Perfect storm : How new technologies and foreign investment in Canada's telecommunications industry will affect municipalities

Will a surge in foreign investment in telecommunications infrastructure lead to increased costs to municipalities to accommodate increased access to municipal rights of way? For the municipal sector, the real question is "Will the federal government's stated objective of increasing the scope of foreign investment in Canadian telecommunications unleash another wave of new investment in infrastructure similar to that post-1993? And will that will put comparable pressure on municipalities to accommodate the increase in telecom companies seeking access to municipal rights-of-way (ROW)?" This brief paper sets out to provide some answers.