Editing Telecommunications in Canada

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Present-day '''telecommunications in Canada''' include telephone, radio, television, and internet usage. In the past, [[telecommunications]] included [[telegraphy]] available through [[Canadian Pacific]] and [[Canadian National]].
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== History ==
{{See also|All Red Line|CNCP Telecommunications}}

[[File:All Red Line.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The [[All Red Line]] cable for the [[British Empire]]. Canada as an interconnection-point. c.a. 1903]]
The history of [[telegraphy]] in Canada dates back to the [[Province of Canada]].  While the first telegraph company was the Toronto, Hamilton and Niagara Electro-Magnetic Telegraph Company, founded in 1846, it was the [[Montreal Telegraph Company]], controlled by [[Hugh Allan]] and founded a year later, that dominated in Canada during the technology's early years.<ref name="canencyclo"/>

Following the 1852 [[Telegraph Act]], Canada's first permanent [[Transatlantic telegraph cable|transatlantic telegraph link]] was a submarine cable built in 1866 between [[History of Ireland (1801–1923)|Ireland]] and [[Newfoundland Colony|Newfoundland]].<ref name="CRTC"/> [[Telegram]]s were sent through networks built by [[Canadian Pacific Railway|Canadian Pacific]] and [[Canadian National]].

In 1868 Montreal Telegraph began facing competition from the newly established Dominion Telegraph Company.<ref name="canencyclo"/> 1880 saw the Great North Western Telegraph Company established to connect [[Ontario]] and [[Manitoba]] but within a year it was taken over by [[Western Union]], leading briefly to that company's control of almost all telegraphy in Canada.<ref name="canencyclo"/> In 1882, Canadian Pacific transmitted its first commercial telegram over telegraph lines they had erected alongside its tracks,<ref name="CPRail"/> breaking Western Union's monopoly. Great North Western Telegraph, facing bankruptcy, was taken over in 1915 by Canadian Northern.<ref name="canencyclo"/>

By the end of [[World War II]], Canadians communicated by telephone more than any other country.<ref>{{cite web|title=Canada Says Hello: The First Century of the Telephone|publisher=[[CBC.ca]]|date=2012-03-10|url=http://www.cbc.ca/archives/topic/canada-says-hello-the-first-century-of-the-telephone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222172555/http://www.cbc.ca/archives/topic/canada-says-hello-the-first-century-of-the-telephone|archive-date=2016-02-22}}</ref> In 1967 the CP and CN networks were merged to form [[CNCP Telecommunications]].

As of 1951, approximately 7000 messages were sent daily from the United States to Canada.<ref name="wutr1951"/>  An agreement with [[Western Union]] required that U.S. company to route messages in a specified ratio of 3:1, with three telegraphic messages transmitted to Canadian National for every message transmitted to Canadian Pacific.<ref name="wutr1951"/> The agreement was complicated by the fact that some Canadian destinations were served by only one of the two networks.<ref name="wutr1951"/>

== Fixed-line telephony ==
[[File:Bell logo.svg|100px|right|thumb|The logo of [[Bell Canada]], the nation's largest telephone company.]]
{{Main|List of Canadian telephone companies}}
Telephones - [[Landline|fixed lines]]: total subscriptions: 13.926 million (2020)
::* Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 36.9 (2020 est.)

Telephones - [[Mobile phone|mobile cellular]]:  36,093,021 (2020)
::* Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 95.63 (2020 est.)

[[Telephone network|Telephone system]]: (2019)
::* Domestic: Nearly 37 per 100 fixed-line and 96 per 100 mobile-cellular teledensity; domestic satellite system with about 300 earth stations (2020)
::* International: [[country code]] - [[North American Numbering Plan|+1]]; [[List of international submarine communications cables|submarine cables]] provide links within the Americas and [[Europe]]; satellite [[earth station]]s - 7 (5 [[Intelsat]] - 4 trans-[[Transatlantic telegraph cable|Atlantic Ocean]] and 1 trans-[[Pacific Ocean]], and 2 [[Intersputnik]] - (Atlantic Ocean region)

== Call signs ==
{{see also|Call signs in Canada}}
[[ITU prefix]]es: Letter combinations available for use in Canada as the first two letters of a television or radio station's call sign are '''CF, CG, CH, CI, CJ, CK, CY, CZ, VA, VB, VC, VD, VE, VF, VG, VO, VX, VY, XJ, XK, XL, XM, XN''' and '''XO'''. Only '''CF, CH, CI, CJ''' and '''CK''' are currently in common use,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Innovation |date=2011-10-11 |title=RIC-9 — Call Sign Policy and Special Event Prefixes |url=https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf02102.html |access-date=2022-03-21 |website=www.ic.gc.ca}}</ref> although four radio stations in [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador]] retained call letters beginning with '''VO''' when Newfoundland joined [[Canadian Confederation]] in 1949. Stations owned by the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] use '''CB''' through a special agreement with the government of [[Chile]]. Some codes beginning with '''VE''' and '''VF''' are also in use to identify [[Radio repeater|radio repeater transmitters]].

== Radio ==
{{Main|List of radio stations in Canada}}
As of 2016, there were over 1,100 radio stations and audio services broadcasting in Canada.<ref name="crtc.gc.ca">{{cite web |title=Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission |url=https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/publications/reports/policymonitoring/2017/cmr4.htm}}</ref> Of these, 711 are private commercial radio stations. These commercial stations account for over three quarters of radio stations in Canada. The remainder of the radio stations are a mix of [[Public broadcasting|public broadcasters]], such as [[CBC Radio]], as well as [[Campus radio|campus]], [[Community radio|community]], and Aboriginal stations.<ref name="crtc.gc.ca" />

== Television ==
{{main|Television in Canada}}

As of 2018, 762 TV services were broadcasting in Canada. This includes both conventional television stations and [[discretionary service]]s.<ref>{{Cite report|url=https://crtc.gc.ca/pubs/cmr2019-en.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://crtc.gc.ca/pubs/cmr2019-en.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Communications Monitoring Report 2019|date=2019|publisher=[[CRTC]]|page=191|isbn=|access-date=2021-06-06}}</ref>

[[Cable television|Cable]] and [[satellite television]] services are available throughout Canada. The largest cable providers are [[Bell Canada]], [[Rogers Cable]], [[Vidéotron]], [[Telus Communications|Telus]] and [[Cogeco]], while the two licensed satellite providers are [[Bell Satellite TV]] and [[Shaw Direct]].

== Internet ==
{{main|Internet in Canada|Internet access worldwide#Canada}}
[[Bell Canada|Bell]], [[Rogers Communications|Rogers]], [[Telus Communications|Telus]], and [[Shaw Communications|Shaw]] are among the bigger ISPs in Canada. Depending on your location, Bell and Rogers would be the big internet service providers in Eastern provinces, while Shaw and Telus are the main players competing in western provinces.<ref>{{cite web |title=Internet Service Providers in Canada: a guide |url=https://moving2canada.com/internet-service-providers-in-canada-a-guide/ |website=moving2canada}}</ref>

* [[Internet service provider]]s: there are more than 44 ISPs in Canada.{{cn|date=February 2025}}
* [[Internet exchange point|Internet Exchange Points]]: There are multiple [[Internet exchange point|Internet Exchange Points]] in Canada, the largest of which are in [[Calgary Internet Exchange|Calgary]], [[Montreal Internet Exchange|Montreal]], [[Toronto Internet Exchange|Toronto]] and [[Vancouver]].  Most ISP's peer at one or more of these Exchanges, except for Bell Canada.  The Toronto Internet Exchange ranks as one of the [[List of Internet exchange points by size|largest internet exchanges in the world]].<ref>{{cite web |title=TorIX Case Study|url=https://www.cologix.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/TorIX-Case-Study.pdf|publisher=[[Cologix]]|year=2018|access-date=2023-10-12}}</ref>
*[[Country codes]]: [[.CA]], CDN, 124
*Internet users: 33 million users <ref>{{cite web |title=Internet Users and 2017 Population in North America |url=https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats14.htm |website=internetworldstats}}</ref>
*[[Host (network)|Internet hosts]]: 8.7 million (2012–2017)<ref>{{cite web |title=Countries By Number Of Internet Hosts |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-by-number-of-internet-hosts.html |website=worldatlas}}</ref>
*Percentage of households with [[Internet access]]: 87(2016)<ref>{{cite web |title=Canada's Internet |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/183614/us-households-with-broadband-internet-access-since-2009/ |website=cira}}</ref>
*Total households with high speed connection: 67%  (2014)<ref>{{cite web |title=The State of Broadband Internet in Canada |url=https://hillnotes.ca/2016/05/04/the-state-of-broadband-internet-in-canada/ |website=hillnotes}}</ref>
*Total users of home [[online banking]]: 68% (2016)<ref>{{cite web |title=Internet use in Canada |url=https://cira.ca/factbook/domain-industry-data-and-canadian-Internet-trends/internet-use-canada |website=cira}}</ref>

== Mobile networks ==
{{Main|List of Canadian mobile phone companies}}

The three major mobile network operators are [[Rogers Wireless]] (13.7 million subscribers), [[Bell Mobility]] (10.29 million<ref>{{Cite web |title=Integrated annual report 2022-Who we are-Our financial performance-BCE |url=https://www.bce.ca/2023-integrated-report/financial-performance |access-date=2024-06-15 |website=www.bce.ca |language=English}}</ref>) and [[Telus Mobility]] (9.5 million), which have a combined 86% of market share.<ref>[https://investors.rogers.com/company-information/segment-overview/] - Rogers Investor Relations</ref>
<ref>[https://mobilesyrup.com/2023/08/03/mobile-subscriber-growth-in-q2-helped-bell-reach-10-million-milestone/] - Mobile Syrup</ref>

== Administration and Government ==
Federally, telecommunications are overseen by the [[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]] ({{langx|fr|Conseil de la Radiodiffusion et des Télécommunications Canadiennes}})&ndash;CRTC as outlined under the provisions of both the [[Telecommunications Act (Canada)|Telecommunications Act]] and [[Radiocommunication Act]]s.  CRTC further works with [[Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada]] (formerly Industry Canada) on various technical aspects including: allocating frequencies and call signs, managing the broadcast spectrum, and regulating other technical issues such as interference with electronics equipment. As Canada comprises a part of the [[North American Numbering Plan]] for area codes, the [[Canadian Numbering Administration Consortium]] within Canada is responsible for allocating and managing area codes in Canada.

== See also ==
{{commons category|Telecommunications in Canada}}
* [[Media in Canada]]
* [[List of newspapers in Canada]]
* [[List of mobile network operators of the Americas]]
* [[List of telephone operating companies]]
* [[Canadian Area Codes|List of area codes in Canada]]
* [[Postal codes in Canada|List of postcode areas in Canada]]
* [[Canadian Association of Broadcasters]]
* [[Canadian Broadcast Standards Council]]
* [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]
* [[Canadian Communications Foundation]]

== References ==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="canencyclo">{{cite web|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/telegraph |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316212144/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/telegraph |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 16, 2012 |title=Telegraph|first=Robert E.|last=Babe|publisher= [[Historica Foundation]]|access-date=2012-01-19}}</ref>
<ref name="wutr1951">{{cite journal|last=Light|first=G.G.|date=October 1951|title=Switching to Canada at Gateway Cities|journal=Western Union Technical Review|volume=5|issue=4|pages=131&ndash;137|publisher=[[Western Union]]|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Company-Publications/Western-Union/Western-Union-Technical-Revue-1951-10.pdf#page=13|access-date=2023-03-21}}</ref>
<ref name="CRTC">{{cite web|url=http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/backgrnd/brochures/b19903.htm|title=CRTC Origins|date= 2008-09-05|publisher=[[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]]|access-date=2012-01-19|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110203201/http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/backgrnd/brochures/b19903.htm|archive-date=2012-01-10}}</ref>
<ref name="CPRail">{{cite web|url=http://www.cpr.ca/en/news-and-media/news/Documents/digital-railway-backgrounder.docx|title=From Driving the Last Spike to Driving the Digital Highway|date=2010-11-07|work=Media Kit|format=[[Office Open XML]]|publisher=[[Canadian Pacific Railway]]|access-date=2012-01-19}}</ref>
}}

== Further reading ==
*{{cite book|title=Canadian Telecommunications Law|last=Howell|first=Robert|publisher=Irwin Law|date=2011|isbn=978-1-55221-055-0}}

'''Bibliography'''<br />
{{CIA World Factbook}}
* [https://www.cira.ca/community-investment-program/canadas-internet-infrastructure-internet-exchange-points-ixps Canada’s internet infrastructure Internet Exchange Points (IXPs)], Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA)
* [https://cnac.ca/area_code_maps/canadian_area_codes.htm Canadian Area Codes], Canadian Numbering Administration Consortium, Inc. (CNAC)
* [https://www.submarinecablemap.com/country/canada Canada], SubmarineCableMap.com
* [https://www.ic.gc.ca/app/sitt/bbmap/hm.html?lang=eng National Broadband Internet Service Availability Map], Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

== External links ==
*[http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/ The Canadian Communications Foundation] – A History of Canadian Broadcasting
*[https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/comm/fourprov.htm Find Service Providers in Canada], CRTC (Mobile, Phone, Internet, or free/paid TV) by location
*[https://www.planhub.ca Compare Internet & Phone Plans in Canada] – Free Online Comparison Tool

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[[Category:Telecommunications in Canada| ]]