Tesla seeks CRTC telecom license

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Tesla Motors Canada ULC has applied to the Canadian Radio and Television Telecommunications Commission for a license to “manage or operate or resell” international telecommunications services, but plans for the electric vehicle manufacturer to begin marketing mobile phones It seems not.

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According to documents filed with the CRTC on Sept. 15, Tesla will use the license to provide machine-to-machine cellular data services and enable access to in-vehicle infotainment services, including telemetry data and internet access. increase.

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Additionally, the license will allow Tesla to provide mobile-incoming SMS to activate vehicles, Keith Rose, an attorney at McCarthy Tétrault LLP, representing Tesla in the application, wrote to the CRTC. said.

“Tesla does not and does not intend to own or operate transmission facilities in Canada,” Rose wrote.

The base International Telecommunications Service (BITS) license Tesla is seeking covers telecommunications traffic “between Canada and other countries,” similar to General Motors’ CRTC license renewed in 2017. Sounds like it, Mark Goldberg said. Telecommunications analyst based in Toronto.

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With OnStar, owners can call emergency services, unlock their car if their keys are locked inside, or stop their vehicle if it’s stolen.

Tesla’s plans look “no different from GM,” Goldberg said, adding that the CRTC license doesn’t dictate which communication links owners use.

Tesla could use Starlink, founder Elon Musk’s satellite internet constellation run by SpaceX, but “mobile communications using low-Earth orbit satellites is a very different engineering challenge,” he said. Mr Goldberg said.

“Tesla is now equipped with antennas compatible with mobile networks and expects to enter commercial agreements with one or more companies in the mobile industry.”

CRTC spokesperson Patricia Valladao said applications for licenses for international telecommunications services are open for a 30-day public comment period, and in the absence of objectionable comments, licenses are typically issued within 21 days of the comment deadline. said it would.

Neither Tesla nor Rose, a lawyer for McCarthy Tetra, were available for comment.

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