Timeline of key developments in the road to TTC wireless access
Global News
A timeline of key developments in the Toronto Transit Commission wireless network access saga.
A timeline of key developments in the Toronto Transit Commission wireless network access saga:
Dec. 5, 2012: The TTC, as part of a public procurement, awards BAI Communications a contract that would see it develop a wireless network in the Toronto subway system. Australia-based BAI agrees to pay $25 million to the TTC over a 20-year term.
June 17, 2015: BAI Canada and the TTC sign on the subway system’s first cellular carrier, Wind Mobile, whose customers become the only ones to have access to service on select TTC platforms and tunnels. Wind, later bought by Shaw Communications Inc. and rebranded as Freedom Mobile, was purchased by Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron in April 2023.
March 10, 2023: In a letter to TTC board chair Jon Burnside and TTC CEO Rick Leary, Bell says it had become aware of negotiations that could see Rogers become the wireless network provider for the subway system, according to documents obtained by The Canadian Press. Bell urges the TTC to use its right of approval to “adopt a consortium approach as part of any new arrangement for the provision of wireless services in the subway system.”
March 25, 2023: The stabbing death of 16-year-old Gabriel Magalhaes at Keele subway station is the latest of several violent incidents on the TTC and brings fresh scrutiny to the issue of transit safety. Toronto city council passes a motion by Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie five days later urging the city to “call on all cellphone providers” to ensure mobile service is available across the subway system.
April 4, 2023: Amid mounting pressure on Rogers, Bell and Telus to provide wireless service on the TTC, Rogers says it recognizes “connectivity plays an important role in public safety and we are committed to being part of the solution.”
April 10, 2023: Rogers and BAI Communications announce a deal that will see the telecommunications giant acquire the latter’s Canadian operations, along with the exclusive rights to the TTC’s wireless network. The CRTC says it is monitoring developments related to the deal “to determine what role, if any,” it has to play.
April 12, 2023: Speaking at a lunch hosted by Canadian Club Toronto, Rogers president and CEO Tony Staffieri pledges the subway network “will work for everybody” regardless of carrier. He reveals talks with BAI began around a year before reaching a deal as Rogers had been hearing from customers returning to downtown offices amid the pandemic that they wanted connectivity on the subway.
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