WOODSTOCK, NB – Rural broadband service provider Xplornet Communications is warning Industry Canada that its new consultation on 3500 MHz spectrum may actually hinder, rather than help, the availability of rural Internet access.
Xplornet president Allison Lenehan issued a statement late Wednesday saying that he was “deeply concerned about this consultation” and that his company is “reaching out” to Industry Canada officials to make them aware of the concerns.
According to Lenehan, Industry Canada’s proposal to reclassify some rural areas located near large urban centres, and therefore re-designate the spectrum currently used for fixed wireless high-speed Internet in those areas as cell phone spectrum, could mean that those residents who already have cellphone coverage will lose their home Internet connection as a consequence.
“In its press release, Industry Canada says that this is a measure designed to benefit rural Canadians who rely on fixed-wireless technology for their high-speed internet connection”, he said in the statement. “However, there is a fundamental disconnect between that statement and the proposal. In fact, this announcement will take spectrum away from providers, like Xplornet, who deliver service today to Canadians outside cities, and give it to the telcos for cellular phone use. If implemented, hundreds of thousands of Canadians will have their internet disconnected, and could be forced back onto dial-up.”
Lenehan also took issue with Industry Canada’s "use it or lose it" terminology, noting that Tuesday’s proposal would actually take away spectrum currently in use by rural Internet service providers and hand it over to cell phone providers “who are sitting on stock piles of un-deployed spectrum in these areas”.
When contacted by Cartt.ca, an Industry Canada spokesperson said in an emailed statement that “spectrum is a valuable public resource and it’s the government’s responsibility to allocate it in such a way that benefits all Canadians.”
