“The 2003 blackout catalyzed serious reforms to the power grids affected; the question is whether the Rogers catastrophe will prompt a reimagining of how we provide and govern digital infrastructure.”
Vass Bednar analyzes the fallout from the July 2022 Rogers service outage in The Globe and Mail
The Canada-wide Rogers Communications service outage in July 2022 put a spotlight on competition in the digital communications space. CIGI had already been watching Canada’s competition policies closely, including through a series of critical discussions led by CIGI Senior Fellow Vass Bednar with Canadian Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell and other experts on how the digital marketplace is disrupting and reshaping our economy.
Analysis from CIGI experts, including CIGI Fellow Keldon Bester, asked if Canada’s competition law is up to the task of curbing monopolies in the context of rapidly expanding digital markets and argued that telecommunications networks are vital public infrastructure, even if they are managed by private companies. Robert Fay testified along with Jennifer Quaid before the Senate of Canada’s Standing Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy.