OTTAWA, ON and GATINEAU, QC, Dec. 12, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, the CRTC is taking action to improve the Broadband Fund, helping make it faster and easier to connect Canadians to high-speed Internet and cellphone services.
In 2023, the CRTC launched a review of the Broadband Fund to improve how it funds projects and to help advance reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. During its consultation, the CRTC received comments from 75 groups and individuals, including consumer groups, Indigenous organizations and governments, and Internet and cellphone service providers. Today, the CRTC is making three key improvements to the Broadband Fund.
First, the CRTC is making it easier to submit an application and is speeding up its evaluation of projects. These changes will enable companies to obtain funding more quickly, meaning that Canadians will get connected faster.
Second, the CRTC is working to better support Indigenous applicants and communities. This will provide funding to help build skills and support Indigenous-owned networks. The CRTC is also requiring applicants to engage meaningfully with Indigenous communities and provide proof of consent from any Indigenous community where they plan to build infrastructure.
Third, the CRTC is improving how it determines which areas are eligible for funding. This improvement will make it easier for companies to identify the hardest-to-reach communities so that they can be connected more quickly.
The CRTC will issue additional decisions as part of its review. In the next phase, the CRTC will consider how to best support projects that make Internet and cellphone networks more resilient to outages caused by extreme weather and accidental network damage.
Quote
"Canadians use Internet and cellphone services every day to work, to find information, to access healthcare, and to connect with others. But the reality is that there are many communities in Canada that still lack access. We are improving the Broadband Fund to help close that gap."
- Vicky Eatrides, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, CRTC
Quick facts
- The CRTC is an independent quasi-judicial tribunal that regulates the Canadian communications sector in the public interest. The CRTC holds public consultations on telecommunications and broadcasting matters and makes decisions based on the public record.
- In 2019, the CRTC launched the Broadband Fund to help connect rural, remote, and Indigenous communities across Canada. The fund has improved high-speed Internet and cellphone service in 270 communities, connecting essential institutions such as schools, health care facilities, and community centres.
- To date, the CRTC's Broadband Fund has supported projects that will connect over 47,000 households, improve cellphone service along over 630 kilometres of major roads, and build over 4,900 kilometres of fibre to communities.
- The CRTC will launch the next call for applications in 2025.
- The Indigenous Stream of the Broadband Fund, which originally formed part of this review, will be developed in a separate process that will launch in 2025.
Associated links
- Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2024-328 – Broadband Fund policy review – New policy for funding capital projects
- Broadband Fund: Closing the Digital Divide in Canada
- Broadband Fund – Third call for applications (Notice of Consultation CRTC 2022-325)
- Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2023-89 – Call for comments – Broadband Fund policy review
Stay Connected
Follow us on X @CRTCeng
Like us on Facebook
SOURCE Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
Contacts: Media Relations, Email: [email protected], Telephone: 819-997-9403, General Inquiries, Telephone: 819-997-0313, Toll free: 1-877-249-CRTC (2782), TTY: 819-994-0423
Share this article