Fund announcements could come by spring, documents show
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – It appears the federal government is so serious about opening access to telecom infrastructure to competitors that it is expecting “commitment letters” from executives of companies applying for the Universal Broadband Fund, according to Innovation Canada.
A spokesperson for the department told Cartt.ca as “part of the UBF application process, open access to passive infrastructure is a comparative criteria, assessed via commitment letters submitted by the applicant’s executive management, with details on access practices to be undertaken.”
That’s part of a broader view of how the federal government should utilize the $1.75-billion fund, whose rapid response stream already has its first recipients. Cartt.ca has obtained a high-level view of how the federal government is surveying the provinces, and it includes a dedicated section analyzing “co-ordination efforts on passive infrastructure.”
The document, dated December 4, also includes the amount of funding each province has committed to connectivity, what that program covers, how it’s different from the UBF (types of supported technologies and minimum speeds), who is eligible, the status and timeline of the program, and whether it’s partnering with the release of the UBF.
The co-ordination efforts on passive infrastructure and UBF partnership sections are redacted for some of the provinces on the document.
For Ontario, the federal government notes the “objective is to streamline the application process similar to what was done under [Connect to Innovate] with Quebec,” on UBF partnering.
Last week, the Ontario government announced proposed legislation that would reduce the cost and time it takes telecoms to attach their equipment on utilities poles to aid in accelerating broadband in the province. It follows Quebec’s May announcement about a coordination table to minimize barriers to infrastructure access.
One view is the Ontario is trying to catch the attention of the feds when it comes to handing out UBF money.
“Actions undertaken by levels of government to support projects in their region can also be favourably considered in the assessment process,” ISED told Cartt.ca. “A number of provinces have already developed innovative solutions to improving access to passive infrastructure in their areas.
“The Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec continue to cooperate on a number of fronts, including access to passive infrastructure and we will continue to work in partnership with them on this front,” said the department.
When asked about whether there was motivation to send this proposed legislation now, ahead of the UBF deadline, Ontario spokeswoman Sofia Sousa-Dias said: “While broadband is a federally regulated sector, the level of funding for both infrastructure generally, and broadband specifically, is inadequate to meet the needs of the provinces.
“The UBF has a total of $1.75 billion in available funding for broadband investments for the entire country, Ontario has already committed nearly $1 billion in provincial funding to improve broadband connectivity in our province. We understand how important it is for people to have reliable access to broadband and cellular connectivity and we’ve stepped up to the plate to deliver funding-based opportunities to support expansion of broadband access for unserved and underserved communities right across the province.
“The Ontario government continues to call on the federal government to properly fund broadband,” she added.
According to a separate document, obtained through an access to information request, ISED said it has a timeline to announce the core UBF program – separatee from the rapid stream – by spring 2021.
When asked about the timeline, ISED only said that it will announce successful applicants after the application deadline of March 15, 2021.
In December 2019, the CRTC launched a consultation on barriers to rural broadband deployment. The barriers include the handling of replacement costs and processes when poles need to be replaced and how to manage the additional weight born by additional wireline attachments.
A decision on that proceeding is expected to come this year.
Cartt.ca will have more on that consultation soon, as submissions are in at the Commission.
