By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC said Thursday that it has streamlined the process by which it evaluates Broadband Fund applications to speed up the process and has given indigenous communities more flexibility and control over their subsidized builds.
The regulator said it is implementing a new system that includes triaging applications so that it can focus on approving builds in priority underserved areas first, suspend the evaluation of applications that do not meet key assessment criteria, and defer some information submitted by the applicants so they are not bogged down by data collection upfront, only to repeat that process when more information is requested at a later phase.
The commission is also getting rid of references to specific speed, capacity and technology requirements in the application process so applicants have the flexibility to adapt the projects as those criteria change with improvements in technology.
For example, instead of setting out a specific internet speed target of 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload, the CRTC would instead refer to the “goal of achieving speeds that meet the universal speed objective,” it said. That way, the speed requirements follow the build, rather than being stuck in an old target. (More Canadians are subscribing to speeds beyond 50/10 as technology advances and fibre passings improve.)
No longer will project types be referred to as “access,” “transport,” or “mobile,” but by “universal service objective projects,” it said Thursday.
“The Commission is considering additional project types and may add them to the funding program in future regulatory policies related to the Broadband Fund policy review,” it said.
The CRTC is also maintaining its comparative selection model to allocate funds, rejecting calls to implement a reverse auction process to choose winning bidders.
The reverse auction process, which was suggested by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and Infrastructure Ontario – which has used that method to deliver funding – basically picks a winner that relies the least on government subsidies. The problem with reverse auctions, the commission outlined in its rejection, is that it would hamper those areas most desperately in need – i.e. the economically difficult-to-reach ones that need government funding the most.
The current comparative model – which evaluates competing applications to see which is best to serve certain areas – gives the CRTC more control over the levers of what’s important in terms of build criteria, it said.
Indigenous self-determination
To improve the indigenous right to self-determination, the commission is also giving indigenous communities more flexibility and control over their own builds, exempting them from the requirement to provide retail and wholesale open access to subsidized middle-mile infrastructure. That means these recipients will determine who gets access to that transport network and on what terms and whether they would like to offer retail services themselves.
The CRTC said it recognizes that First Nation reserve areas are “particularly underserved,” what with the areas being geographically remote with low population densities – the recipe for an economically difficult-to-serve area to serve.
“To further support Indigenous-led projects, the Commission may give special consideration to projects proposed by Indigenous applicants, meaning that it may prioritize these projects over others when it selects projects from the group identified as suitable for funding,” the commission said Thursday.
It will immediately provide up to 15 per cent – up to a maximum of $750,000 – of the funding following a final funding decision to help resolve financial barriers faced by these communities, adding it is also exempting indigenous funding recipients from a 10 per cent withholding rule for projects with approved funding of $5 million or less. The withholding has been used by the commission as leverage to ensure that the projects meet all conditions of service.
“The upfront funding and the holdback exemption should provide Indigenous applicants with increased financial stability, both before a project is implemented and after it is completed,” the CRTC said. “This stability will help Indigenous applicants secure the resources they need to successfully complete their projects and provide telecommunications services to end-users. Offering these measures appropriately balances the objectives of minimizing risk and supporting Indigenous recipients.”
That said, because indigenous projects need the approval of the communities they serve, the CRTC is also requiring applicants obtain consent from any indigenous community in which it plans to build using Broadband Fund dollars. That community approval can take time, so the CRTC said applicants can submit that either up front or after the close of a call for applications.
The commission was also urged to ditch an old method of determining service coverage, called the hexagon method, which has long been replaced by Industry Canada with a more granular mapping method.
The CRTC said Thursday it will make a determination on the appropriate geographic model on a “call-by-call basis.”
“In addition, the Commission is expanding the definition of major transportation roads and introducing a mechanism that allows applicants to identify roads that provide key linkages between communities,” the commission said Thursday. “This approach is consistent with the latest geographic models used by other funding programs and will enable the Commission to more effectively target underserved areas and remaining connectivity gaps.”
The CRTC said this was the first of three phases of its review of the Broadband Fund. The next phase will evaluate whether to fund projects that improve network resiliency, while the final phase will address any additional funding gaps and whether it should use fund money to subsidize operational costs.
