. Champagne said he was visiting Japan during the outage and contacted Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri to discuss what happened. “I don’t think the minister should be trying to reach out to the CEO of a telco when you have a major outage in the country. I think it should be the other way around,” he said.
The settlement may not restore service for all affected customers
While Champagne is touting the deal as a way to keep Canadians and businesses connected to critical networks during holidays, one industry expert says that won’t be possible in major outages. The new agreement provides for “emergency roaming” on a competitor’s network to be made available to customers affected by an outage. John Lawford, executive director and general counsel of the Public Interest Advocacy Center in Ottawa, said carriers likely won’t be able to provide service to everyone without service in the event of an outage like the one Rogers recently experienced. “It is highly unlikely that all customers of an affected carrier will be able to find roaming to another carrier,” he said. “It’s not going to be like a backup network when there’s a real outage like in July.” Rogers chairman and CEO Tony Staffieri and Ron McKenzie, chief technology and information officer, appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry and Technology on Monday, July 25, 2022 in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) Lawford also criticized federal regulators for moving more slowly than their U.S. counterparts. He said the new Canadian deal essentially repeats a plan announced by the Federal Communications Commission on July 6 – two days before the Rogers shutdown. “It’s something that should have been in place a long time ago,” he said. “The CRTC regulator was asleep at the switch.” Champagne described the new binding agreement as just the “first step” in Ottawa’s plans to improve credibility and accountability in the industry. The government says it has given the Canadian Telecommunications Security Advisory Commission six months to take further steps “to ensure robust and reliable telecommunications networks across the country.” Champagne said Ottawa will also move forward with a plan to build a new public safety broadband network to be used in emergency situations.
