Spectrum funds could achieve broadband targets before 2030: telecoms

An NDP plan for the federal government to add money raised from past and upcoming spectrum auctions to existing broadband funding could achieve universal connectivity well before the government’s 2030 target if executed correctly, four telecommunications service providers told the House industry committee. Representatives from Cogeco Inc., Xplornet Communications Inc., Telus Corp. and Rogers Communications Inc. were asked by NDP MP Brian Masse during a Thursday evening committee hearing on the impact of COVID-19 if the “redeployment” of spectrum funds could achieve universal connectivity at the CRTC’s universal service objectives of 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps download by 2024. In Masse’s scenario, the majority of the work would be completed inside three years, with “tidying up” required in the fourth year, he told the representatives. The federal government, in addition to the CRTC, would foot the bill for the entire $6 billion the government has estimated it will take to connect all of Canada. According to the CRTC’s latest Communications Monitoring Report, 40.8 per cent of rural Canadians had access to speeds at that standard — the minimum the CRTC says should be available to all Canadians — as of the end of 2018. Responding to Masse, Telus executive vice-president Tony Geheran said the 2024 timeframe was “doable.” “I do believe if you can align private capital with federal and provincial capital you can get a great contribution on all parts to make these projects economic and you should have the will then to remove the barriers such as access rights of way and other impediments that typically slow down these projects,” Geheran said. “Never before has the circumstance been such that I think you have the foundation where everyone is on the same page and sees the need and should have a bold ambition.” Rogers senior vice-president of regulatory David Watt said he agreed funds from the spectrum auction should be invested in telecommunications services, but Masse’s target seemed “really, really ambitious.” “We’re talking about places that are very far away, very cold, in some cases there’s only a road for six weeks of the winter to get materials into that location, there’s also a limited number of skilled installers to do some of this work,” Watt said. “So while three years would be a fabulous target we think it might not quite be achievable in that time frame. And here you’re probably talking about the last one or two per cent which are again the hardest and that may be a more extended time frame, we do need to be realistic.” Cogeco regulatory affairs senior director Leonard Eichel said the target was “very ambitious but there are things that could and need to be done.” Eichel said removing barriers to support structure access was key to speeding up the rural broadband rollout, telling the committee Cogeco had permits that had been outstanding for almost three years. Xplornet’s chief legal and regulatory officer C.J. Prudham said the target could be achieved “in theory if you use the right combination across the country.” Funding, spectrum, key infrastructure access and cooperation are the four key things required for rural broadband connectivity to be achieved, Prudham told the committee, but the barriers differed on what part of Canada the project was in. When the last federal budget was released, Finance Minister Bill Morneau estimated it would take $5-6 billion in combined public and private sector investments to reach the connectivity targets. That included the yet-to-be-launched $1.7 billion Universal Broadband Fund. Just prior to the meeting beginning, Masse released his plan to achieve universal connectivity inside four years. Under it, the government would add funds from spectrum auction to the pot to fund a “comprehensive build out plan.” The build out would start inside 12 months, be 95 per cent completed inside three years and universal connectivity would be reached inside four years, Masse said in the release. The plan notes the government brought in $3.45 billion in spectrum auction revenues last year. It would see the “federal government fund the entire $6 billion buildout with the revenues from the spectrum auctions,” as well as the $750-million CRTC Broadband Fund. The federal Conservatives last month called on the government to achieve universal connectivity by 2021, releasing 14 recommendations they said would help to do so. Rural Economic Development Minister Maryam Monsef pledged last month to announce measures to speed up the rural broadband roll-out “soon,” but has yet to reveal any details. In his opening address, Eichel told the committee that Cogeco hoped the government could “quickly” launch its $1.7 billion Universal Broadband Fund, currently scheduled to launch in “the coming months,” according to a government website. Documents obtained through Access to Information previously indicated the government was working towards “a potential launch of the program in spring 2020.” Earlier on Thursday, a group of civil society organizations, businesses, and academics launched the Get Canada Connected coalition, urging all levels of government to commit the necessary resources for 100 per cent of Canadians to have access to speeds at the standard as soon as possible. — With reporting by Adam Langenberg at alangenberg@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Spectrum funds could achieve broadband targets before 2030: telecoms

News | May 14, 2020

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Spectrum funds could achieve broadband targets before 2030: telecoms

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