Ford, which has been Canada’s best-selling auto brand since 2009, has stated it plans to stop putting AM radios in non-commercial vehicles by 2024.

The automaker’s decision follows those of companies such as Tesla, Mazda and Volkswagen, which have removed AM receivers from their electric vehicle (EV) lines, citing electromagnetic interference the EV drivetrain can create with the AM signal.

Many rural areas and farming communities are too far from population centres to catch FM radio — making AM the only broadcast media connection for market reports, weather reports and emergency updates.

Representatives from Kubota, John Deere and Stellantis — the parent company of brands such as Chrysler, Jeep and Ram — all said in emailed statements they do not have plans to phase out AM radio in their vehicles.

But even if farming vehicles retain the AM dial, decisions like Ford’s will likely have ripple effects in rural areas.

“There’s a chain of events, of course,” said Darrin Qualman, director of climate crisis policy and action for the National Farmers Union (NFU). “If the automakers phase out the AM in their cars, then it’ll make it more likely that the radio stations will phase out AM broadcasting.

“The way that farmers and rural people are affected isn’t because they end up with the cars that don’t have the AM radios, it’s because the lack of AM radios in cars leads to the shutdown of the AM signals.”

Shifting to newer technology such as internet streaming or satellite radio would not be possible for many farmers, he added.

“Tractors, unlike cars, have a very long lifespan. Farmers keep tractors for 20, 30, 40 years or more, and they are not going to have the latest radio technology.”

Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) president Keith Currie said any new tech would not be able to match AM radio’s universality.

“Can you find certain things? Yes, like sporting events, you can typically find, but not everything’s available yet through satellite radio.”

Currie also said that since “we are a long way away” from effective cellular and 5G coverage in rural areas, the internet is not yet a viable alternative.

Currie said he is an avid AM listener.

“I live in Ontario, so I’m a big Blue Jays fan, so at night, on the tractor in particular, I’ve got the Jays game on.”

‘Need some intervention’

Another area of concern is the potential impact on emergency radio broadcasts.

“In the case of an emergency, (where) we need to communicate across vast regions or provinces all at once, I think people would turn to those AM radio sets,” Qualman said, “if we don’t have the capacity to broadcast over wide areas, it creates a problem.”

Currie said cell coverage would also be an issue when it comes to emergencies, as many would not have a strong enough signal to receive messages.

Qualman said he thinks this issue requires legislative action.

“It can’t just be shaped by the market and profitability drive of the corporate owners of radio stations,” Qualman said. “We probably need some government intervention and regulation to make sure that the AM bands that a lot of people rely on are maintained.”

“Like all things in life, times change, and we have to adapt to it, I just hope we have the resources.”

At least one attempt at such intervention is now underway south of the border.

Bipartisan groups of lawmakers on Wednesday launched legislation in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives that would direct that country’s transportation secretary to ensure consumers have access to AM radio in all new vehicles, without paying extra.

The proposed rule would give the secretary a year to set a standard for new motor vehicles in the U.S. to come with AM radio. Until that standard is in place, vehicles sold without AM radio receivers would have to be “explicitly labeled” for buyers.

“There is a clear public safety imperative here,” Jessica Rosenworcel, chairwoman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), said in a release Wednesday from the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts.

“Having AM radio available in our cars means we always have access to emergency alerts and key warnings while we are out on the road. Updating transportation should not mean sacrificing access to what can be lifesaving information.”

Markey also noted endorsement for the bill from the U.S. National Association of Broadcasters and National Association of Farm Broadcasters.

“Carmakers shouldn’t tune out AM radio in new vehicles or put it behind a costly digital paywall,” Markey said in his release, saying his bill aims to ensure AM “does not become a relic of the past.”

— Jonah Grignon reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa. Includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.

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The ruling comes as the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) looks to lower the cost of cellphone plans and increase competition.

For years, Canadian consumers have complained about high cellular bills, which rank among the steepest in the world, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has threatened to take action if the providers failed to cut bills by 25 per cent.

The CRTC has since been under pressure to increase competition and lower prices where three companies — Bell, Telus and Rogers — control over 80 per cent of the mobile subscriber market.

Antitrust regulators for this reason have stalled the $16 billion acquisition of Shaw Communications by Rogers, on the grounds that the deal would further reduce competition.

In April last year, CRTC ruled that large telecoms firms must offer wholesale wireless access to so-called mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) — smaller outfits that can then resell the capacity at reduced retail prices and pass on the savings to consumers — but with several stipulations that were seen as wins for big companies.

In Wednesday’s ruling — which, along with the nationwide big three, will also apply to SaskTel, Saskatchewan’s Crown-owned phone and cellular utility — CRTC said the service will be mandated for seven years, giving the regional providers time to build and expand their wireless networks.

The CRTC said Wednesday its new ruling is “opening the door for more companies, in particular smaller regional wireless providers in more rural areas, to provide greater competition and choice to more Canadians by accessing the wireless networks of Canada’s largest providers.”

In addition, prices for MVNO access must be negotiated between the providers.

Bell, Telus and Rogers did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

— Reporting for Reuters by Eva Mathews in Bangalore; includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.

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New Brunswick-based, privately held Xplornet Communications announced Thursday it has signed a deal to sell majority control itself to Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners.

The two companies’ announcement didn’t put a dollar figure to the deal, but a report Monday from Bloomberg, well ahead of Thursday’s announcement, quoted unnamed sources putting the price tag at about US$2 billion including debt.

The deal still requires regulatory approval and is expected to close “in the coming months,” Xplornet said in a release.

The funding from Stonepeak, whose portfolio today is valued around US$17.9 billion, is expected to give the company “a strong balance sheet to execute its plan of improving broadband service for residences and business in rural Canada, along with access to growth capital,” Xplornet said.

Xplornet CEO Allison Lenehan said the new investment “will position Xplornet to accelerate development of our facilities-based broadband network and services, enabling much faster speeds, including unlimited data plans at affordable prices for rural Canada.”

The New Brunswick company has been on an aggressive growth track in recent years, buying providers such as Saskatchewan’s YourLink and Manitoba’s NetSet in 2017. It also announced a deal earlier this month to buy southwestern Ontario-based Silo Wireless.

Xplornet also picked up a substantial customer base in rural Manitoba in 2017 when federal regulators ordered Bell Canada to divest assets for approval of its takeover of Manitoba telecom firm MTS.

The company on Thursday reiterated its recently announced five-year plan to put up $500 million for hybrid fibre wireless and satellite technology for more broadband coverage over rural areas.

The deal announced Thursday calls for Lenehan to continue as Xplornet’s CEO and for the business to remain headquartered in New Brunswick.

Current board chairman Steve Weed and his Seattle-based investment fund WaveDivision Capital will also still be “material investors” in the Xplornet business, the companies noted.

Stonepeak, which bills itself as an investor in “long-lived, hard-asset” infrastructure including fuel and water pipelines and utilities, is no stranger to the internet service sector.

The investment firm’s assets also include Cologix, which operates data centres in the U.S. and Canada supporting web network interconnections, including 17 in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto; wireless provider Extenet Systems; and wireless tower operator Vertical Bridge. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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New Brunswick-based Xplornet Communications, whose client list already includes over a million rural customers in all provinces, announced it has closed its deal to buy Silo for an undisclosed sum.

The deal gives Xplornet over 100 fixed wireless towers, including LTE sites, as well as Silo’s fibre-to-the-home network in the region and the Brantford-based company’s customer list.

Silo customers “can expect the same friendly, local service as Xplornet integrates the networks, and upgrades sites with LTE and unlimited data,” Xplornet said in a release Thursday.

Xplornet also said Silo’s fibre-to-the-home network lines up with its own previously announced fibre expansion plans in eastern Ontario and Atlantic Canada, while the Ontario company’s over-the-air assets “complement” its own holdings and spectrum in the region.

Xplornet in September picked up $16 million in federal funding for a project to set up over 600 km of fibre optic cable as well as 5G-ready broadband infrastructure in eastern Ontario, which it expects to complete in 2022.

The company has already been active in southwestern Ontario for years, having bought Everus Communications’ operations out of receivership in 2010.

In Xplornet’s release Thursday, Silo CEO Andreas Wiatowski said the Ontario company “has been connecting the region for almost 13 years using some of the latest fibre and wireless technologies” and tying those in with Xplornet’s spectrum holdings “will allow for unprecedented access and speeds.”

“This is an exciting time for our company and in particular for our customers in this region,” Xplornet executive vice-president Bill Macdonald said in the same release. “We are making major investments in our network to give our customers more: faster speeds, unlimited data, and access to the latest 5G-ready internet services.”

Xplornet announced a deal in September to sub-license 40MHz of AWS-4 spectrum, which it said covers most rural households across all 10 provinces and would allow it to build a national 5G wireless broadband network for rural Canadians. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Xplornet Communications announced Monday it has signed a deal to buy the internet access business of Brandon-based NetSet Communications.

Financial terms of the deal for the privately-held Manitoba company weren’t disclosed, except for a description of the deal as “the largest in Xplornet’s history” and an expected closing date of Oct. 31.

Xplornet said it expects to complement NetSet’s existing services by further expanding the company’s wireless internet footprint and adding new products such as satellite internet, home phone and mobile wireless service in 2018.

Xplornet said it will also maintain the NetSet trade name and retain “virtually all” of NetSet’s employees and business operations in Brandon and Winnipeg.

NetSet founder Charlie Clark will continue in an “advisory role” and will continue to own the company’s real estate, Xplornet said, and will work with NetSet partners Tami-Rae Rourke and Donovan McIvor to oversee growth of NetSet’s telecommunications tower network.

NetSet’s network is designed and set up around the current WiMAX platform and is fully upgradable to Long-Term Evolution (LTE) internet, the company said.

The federal government last year pledged up to $9.9 million for NetSet to provide high-speed Internet services targeting almost 10,000 homes in the Dauphin–Swan River–Marquette area. That project was expected to be completed by the end of this year, delivering internet speeds of at least five Mbps (megabits per second).

NetSet, which launched in 2001, bills itself as “the ideal solution for government, commercial, agriculture-based businesses and residential users.”

Woodstock, N.B.-based Xplornet, which in January signed a $28.75 million deal to buy Saskatchewan rural high-speed wireless provider YourLink, said the NetSet deal “accelerates the company’s continued expansion across Western Canada.” — AGCanada.com Network

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New Brunswick-based Xplornet Communications on Monday announced an all-cash $28.75 million deal with Victoria-based Vecima Networks for the “remaining assets” of Vecima’s YourLink business.

YourLink, based in Saskatoon, is a major wireless service provider for rural Saskatchewan, offering fixed broadband wireless data and telephone access for residential and business users.

The company in mid-2015 announced major expansions and upgrades of its Saskatchewan network, for which it picked up $4.63 million in federal funding. Those expansions are expected to connect over 40,000 additional homes by the end of April next year, at a minimum speed of five MB per second.

YourLink, Xplornet said, “will continue to operate and deliver its high-quality services in Saskatchewan while integrating operations into Xplornet regional and national delivery teams.”

The deal involves a payment of $20 million, made Thursday, with the $8.75 million balance to follow before the end of the second calendar quarter of 2017, Vecima said.

The deal is subject to the usual closing conditions and regulatory approvals, including transfer of radio spectrum licenses, Vecima said.

Vecima CEO Sumit Kumar said Monday the company’s “strategic priority” in the past five years has been to “monetize non-core assets and focus on our core technology business.”

Vecima, which makes broadband hardware mainly for the business services market, in the past five years has also shed its BC Cable business and “excess” radio spectrum and real estate, including a former manufacturing facility in Saskatoon.

“We are confident that our vision to extend the reach of broadband to more people in Saskatchewan will now be pursued by a highly focused national broadband service provider that is dedicated to building a stronger, more connected digital Canada.”

The deal “will increase our fixed wireless broadband footprint in Saskatchewan and support Xplornet’s mission to make affordable, fast and reliable broadband Internet services available to rural Canadians,” Xplornet CEO Allison Lenehan said in a release.

Xplornet said the YourLink deal is “complementary” to its own operations; Lenehan said the company believes the deal “will allow us to provide even more value for YourLink customers.”

Xplornet said Monday it plans to further expand its own network with “continued extension” of its LTE coverage and the launch of two new satellites offering internet download speeds “not previously seen in many parts of rural Canada.”

Areas of Saskatchewan that were earmarked for expanded YourLink high-speed service through the company’s 2015 plan included Albertville, Battleford, Carruthers, Dinsmore, Estevan, Loon Lake, Melfort, Moose Jaw, Nipawin, North Battleford, Prince Albert, Rouleau, Swift Current, Tompkins, Wakaw Lake, Weldon and Yorkton. — AGCanada.com Network

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