700 MHz spectrum auction could top up accessibility fund

TORONTO - Media Access Canada (MAC) has asked Industry Canada to use the pending 700 MHz spectrum auction to top-up its accessibility fund initiative.MAC, on behalf of the Access 2020 Coalition, MAC is urging Industry Canada to include a 10% buyer’s premium on successful bids for the 700 spectrum, and apply a portion of the funds collected to the accessibility fund. MAC and Access 2020 are committed to financing a business model to achieve 100% captioning and description by 2020. Currently at $5.7 million, the fund’s establishment is conditional on the CRTC approval of BCE’s acquisition of CTV.“The Accessibility Fund...