Canada joins the 21st century !

Jean-Francois Mezei jfmezei_nanog at vaxination.ca
Thu Dec 22 14:59:22 UTC 2016


This is more of an FYI.

Yesterday, the CRTC released a big decision on broadband. In 2011, the
same process resulted in CRTC to not declare the Internet as "basic
service" and to set speed goals to 1990s 5/1.

Yesterday, the CRTC declared the Internet to be a basic service (which
enables additional regulatory powers) and set speed goals to 50/10.

Note that this is not a definition of broadband as the FCC had done, it
one of many criteria that will be weighted when proposal to get funding
is received. But hopefully, it means the end of deployment of DSL.


Also, as a result of declaring it a basic service, the CRTC enables
powers to force ISPs to contrtibute to a fund that will be used to
subsidize deplooyment in rural areas.

It plans to collect $100 million/year, increasing by $25m each year to
top at $200m which will then be distributed to companies who deploy
internet to unserved areas.

By setting the speed standard to 50/10, it basically marks any territory
not served by cableco as underserved since telco's copper can't reliably
deliver those speeds.


Nothing happens for now because a "follow up" process is needed to
decide how the funding mechanism will work (what portions of a companies
revenues are counted to calculated its mandated contribution to fund)
and how the process of bidding for subsidies will work. That could take
1 to 2 years.

Also in the decision is the phasing out of the equivalent programme for
POTS which saw telephone deployed everywhere. The difference is that the
POTS program had an "obligation to serve" whereas the internet doesn't.



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