Shaw suggested new BC Hydro telecom division to tackle permitting delays

By Ahmad Hathout VICTORIA – Shaw recommended the British Columbia government adopt a government policy directive that would give the province’s utility company the ability to create a new telecommunications division to address lagging permits to its joint-owned poles, according to a briefing note obtained by Cartt. The recommendation, which would help “expedite permits controlled by BC Hydro,” was made late last year to the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, which oversees utility crown corporation BC Hydro. BC Hydro jointly owns with telecom incumbent Telus a network of poles on which carriers attach their communications equipment to...