Ice Wireless and its parent Iristel still do not send Canada’s Alert Ready wireless emergency alerts to phones on their LTE networks. The CRTC ruled on Thursday that the company must turn the system on within 12 months, and warn customers in the meantime.
Iristel had asked for relief from the wireless public alerting rule that has applied to LTE carriers since 2018. The Commission denied every option it put forward.
Ice Wireless serves northern, rural and remote communities, including parts of the territories and other hard-to-reach areas. Those are the same places where a phone alert can matter most when a wildfire, severe storm or other emergency hits. The CRTC said alerts are equally important for customers in those communities and for people in cities, and that leaving Ice’s subscribers without them would leave a gap in national coverage.
The company argued that Alert Ready costs more for a small wireless provider than the CRTC assumed when it ordered all LTE carriers to join the national alerting system. It wanted one of three outcomes: funding from the National Contribution Fund, an exemption for carriers with fewer than 50,000 LTE subscribers, or a rule forcing larger carriers to offer Alert Ready as a wholesale service.
None of that landed. The Commission said contribution fund money is not for helping one carrier meet a condition of service other wireless companies already met without a subsidy. An exemption for small LTE carriers would create two classes of providers and leave Ice customers without alerts until the company grew past the proposed threshold. A wholesale deal was not shown to be workable in a reasonable time, and it would not help in areas where Ice is the only carrier.
Every other relevant wireless provider on LTE or newer networks has already implemented wireless public alerting. The CRTC said Iristel has enough detail on the software, hardware, interconnection and testing work to start now, and that 12 months matches the original rollout window other carriers met.
Until Alert Ready is live on Ice’s LTE or newer networks, customers on those networks may not get emergency alerts on their phones. The CRTC directed Iristel to tell existing and prospective customers about that gap through its website, its terms of service, the point of sale or service activation, and direct messages to current customers.
That warning is meant to help people decide whether to stay on Ice, add another way to get alerts, or switch. Compatible phones still need an LTE connection in the alert area to receive wireless public alerts, which is why older 3G-only devices and Wi-Fi-only setups have always been outside the cell broadcast path.
The Commission is also reviewing how wireless emergency alerts work more broadly, but it said possible future changes to the national system are no reason to delay Iristel’s rollout. Northern and rural Ice customers should watch for the company notices in the months ahead, because the alerts themselves will not start until the 12-month clock runs out or Ice finishes the work sooner.
If you are on Ice Wireless today, would you keep the plan knowing emergency alerts may not reach your phone until next fall?
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
