CRTC opening up Indigenous Broadband Funding stream in policy review

The CRTC is looking for feedback on how it can improve its Broadband Fund, as well as feedback on a proposal to open a separate funding stream for Indigenous communities. Thursday the CRTC issued a notice of consultation and a press release on its new Broadband Fund policy review. According to the CRTC, 91.4 per cent of Canadian households have access to high-speed internet service but only 62 per cent of rural households and 43.3 per cent of Indigenous reserves have similar access. Regarding its new Indigenous funding steam, the commission is seeking comments on: what types of economic and social benefits projects could provide Indigenous communities and how the CRTC can assess those benefits when evaluating projects; how the CRTC should identify eligible Indigenous communities, including those not located on reserves or settlement lands; if the CRTC should alter its Broadband Fund criteria to better serve Indigenous communities; and how the regulator can best reach out to Indigenous communities. The CRTC is also looking to expand the scope of its funding to include operational funding support to service providers serving rural and remote areas. “During the development of the Broadband Fund policy, potential applicants submitted that while capital funding for new infrastructure builds is helpful in making rural and remote networks financially viable, the high costs associated with operating and maintaining networks in those areas make it difficult to sustain networks once they are built,” the CRTC wrote in its consultation document. The CRTC is seeking feedback on how it should determine applicant and geographic eligibility for operational funding; how long operational funding should be provided; and how it can ensure that consumers benefit through price reductions or improvements in service packages. The commission is looking to spend its money on improving network resiliency by funding projects to increase geographic redundancy in rural and remote areas. It is also proposing to increase its emphasis on mobile wireless funding in the Broadband Fund, including incorporating mobile wireless into the name of the fund. It noted that approximately 14,000 KMs of major transportation roads in Canada lack mobile wireless services which affect public safety. “Without reliable access to mobile services in emergency situations, road-users may not be able to reach emergency services or even access digital navigation tools to find alternative routes,” the commission wrote. “Satellite-dependent communities remain the most underserved communities in the country. Providing capital funding to TSPs serving satellite-dependent communities is expensive and serves a small number of households. Often the business case is poor to non-existent, and support for both capital funding and operational funding is paramount to continuous service in these communities.” The review is limited to the Broadband Fund policy itself. The establishment of the universal service objective and its associated speed, data allowance, and quality of service metrics is out of scope of the proceeding. The CRTC is accepting comments until July 21, 2023. A summary of the notice of consultation is also available in nine Indigenous languages with more translations to come. The review of the fund comes after BCE Inc. filed an application with the commission to review and vary its decision to make $150 million available for its Broadband Fund in 2022, and in 2023 on an interim basis, arguing it has “obviously collected more money than it can distribute in the next two years.” In 2016 the commission established the Broadband Fund, of up to $750 million, collected from contribution-eligible revenues over five years. The CRTC released the framework of its Broadband Fund in 2018. Bell noted in its January application that it has been three years since the commission launched its first call for funding applications, and 2.5 years since its second round of applications. The incumbent argued that the CRTC is now approaching the end of the third year of contributions and no review has been conducted. – Reporting by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca

CRTC opening up Indigenous Broadband Funding stream in policy review

News | March 23, 2023

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CRTC opening up Indigenous Broadband Funding stream in policy review

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