CRTC Broadband Fund approves five transport projects

The CRTC has awarded up to $26.7 million to five transport projects that will improve broadband connectivity in British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan as part of the second funding call for its $750 million Broadband Fund. The successful projects, proposed by Shaw Communications Inc., BH Telecom Corp. (operating as FlexNetworks), Rogers Communications Inc., Tough Country Communications Ltd. and the Columbia Basin Broadband Corporation, will build more than 550 kilometres of fibre transport network across the three provinces, the CRTC announced on Thursday. The projects will benefit 41 communities, including three Indigenous communities and one official-language minority community (OLMC). FlexNetworks’ project is the biggest of the five in the amount of transport network access set to be built, constructing 330 km of transport across Saskatchewan, while Shaw’s 150 km build across B.C. is the most expensive, with the $24.9 million project set to receive approximately $13.8 million from the Broadband Fund. In its announcement, the CRTC said the funding recipients would have to provide wholesale infrastructure access to companies that wish to offer retail Internet services. The CRTC also said the projects would positively impact surrounding communities by “improving broadband connectivity and helping to foster competition.” The regulator further said it expected construction for most of the five projects to begin in the second half of the year at the earliest. CRTC chair Ian Scott said in a release that the announcement was “encouraging news” and that it, combined with other sources of funding, would allow more Canadians to participate in the digital economy. The five projects are just some of the successful applications for the Broadband Fund’s second call, with the CRTC stating it “identified projects with a transport element as ones that would be prioritized as part of its selection considerations.” The regulator said it decided multiple rounds of decisions for the call, which received 586 valid applications, was necessary “given the volume of applications and the immediate need of Canadians for improved access to broadband infrastructure.” The first five successful projects from the first round of applications for the fund, targeting Canada’s territories and satellite-dependent communities, were announced last August, while the second round of funding applications was delayed multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CRTC Broadband Fund approves five transport projects

Brief | February 4, 2021

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CRTC Broadband Fund approves five transport projects

Brief | February 4, 2021

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