A mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that wants mandated access to the infrastructure of any of the Big Three telecom firms and SaskTel will already need to be offering cellphone services to consumers and hold spectrum where it plans to operate, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ruled on Wednesday. The two sides will need to agree on a price for access between themselves, with the regulator handling binding arbitration if they fail to reach a deal. Rates must be open for renegotiation every two years. (The Logic)

Talking point: MVNOs don’t own all the antenna towers and airwaves on which they operate, instead paying to use other firms’ infrastructure to connect their customers. With Wednesday’s decision, the CRTC declared the network-owning telcos—which have opposed the regime—open for business from some piggybackers, or at least open to negotiations, which are mandatory. The ruling ensures the system will cover 5G service, sets timelines and rejects incumbents’ bids to set some restrictions, like minimum spectrum ownership. Via tweet, Innovation Minister François-Phillipe Champagne called it “welcome news” that “will help create even more competition and affordability in the market.” But the CRTC decision retains the basic eligibility criteria the CRTC set in April 2021, which some prospective wireless carriers and consumer groups challenged on the grounds it was too narrow; Google and Ryan Reynolds need not apply.