CCSA heads to the Hill to talk Wholesale Code, rural broadband

OTTAWA — The Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA) is hoping to build on what it calls a successful round of lobbying the federal government a year ago to have its concerns and ideas integrated into the rural broadband program. Representatives from about 28 members of the alliance representing smaller, independent telecoms from across the country were in Ottawa for close to 50 meetings Tuesday with members of Parliament, departmental and ministerial staff, CEO Jay Thomson said in an interview Monday evening at a Parliament Hill reception kicking off the CCSA’s third annual lobby day. In addition to raising the group’s profile among parliamentarians, Thomson said a focus of the meetings was partly to thank “the government for recognizing that money needs to be spent to extend broadband services across the country.” But outside of gratitude, the CCSA was also serving “a reminder that we made some constructive contributions to the design of Connect to Innovate because we were consulted, and if they’re thinking of any other design changes or thinking of new programs then please consult us again because we have something to offer,” Thomson said. In 2016, the CCSA focused its lobbying day efforts on getting a seat at the table for the design of the government’s five-year, $500-million rural broadband program. Thomson said CCSA input on the Connect to Innovate program led to things such as the inclusion of last mile funding instead of solely backbone support, as well as an expansion of what was considered an “anchor tenant,” or a public institution serving as a broadband hub in a community. These can include hospitals or schools, “but in a lot of our areas we don’t have those traditional anchor tenants. We might have a community centre or an arena or a small library,” Thomson said. “So they broadened the concept of what an anchor tenant needed to be to take into account that not everyone has the same large infrastructure and structures that the bigger areas have.” Also on the CCSA’s agenda this year is using the government’s announcement in the spring budget that it would review the Telecom and Broadcasting Acts as an opportunity to firm up support for the CRTC’s Wholesale Code, that governs the business relationships between TV service providers and channel operators. The code has allowed smaller providers, such as CCSA members, “to have a better opportunity to negotiate with the bigger companies to have access to their programming on more of a level playing field than we might otherwise have if there were no code,” Thomson said, adding that the group is “fearful that the big companies will be lobbying the government to say ‘get rid of that code’ because they don’t like it.” BCE Inc. currently has a challenge to the code before the Federal Court of Appeal, and the CCSA members “just have to assume that they’re in talking to MPs as well about that code and our message is don’t get rid of it, don’t do anything to soften it,” Thomson said. “It’s fundamentally important to our ability to be able to offer services to our customers at reasonable rates and on reasonable terms.” — With reporting by Charelle Evelyn at cevelyn@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

CCSA heads to the Hill to talk Wholesale Code, rural broadband

News | May 9, 2017

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CCSA heads to the Hill to talk Wholesale Code, rural broadband

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