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Telecom Order CRTC 2024-7

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Reference: 2021-107

Ottawa, 11 January 2024

Public record: 1011-NOC2019-0372

Broadband Fund – Change request – Columbia Basin Broadband Corporation’s British Columbia (Highway 95/95A corridor) transport fibre project

  1. In Telecom Decision 2021-107, the Commission approved Columbia Basin Broadband Corporation’s (CBBC) funding application to build transport infrastructure to serve the communities of Meadowbrook and Ta Ta Creek in British Columbia. The Commission later received written acceptance of this funding award from CBBC and approved CBBC’s related statement of work in Telecom Order 2021-347, subject to the conditions of funding set out in Telecom Decision 2021-107.
  2. Among the conditions of funding is the requirement, set out at paragraph 14 of Telecom Decision 2021-107, that any material changes to the project be approved by the Commission. In the Application Guide appended to Telecom Notice of Consultation 2019-372, the Commission defined a material change as including a major change in the cost or scope of a project. That notice initiated the second call for applications and led to Telecom Decision 2021-107 and other decisions introduced in Telecom Decision 2021-103.
  3. On 23 August 2023, CBBC submitted a change request for its project approved in Telecom Decision 2021-107. CBBC stated that additional time was needed to ensure that construction of the project will not impact any archaeological sites. CBBC requested an additional seven and a half months to complete the project, indicating that it expected the project to be complete by the summer of 2024. This would not meet the Commission’s expectation set out in Telecom Decision 2021-107 that the project be completed within three years of the date of that decision.
  4. The Commission has reviewed the materials submitted and factors described. The Commission underlines the importance of addressing connectivity gaps quickly by completing Broadband Fund projects in a timely manner.Footnote 1 However, the Commission 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.
  5. The Commission therefore approves CBBC’s change request. All funding conditions and conditions imposed under section 24 of the Telecommunications Act, as set out in Telecom Decision 2021-107, continue to apply.

Secretary General

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