Bell joins call for centralized rural broadband fund

Spectrum auction revenues should be reinvested in rural broadband initiatives and the multiple broadband funding programs run by federal government programs should be combined into one program, representatives from BCE Inc. told the House of Commons industry committee Tuesday. Bell’s chief legal and regulatory officer Robert Malcolmson told the committee, probing the accessibility and affordability of telecom services in Canada, that the government should take four actions to meet Canada’s rural broadband needs more effectively. Malcolmson said the government should incentivise public/private partnerships through bodies like the Canadian Infrastructure Bank, and adopt “balanced regulatory policies that prioritize investment in networks by companies that are prepared to risk their private capital," as well as reinvesting spectrum auction revenues and combining the government-run broadband funds. Combining the CRTC’s rural broadband fund and Innovation Science and Economic Development’s (ISED) Universal Broadband Fund, and potentially the Canadian Infrastructure Bank should be considered to address Canada’s rural broadband needs faster and more effectively, Malcolmson said. The proposal echoes a similar suggestion made to the committee by the Public Interest Action Group in December, which called for a “broadband Czar” to administer all broadband funding. Pressed on his suggestion by Conservative MP Bernard Généreux, Malcolmson said the current environment was a “ bit of a patchwork quilt” of different funding arrangements, but did not specify which government body should oversee funding, or how it should be administered. “If we were starting over again and designing I think you would consider putting all of those funding mechanisms in one fund, centrally administered, and I think that could hopefully create some efficiencies in terms of the allocation and rollout of broadband funding,” Malcolmson said. “In a perfect world we would say… one fund centrally administered and efficiently delivered, the last point being most important, could expedite the time for Canadians.” Asked about the affordability of Bell’s service by Liberal MP Helena Jaczek, Malcolmson said Bell had made “extremely great progress” in reducing its wireless prices, pointing to various studies on affordability, the offering of a $15 per month data-only Lucky Mobile plan with 500 MBs of data and a 1 GB data plan with pay-per-use calling through its other flanker brand Virgin Mobile, as examples. Malcolmson also said Bell was also making progress on achieving ISED’s price reduction targets for its 2 GB, 4 GB and 6 GB plans, stating it was “about halfway there,” while touting the company’s “competitive offers” for unlimited plans. “On the wireless side, progress is being made and will continue to be made given the competitiveness of the market,” Malcolmson said. Elsewhere in the hearing, Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith probed Malcolmson on Bell receiving $122.8 million in Canadian Wage Subsidy payments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Malcolmson defended the company accessing the payments, stating that the company’s media and retail sectors were heavily impacted by the pandemic, and that it participated in the program “commensurate with the impact of the pandemic.” NDP MP Brian Masse also attacked Bell for its 2019 decision to roll back its fixed wireless rollout in rural areas by 20 per cent after the CRTC announced heavily reduced wholesale internet rates, describing the decision as a “public temper tantrum.” Those rates have since been challenged by incumbents including Bell in multiple arenas, and have been stayed by the CRTC while it considers a review and vary application. Responding to a question from Masse about how the company would react when the CRTC ruled on the review-and-vary application, Malcolmson said Bell would “evaluate what it means for our business, what it means in terms of our ability to invest in areas which I think you would admit are difficult to reach or they would already be served by private sector investment, and we will make a rational business decision in terms of what the rates are and what it does to our ability to invest.” -- By Adam Langenberg at alangenberg@thewirereport.ca, with editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Bell joins call for centralized rural broadband fund

News | January 26, 2021

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Bell joins call for centralized rural broadband fund

News | January 26, 2021

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