ST ANDREWS, N.B. – Atlantic region and Nunavut CRTC commissioner Christopher MacDonald said Monday the structure and governance of its new $750 million broadband fund established with the Commission’s 2016 Universal Service Objective policy will be announced soon, with a call for funding applications to come in 2019.
Back in 2016, the Commission set targets for basic telecommunications services that Canadians need to participate in the digital economy:
- speeds of 50 megabits per second (Mbps) download/10 Mbps upload for fixed broadband Internet access services. In 2015, 82% of Canadians already had access to speeds of 50 Mbps download/10 Mbps upload for fixed broadband services;
- an unlimited data option for fixed broadband access services (a.k.a., not mobile wireless);
- the latest mobile wireless technology available not only in homes and businesses, but also along major Canadian roads.
However, it also recognized that far more capital was needed to connect regions where, economically, there are too few people too far away to build state of the art networks.
The $750 million fund will come out of the bills Canadians pay for their telecom and broadband services (prior funding for hard to service rural regions have been paid for in this fashion and this new fund is essentially a redirection of such cash). For the first five years, no more than $750 million is to be distributed and no more than $100 million during the first year, an amount that would increase by $25 million annually over the following four years to reach an annual cap of $200 million, the CRTC has previously stated. The Commission will review the fund’s performance in year three.
“Once implemented, (the fund) will help support challenging business cases in rural and remote areas by funding upgrades to existing infrastructure and the construction of new facilities to enhance and expand fixed and mobile broadband services,” said MacDonald during a luncheon speech to the Canadian Communications Systems Alliance annual Connect conference here in St. Andrews, N.B.
“Watch for more information in the weeks ahead. We are in the process of finalizing a number of matters, including the fund’s design, its governance structure, applicant and project eligibility criteria, assessment methodologies to select projects for funding and how funding will be distributed to the chosen recipients.
“A call for funding applications will follow in 2019. Stay tuned.”
In lauding the CCSA’s work for the past 25 years on behalf of independent operators and their customers spread across Canada, MacDonald recognized how much as changed in that time, when back in 1993, the Alliance was mostly concerned about linear TV.
“Connectivity is no longer just about bringing affordable, reliable, high-quality television services into the living rooms of your subscribers. It’s broader and far more fundamental. It’s a prerequisite for Canadians to access opportunities for education, employment and business growth, and to participate in our democracy,” he said.
“Thanks in no small part to the contributions of the CCSA, the CRTC has taken steps to ensure that Canadians will not be left behind in this era of rapid change. Thanks to your association, the CRTC is ensuring the country’s communications system serves more than just those in the biggest cities. Thanks to your association, Canadians all across the country will soon have access to the services that they require to participate fully in the digital economy.”
