Financial Post Reuters
Rogers Communications Inc said on Wednesday it would spend $3 billion this year on building 5G infrastructure in Canada, but warned that “punitive” regulations would slow down the deployment of the high-speed network in the country.
Lack of “right” regulations in Canada to build 5G infrastructure puts the proposed investment at risk, Chief Executive Officer Joe Natale said.
“As we enter the world of 5G, regulatory certainty is critical to investment,” Natale said on a post-earnings call.
Canada is reviewing the security implications of 5G networks, including whether to allow China’s Huawei Technologies to supply network equipment.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) could not be immediately reached for comment.
Countries including the United States, China, South Korea and Japan are in a race to speed up 5G adoption, hoping the technology will spur breakthrough in the development of smart cities and autonomous cars, among other things.
“The race to 5G is not with other companies, it is with other countries,” Natale said on a post-earnings call.