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CRTC announces $20.5 million in funding to bring improved broadband to 46 communities

The funding will go to 10 projects across B.C., Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced 10 projects receiving nearly $20.5 million in funding through its Broadband Fund.

The projects will potentially benefit some 3,625 households in 46 communities, including 16 Indigenous communities, across B.C., Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador. The CRTC detailed which companies would receive funding for projects and which provinces they would do the work in:

  • Telus Communications Inc. (British Columbia)
  • Bell Canada (Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador)
  • ATG Arrow Technology Group Limited Partnership (Alberta)
  • Telus Mobility (Alberta)
  • Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (New Brunswick).

In a press release, the CRTC noted that funding recipients would need to provide broadband Internet access services or mobile wireless services that either meet the commission’s universal service objective or help communities move closer to attaining it. The service objective includes fixed broadband internet access of at least 50Mbps download and 10Mbps upload and the latest generally deployed mobile wireless technology, which the CRTC notes its LTE.

Further, recipients must complete a statement of work that sets out the details of each project, which includes scheduling and costs, before they receive funding. The CRTC must also approve the work statements.

Finally, the CRTC says that it has committed nearly $177 million to improve broadband services through the Broadband Fund. With today’s announcement, the fund will help improve broadband in 153 communities representing a total of approximately 28,125 households.

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