By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The CRTC is proposing Thursday to open the $750-million Broadband Fund to bankroll the maintenance of networks in remote areas, improvements to network resiliency, and to have a separate funding stream for indigenous-focused projects.
The commission is also proposing that all future projects provide, at a minimum, the basic service objective speeds of 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload, whereas previously it was at least half of that. It is also asking whether the fund should have an increased emphasis on mobile wireless projects and possibly incorporating mobile wireless into the name.
Since the launch of the fund supported by internet service provider contributions in 2019, other federal broadband pools of money have emerged – the big one being the $3.225-billion Universal Broadband Fund – that have forced the commission to reconsider the objectives of its fund, which was scheduled to have a review this year.
As such, in the notice of consultation Thursday, the CRTC said it is seeking comment on how it could go about crafting an indigenous-specific application stream, including how to identify eligible indigenous communities, whether it should alter existing evaluation criteria for the stream, and how it would go about publicizing the stream’s existence.
The CRTC is also asking about whether it should broaden the fund to allow operational costs, such as maintaining networks to ensure telecommunications services are financially viable in rural and remote communities. The fund currently only carves out limited operational funding primarily for satellite transport costs in satellite-dependent communities, the commission said.
Rural and remote networks, the CRTC noted, cover areas with fewer subscribers, making them more expensive to operate while generating less revenue.
“Mobile networks along roads, although essential for public safety, may not generate any significant revenue for mobile wireless service providers,” the CRTC said. “As a result, even with considerable capital funding to build new infrastructure, rural networks may not be financially sustainable for telecommunications service providers (TSPs) to operate.”
The commission also said if it goes ahead with funding operational costs, it expects prices for services in those areas to be reduced. It is asking how it would be able to monitor that. It is also asking what types of operational costs should be funded and for how long funding should be provided.
Last month, the regulator launched a proceeding on its network resiliency framework, which is first focused on mandating certain notification requirements on the part of service providers.
On Thursday, the CRTC pitched that Broadband Fund money could go to improving network resiliency to increase geographic redundancy in rural and remote communities.
“The Commission considers that improving network resiliency in rural and remote areas is vital,” the commission said. “The Commission takes the preliminary view that a resiliency project should be defined as one that will provide redundant data paths to an existing transport network by introducing geographic redundancy to a community or communities that already have high-capacity transport infrastructure and are otherwise ineligible to receive funding as a transport project.”
The commission is asking if this definition is appropriate and how should eligible geographic areas and types of projects be determined.
This week, Innovation Canada released a report from a working group consisting of the country’s major telecoms that suggested telecoms make a best-efforts attempt to improve redundancy in their networks, including segmenting services so failure in one segment or region does not affect services in another.
The regulator is also asking the open-ended question of whether there are other gaps in connectivity that requires funding and that could be a focus for the Broadband Fund. It is also asking for suggestions about how providers should engage indigenous communities.
Another aspect of project funding examination that has lingered is some older broadband funds used the older hexagon method to determine areas that have certain internet service. So if one house in a 25 kilometre-square space had a certain service, it was determined that the entire plot had access to the service.
The CRTC said it is of the preliminary view that it should follow the latest geographic model used by ISED, which maps connected areas down to 250 metre road segments.
The commission also said it will cap the amount to be collected from service providers toward the fund at $150 million for the remaining years until the conclusion of the review, where previously it increased annually by $25-million increments. “This will give contributors to the Broadband Fund greater certainty regarding the annual amount of funds to be distributed for years four and five and allow the Commission to gather information through this proceeding on the impact of any proposed changes to the policy on the amount of funding required,” the commission said.
Late last year, Bell filed a Part 1 application to the commission requesting that it cease collecting money until it disbursed what it collected in previous years and refund what it hadn’t spent.
“What is the appropriate maximum annual amount of funding the Commission should set to be distributed for the Broadband Fund in future years,” the commission asks, “particularly in light of the potential expansions in scope proposed above?”
