K6 — Personal Communications Services spectrum licences (interim) issued to certain members of the Ontario Telecommunications Association

The following conditions apply to any licences issued through DGSO-002-11, Renewal Process for Cellular and Personal Communications Services (PCS) Spectrum Licences (the 2011 Renewal Process), including those initially assigned by auction as well as any issued subsequent to the renewal process. It should be noted that the licence is subject to relevant provisions in the Radiocommunication Act and the Radiocommunication Regulations. For example, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (the Minister) continues to have the power to amend the terms and conditions of spectrum licences (paragraph 5(1)(b) of the Radiocommunication Act).

1. Licence term

This licence will expire on the date indicated on the licence.

The licensee may be eligible to obtain a licence on the terms described in DGSO 002 11, Renewal Process for Cellular and Personal Communications Services (PCS) Spectrum Licences prior to the end of the term if it has demonstrated compliance with all of the licence conditions herein.

The licensee must pay the annual licence fee before March 31 of each year for the subsequent year (April 1 to March 31).

2. Licence transferability and divisibility

This licence is transferable in whole or in part (divisibility), in both bandwidth and geographic dimensions, subject to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada's (ISED) approval. A Subordinate Licence may also be issued in regard to this licence. ISED's approval is required for each proposed Subordinate Licence.

The licensee must make the Transfer Request in writing to ISED. The Transfer Request will be treated as set out in Client Procedures Circular CPC-2-1-23, Licensing Procedure for Spectrum Licences for Terrestrial Services, as amended from time to time.

The licensee must apply in writing to ISED for approval prior to implementing any Deemed Transfer, which will be treated as set out in CPC-2-1-23. The implementation of a Deemed Transfer without the prior approval of ISED will be considered a breach of this condition of licence.

Should the licensee enter into any Agreement that provides for a Prospective Transfer with another holder of a licence for commercial mobile spectrum (including any Affiliate, agent or representative of the other licence holder), the licensee must apply in writing to ISED for review of the Prospective Transfer within 15 days of entering into the Agreement, which will be treated as set out in CPC-2-1-23. Should ISED issue a decision indicating that the Prospective Transfer is not approved, it will be a breach of this condition of licence for a licensee to remain in an agreement that provides for the Prospective Transfer for a period of more than 90 days from the date of the decision.

In all cases, the licensee must follow the procedures as outlined in CPC-2-1-23.

All capitalized terms are defined in CPC-2-1-23.

For more information, refer to CPC-2-1-23, as amended from time to time.

3. Eligibility

The licensee must comply on an ongoing basis with the applicable eligibility criteria in subsection 9(1) of the Radiocommunication Regulations. The licensee must notify the Minister of any change that would have a material effect on its eligibility before any proposed transactions known to the licensee.

4. Displacement of incumbents

The licensee must comply with the revised transition policy outlined in appendix 2 of the Policy and Licensing Procedures for the Auction of Additional PCS Spectrum in the 2 GHz Frequency Range issued on June 28, 2000, and the procedure for the relocation of incumbent microwave stations outlined in CPC-2-1-09, Displacement of Fixed Service Stations Operating in the 2 GHz Frequency Range to Accommodate Licensed Personal Communications Services (PCS), as amended from time to time.

5. Radio station installations

The licensee must comply with CPC-2-0-03, Radiocommunication and Broadcasting Antenna Systems, as amended from time to time.

6. Provision of technical information

When ISED requests technical information on a particular station or network, the information must be provided by the licensee according to the definitions, criteria, frequency, and timelines specified in CPC-2-1-23, Licensing Procedure for Spectrum Licences for Terrestrial Services, as amended from time to time.

7. Compliance with legislation, regulation, and other obligations

The licensee is subject to, and must comply with, the Radiocommunication Act, the Radiocommunication Regulation and the International Telecommunication Union's Radio Regulations pertaining to its licensed radio frequency bands. The licence is issued on condition that the certifications made in relation to this licence are all true and complete in every respect. The licensee must use the assigned spectrum in accordance with the Canadian Table of Frequency Allocations and the spectrum policies applicable to these bands.

8. Technical considerations

The licensee must comply on an ongoing basis with the technical aspects of the appropriate Radio Standards Specifications and Standard Radio System Plans, as amended from time to time.

9. International and domestic coordination

The licensee must comply with the obligations arising from current and future frequency coordination agreements established with other countries and shall be required to provide information or take actions to implement these obligations as requested by ISED. Although frequency assignments are not subject to site licensing, the licensee may be required to furnish all necessary technical data for each relevant site.

The licensee must use its best efforts to enter into mutually acceptable sharing agreements that will facilitate the reasonable and timely development of their respective systems, where applicable, and to coordinate with other licensed users in Canada and internationally where applicable.

10. Lawful interception (applicable to Personal Communications Services frequencies only)

Licensees operating as telecommunications common carriers and using this spectrum for circuit-switched voice telephony systems must, from the inception of service, provide for and maintain lawful interception capabilities as authorized by law. The requirements for lawful interception capabilities are provided in the Solicitor General's Enforcement Standards for Lawful Interception of Telecommunications (revised November 1995). These standards may be amended from time to time.

The licensee may request the Minister to forbear from enforcing certain assistance capability requirements for a limited period. The Minister, following consultation with Public Safety Canada, may exercise the power to forbear from enforcing a requirement or requirements where, in the opinion of the Minister, the requirement is not reasonably achievable. Requests for forbearance must include specific details and dates indicating when compliance to the requirement can be expected.

11. Research and development

The licensee must invest, as a minimum, 2% of its adjusted gross revenues resulting from the use of this licence, averaged over the term of the licence, in eligible research and development (R&D) activities related to telecommunications. Eligible R&D activities are those that meet the definition of scientific research and experimental development adopted in the Income Tax Act, as amended from time to time. Adjusted gross revenues are defined as total service revenues, less inter-carrier payments, bad debts, third party commissions, and provincial goods and services taxes collected. The licensee is exempt from R&D expenditure requirements if it, together with all affiliated licensees that are subject to the R&D condition of licence, has less than $1 billion in annual gross operating revenues from the provision of wireless services in Canada, averaged over the term of the licence. For this condition of licence, an affiliate is defined as a person who controls the carrier, or who is controlled by the carrier or by any person who controls the carrier, as per subsection 35(3) of the Telecommunications Act.

To facilitate compliance with this condition of licence, the licensee should consult ISED’s Guideline GL-03, Guidelines for Compliance with the Radio Authorization Condition of Licence Relating to Research and Development (R&D), as amended from time to time.

12. Mandatory antenna tower and site sharing

Licensees operating as telecommunications common carriers must comply with the mandatory antenna tower and site sharing requirements set out in CPC-2-0-17, Conditions of Licence for Mandatory Roaming and Antenna Tower and Site Sharing and to Prohibit Exclusive Site Arrangements, as amended from time to time.

13. Mandatory roaming

The licensee must comply with the mandatory roaming requirements set out in CPC-2-0-17, as amended from time to time.

14. Annual reporting

The licensee must submit an annual report for each year of the licence term, including the following information:

  • a statement indicating continued compliance with all conditions of licence
  • an update on the implementation and spectrum usage within the area covered by the licence
  • existing audited financial statements with an accompanying auditor's report
  • a statement indicating the annual gross operating revenues from the provision of wireless services in Canada and, where applicable, the annual adjusted gross revenues resulting from the use of this licence, as defined in these conditions of licence
  • a report of the R&D expenditures as set out in these conditions of licence (ISED may, at its discretion, request an audited statement of R&D expenditures with an accompanying auditor's report)
  • supporting financial statements where a licensee is claiming an exemption based on, together with all affiliated licensees that are subject to the R&D condition of licence, it having less than $1 billion in annual gross operating revenues from the provision of wireless services in Canada, averaged over the term of the licence
  • a copy of any existing corporate annual report for the licensee's fiscal year with respect to the authorization
  • other information related to the licence as specified in any notice updating the reporting requirements as issued by ISED

All reports and statements are to be certified by an officer of the company and submitted, in writing, within 120 days of the licensee's fiscal year-end, to the address below. Where a licensee holds multiple licences, the reports should be broken down by service area. Confidential information provided will be treated in accordance with subsection 20(1) of the Access to Information Act.

 

Reports are to be submitted to ISED at the following address:

 

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Spectrum Management Operations Branch
Manager, Operational Policy
6th Floor, East Tower
235 Queen Street
Ottawa ON K1A 0H5

Email: spectrumoperations-operationsduspectre@ised-isde.gc.ca

15. Amendments

The Minister retains the discretion to amend these terms and conditions of licence at any time.

16. System access fees or network and licensing charges

Licensees are not required nor permitted to levy charges to their subscribers on behalf of ISED. In particular, charges which appear to be for spectrum management purposes, such as system access fees or network and licensing charges, are not mandated by ISED.

17. Deployment requirements

The licensee will be required to demonstrate to the Minister that the spectrum has been put to use, as specified below:

  • Deployment requirements for Tier 4 areas and subdivided Tier 4 areas will be based on the Tier 4 areas.
  • Deployment requirements for non-sub-divided Tier 2 or Tier 3 areas will be based on each of the Tier 4 areas contained within the licensed Tier 2 or 3 area.
  • Deployment requirements for subdivided Tier 2 or 3 areas will be based on the Tier 4 areas that are encompassed by the licence regardless of whether the licence completely covers the Tier 4 areas, based on the pro-rated population.
  • Deployment requirements for Local Telephone Service Areas (TEL areas) will be based on the average of the highest and lowest deployment requirements among the Tier 4 areas that intersect with the TEL area, with the population pro-rated to the population contained within the TEL area. If a TEL area is contained within only one Tier 4 service area, it will have the same requirement as that Tier 4 service area pro-rated to the population contained within the TEL area.

The population applied in the deployment requirements will be based on data from the latest Canadian census.

All licensees subject to these conditions of licence shall demonstrate that they are providing active service as specified in annexes A and B of the Decision on Amending Cellular and Personal Communications Services (PCS) Licence Conditions (the Decision), based on the most recent census information available at the time of assessment. The service requirement must be maintained at this minimum throughout the licence term, including at the end of the term.

Licensees must comply with these deployment requirements within five years of the publication of the Decision or, if the licence was issued after the publication of the Decision, within five years of the issuance of the licence.

Where a licence is transferred, the requirement and time limits for the new licensee to deploy will remain the same as the requirements and limits of the transferor.

Subordinate licence deployments may be used towards the spectrum usage requirements of the primary licence.

Where, at any point in the licence term, the licensee is not in compliance with its deployment conditions, ISED may invoke various compliance and enforcement measures.