Telecom giants sign deal ensuring Canadians have network access in case of another outage

Canadian telecom giants have officially joined hands to make sure people always have access to a working network in case another outage occurs.

On July 11, a massive Rogers network outage left the country paralyzed. Rogers subscribers woke up to no signal bars and some had no working internet connection for days. Most were not even able to call the police for emergencies.

The service provider spent $150 million on customer credits to make up for the outage and was hit with a class action lawsuit. The feds got involved, and called the event “unacceptable.”

Now, to prevent another communication breakdown, several telecom companies have signed a formal agreement, as per a federal announcement on Wednesday.

Statement from Minister Champagne on Canada’s Telecommunications Reliability Agenda following Rogers’ outage on July 8, 2022https://t.co/48bBbU3zrA

— GC Newsroom (@NewsroomGC) September 7, 2022

You might also like:
• Rogers creating "always on" network to prevent major outages
• Class-action lawsuit launched against Rogers after "paralyzing" network outage
• “Unacceptable”: Feds demand action from big telecoms after massive Rogers network outage

“As of September 9, should one of these providers be faced with a major network outage, the other companies have committed to provide the support and assistance necessary so that Canadians can reach loved ones, access 911, and conduct business transactions,” said Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne in a statement.

He added that following the Rogers outage, several telecom companies were given a 60-day notice to create a backup system and “guarantee emergency roaming, mutual assistance, and a communications protocol” in case another major outage occurs.

The companies who’ve co-signed the deal include Bell Canada, Bragg Communications, Cogeco Communications, Rogers Communication Canada, Saskatchewan Telecommunications, Shaw Communications, Freedom Mobile, Tbaytel, Telus, Telesat Canada, Videotron Ltd., Xplorenet Communications, and Zayo Canada.

The agreement is based on three pillars: robust networks and systems, coordinated planning and preparedness, and strengthening accountability.

“The Rogers outage of July 8 was unacceptable, and we must do everything possible to ensure something similar does not happen again in the future,” Minister Champagne concluded. “Canadians deserve strong, reliable, and affordable telecommunications networks.”