Agreement on axing public funds requirement

Continued from FP1

Rogers also argued the fund should prioritize remote communities, a view shared by northern provider SSi Micro and the governments of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories

“Make Canada proud of its service to Northern and remote communities and First Nations communities. Let them be the focus of this new fund,” Rogers wrote in its submission.

however, agreed with the 10 per cent set aside for satellite communities. It proposed the rest of the funds be split fairly between provinces, then again between unserved and underserved communities.

Bell’s proposal had support from the National Pensioners Federation and the Public Interest Advocacy Centres — public interest groups that don’t typically side with industry.

argued Bell’s proposal would be inefficient given the subjective nature of auction requirements. It proposed the CRTC work with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada to distribute the fund, given its existing $500-million budget for broadband projects. It argued the CRTC money should go to last-mile connections efforts given the ISED fund is largely for transport facilities.

One thing the parties did agree on, however, was axing the CRTC’s proposed requirement that any project must have government funding to access the fund. They collectively agreed this would limit efficiency and unfairly turn away costeffective private projects.