The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved Rogers’ request to extend the deadline to complete a rural internet project in B.C. to 2027 following years of delays.
The project in question is part of the Broadband Fund, which aims to connect Canadians to internet and mobile services offering speeds of at least 50Mbps down and 10Mbps up.
In 2021, the CRTC approved an application from Shaw to build about 150km of fibre optic transport network along Highway 29 between Chetwynd and Fort St. John in B.C. Overall, the project would serve seven communities in northeast B.C.: Attachie, Bear Flat, Charlie Lake, Farrell Creek, Moberly Lake, Saulteau First Nations, and West Moberly First Nations.
The commission said it typically expects projects to be completed within three years of funding, which means this project should have been completed on Feb 4, 2024. However, the CRTC already granted the project a longer deadline than usual due to BC Hydro’s work on the Site C dam and the realignment of parts of Highway 29.
Rogers requested an additional seven months to complete the project in June 2025, citing permitting delays related to BC Hydro’s make-ready work, which includes things like preparing utility poles to hold new cables. Rogers also submitted a separate request in September 2025 to change control of the project from Shaw to Rogers following its acquisition of the telecom company in 2023.
In a decision handed down on Feb. 2, the CRTC granted Rogers’ request to further extend the deadline from summer 2026 until spring 2027, noting that “these third-party administrative delays were beyond Rogers’ reasonable contemplation and control.” The commission also granted Rogers’ request to change control of the project, saying it wouldn’t affect the project’s scope, cost, or services provided.
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