Rogers in favour of transport subsidies for rural fund
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Rogers and Bell are among those in favour of a “flexible” approach for the use of the Federal government’s yet-to-be-announced $1 billion Universal Broadband Fund (UBF) to support rural backbone, transport and last-mile projects, according to Rogers and a briefing note prepared for the rural economic development minister.
In a stakeholder page on its website, ISED asks those providing feedback on the program’s design to answer questions including: “In situations where government is only funding backbone investments, how could last-mile investments be facilitated?” And, “Are there particular conditions where you feel federal funding of last-mile or mobile wireless infrastructure could be necessary?”
The government’s 2016 Connect to Innovate rural broadband program is catered to new backbone infrastructure and, according to a 2019 backgrounder, the UBF’s focus is “on extending ‘backbone’ infrastructure to underserved communities. For the most difficult-to-reach communities, funding may also support ‘last-mile’ connections to individual homes and businesses.”
On January 7, ISED held a roundtable meeting with the big ISPs regarding the design of the UBF, according to the briefing note.
“During the roundtable session, Bell indicated interest in the UBF and was in agreement with the majority of the large ISPs in their view that the UBF should maintain a flexible approach and be able to fund both last-mile and backbone projects, as last-mile funding is needed to support the business case in rural areas,” the undated briefing note said.
Rogers confirmed to Cartt.ca that it is also in favour of a flex model that would allow subsidies to be provided for transport and last-mile infrastructure projects to connect unserved areas. Transport services provide interconnection linking access networks — which connect homes and business to an ISP — to other access networks and the internet, according to the CRTC.
ISED confirmed none of the feedback provided by stakeholders about the UBF are made public. It seeks comments on companies’ backbone and last-mile infrastructure to procure coverage data.
Backbone infrastructure provides connectivity between communities, the last-mile provides the direct connection to homes and businesses and mobile or fixed wireless is a form of last-mile to mobile devices.
The industry is currently in the midst of a transition to a disaggregated regime for broadband internet, which provides for competitive access to last-mile fibre service in exchange for a deregulation of fibre-based transport services — the CRTC has said transport is sufficiently competitive — to encourage investment in transmission facilities. In other words, competitors looking to deliver fibre in the last mile would need to seek out their own transport, but it’s costly, the carriers argue.
Transport services were a focal point for some providers in response to a call late last year by the CRTC to hash-out what the carriers describe as the barriers to rural connectivity. The Regulator used the example of “affordable access to transport” as an example of a possible barrier. Third party Internet access provider TekSavvy told the regulator that the cost of transport services is “especially prohibitive,” while larger incumbent carriers such as Rogers, Telus, Shaw also expressed concern about the heavy costs of those services.
It is not yet known whether any of the big ISPs will be applying for UBF funding. Bell, Telus and Shaw did not respond to a request for comment.
The government has yet to reveal the design details of the fund or how it will prioritize or distribute the money. For instance, the first phase of the CRTC’s $750-million Broadband Fund focused on the territories and satellite-dependent communities.
In an email, ISED spokesman Hans Parmer said: “Since late last year, the Government of Canada has been engaging partners, stakeholders and Canadians to ensure that the Universal Broadband Fund responds to the needs of rural communities, provides additional applicant support, and streamlines its application process to facilitate project submissions and help those in the greatest need get connected as quickly as possible.
“It is anticipated that the Universal Broadband Fund will support whatever network infrastructure is needed to best meet rural and remote connectivity needs, including fibre, fixed wireless, and satellite technologies depending on the region.”
Parmer also added that the UBF will have a “pathfinder service” that’s intended to help applicants “who need more support to build partnerships, find sources of funding, and navigate the application process,” in part to ensure the UBF supports “smaller applicants such as municipalities or Indigenous groups.”
The government has been saying for months UBF details and its application process will launch “soon,” citing urgency stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 10-year UBF program was announced in the 2019 federal budget, which includes an $85-million top-up for the $585-million Connect to Innovate program.
