CRTC chair reflects on proceedings and developments as he prepares exit
TORONTO – CRTC Chairman Ian Scott said today that the $750-million Broadband Fund will open a new, third round of applications in the coming weeks.
The chairman said in a speech on the opening day of the Canadian Telecom Summit that despite improvements to internet access in rural and First Nations communities, there is still a lot of work to do.
“That’s why the CRTC is preparing to launch a third call for applications to the Broadband Fund in the coming weeks,” Scott said Monday, adding the call will “highlight the need for greater service resiliency, and underscore the need for effective, meaningful community consultation.
“The third call for applications will focus on areas where we feel there is a particular, immediate need,” he added. “This includes paying particular attention to projects that improve mobile connectivity along major roads, address transport needs and satellite transport capacity – all of which address public safety concerns.”
Scott noted that just 62% of rural communities have access to 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload, and Northern Canada and First Nations communities are “still the most underserved,” with the former at 49% and the latter at 43% covered by the minimum target speeds.
Next year, the CRTC is planning to conduct a review of the Broadband Fund, Scott added, but he won’t be the chairman. Scott’s term as the head of the regulator ends next month.
The chairman also said he hoped large providers “negotiate in good faith with their smaller regional counterparts” when it comes to hashing out a wireless network access agreement. Last month, the regulator set the parameters for the mobile virtual network operator regime, which will allow those regional providers to force a deal for wireless network access with the incumbents. Those negotiations could go to CRTC arbitration if something amicable cannot be done.
“Our hope is that parties can come to terms as soon as possible, so that by this time next year, there is more competition from the regional wireless providers,” Scott said. “We are, of course, hoping this work proceeds seamlessly. If it doesn’t, the CRTC is prepared to act as an arbitrator to help facilitate commercial agreements.”
Scott also discussed the regulator’s plan to launch proceedings that could examine issues related to reporting of major network outages, following Rogers’s unprecedented network outage this summer that knocked major services out for many Canadians. Those proceedings will look into enhancing network resiliency, access to emergency services, consumer communication and compensation, the outage impact on accessibility services and penalties on providers.
Photo of CRTC chairman Ian Scott
