Committee sets deadline for ISED reports on rural connectivity concerns

The House public accounts committee is ordering Innovation Canada to deliver — by this summer — updates tending to rural connectivity issues outlined in a critical auditor general report, including status on more accurate data maps, strategies to maximize public spending, and progress made on its review of spectrum auctions. The committee held hearings in December and February on the auditor general’s fall report, which blasted the government on its strategy to connect Canada’s hard-to-reach areas. The audit found, among other things, that the department lacked a national broadband strategy, it wasn’t getting a good return on its project investments, it wasn’t making available more detailed data, and its spectrum auction format pushed smaller applicants out. The result of those meetings led to a committee report released earlier this week that sets certain targets for ISED to meet. It calls for the department to provide the committee, by July 31, with reports outlining progress on a national connectivity strategy, which includes “adequately” defining minimum reliability standards and service quality, timelines for establishing these standards, estimates on proper resourcing, and whether that improves adoption; progress on a publicly-available detailed connectivity map that is updated regularly while respecting service provider data; and its review of spectrum auctions, including the size of geographic areas up for spectrum bids. ISED is already consulting on a smaller geographic tier for spectrum auctions, which smaller internet service providers (ISPs) have praised. Some of the big telecoms argued in replies to the consultation that another tier would cause interference issues between service areas, risk inefficient deployment, and amount to a complex auction process. Earlier this year, the department confirmed to this publication that it was looking to release more detailed public data maps to help define areas with or without connectivity to inform public- and private-sector deployment. Other committee recommendations include submitting a report by Dec. 31 outlining progress on strategies to “better foster secondary markets for unused spectrum” -- so as to better incentivize subordinated transfers -- in those underserved areas. Beside a timeline on the next rural and remote connectivity program, it would also like ISED to ensure that in future rural deployment programs, the department includes strategies to maximize public spending, minimize negative effects on existing service providers and include those factors when evaluating project proposals. “ISED did not develop and implement a national strategy to improve broadband Internet connectivity to a specific service level in rural and remote areas,” the report concludes. “However, the Committee acknowledges that progress has been made with regard to the coordination of efforts, as well as plans to better use spectrum, pertaining to rural broadband deployment.” The report’s recommendations aren’t outside of the targets set by ISED itself. Prior to his appearance at the December meeting, ISED deputy minister John Knubley provided the committee, chaired by PC MP Kevin Sorenson, with a chart laying out a point-by-point response to the auditor general’s criticisms. The chart outlines strategies and dates for execution -- including similar ones to what the committee is asking. ISED agreed with the recommendations of the auditor general. Among its major “key interim milestones,” the department anticipates “obtaining consensus” on the national connectivity strategy and aligning “policy actions towards achieving universal access to high-speed Internet and the latest mobile wireless services along major roads” by spring 2019; and conducting a program evaluation of rural broadband funds Connecting Canadians and Connect to Innovate to assess whether they have achieved their “expected outcomes,” which will go toward informing future program design. Last month, ISED’s director general of spectrum policy said at a conference of wireless internet service providers in Gatineau that the auditor’s report was an “opportunity to brag” about its accomplished projects, including its CTI progress, which is now slated to connect over 900 communities. The CTI program, which began as a public investment of $500-million over five years, received an $85-million top-up in the federal government’s most recent budget, which included $1.7-billion in new money invested over 13 years in a Universal Broadband Fund. That new fund will extend backbone infrastructure to those underserved communities. The committee report was released one day before ISED published the outcome of the 600 MHz auction -- largely considered very important low-band spectrum for current and next generation mobile networks. Cogeco Inc. backed out of the auction months prior because the geographic areas up for bidding were too large for it to compete, it said -- a direct concern laid out by the auditor general. — With reporting by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Committee sets deadline for ISED reports on rural connectivity concerns

News | April 12, 2019

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Committee sets deadline for ISED reports on rural connectivity concerns

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