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Telecom Order CRTC 2023-325

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Reference: 2020-259

Ottawa, 25 September 2023

Public record: 1011-NOC2019-0191

Broadband Fund – Change request – Northwestel Inc.’s satellite project in Old Crow, Yukon

  1. In Telecom Decision 2020-259, the Commission approved Northwestel Inc.’s (Northwestel) funding application to improve local access infrastructure and satellite capacity for Old Crow, Yukon. The Commission later received written acceptance of this funding award from Northwestel and approved Northwestel’s related statement of work in Telecom Order 2021-136, subject to the conditions of funding set out in Telecom Decision 2020-259.
  2. Among the conditions of funding is the requirement, set out at paragraph 19 of Telecom Decision 2020-259, that any changes that materially affect the project to be delivered be approved by the Commission. Changes to the completion date, the funding amount, and the provider and technology qualify as material changes based on the Commission’s definition of a material change in the Application Guide, which was appended to Telecom Notice of Consultation 2019-191. That notice initiated the first call for applications and led to Telecom Decision 2020-259 and other decisions introduced in Telecom Decision 2020-255.
  3. On 6 January 2023, Northwestel submitted a change request for its project approved in Telecom Decision 2020-259, which had described two phases. In Phase 1 of the project, Northwestel was to improve access infrastructure in the community and increase operational capacity on existing satellites. In Phase 2, Northwestel was to use low-earth orbit satellite services to further increase speeds and capacity.
  4. In its change request, Northwestel sought (i) approval to change the provider and technology for its Phase 1 satellite service due to the degradation of its original provider’s satellite; (ii) an additional $25,040 of funding to accommodate this change; and (iii) an additional three years and nine months of operation under Phase 1 of the project (from winter 2024 to fall 2027) due to unanticipated delays in the deployment of another party’s satellite services necessary to progress to Phase 2 of the project.
  5. The Commission has reviewed the materials submitted and considers that under the circumstances, approving the change request would satisfy the objectives identified by the approach set out in Telecom Regulatory Policy 2018-377.
  6. The Commission approves Northwestel’s change request. All funding conditions and conditions imposed under section 24 of the Telecommunications Act, as set out in Telecom Decision 2020-259, continue to apply.

Secretary General

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