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Telecom Order CRTC 2026-19

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Reference: 2021-44

Gatineau, 2 February 2026

Public record: 1011-NOC2019-0372

Broadband Fund – Change request – Shaw Cablesystems G.P.’s British Columbia transport fibre project – February 2026

Summary

Canadians need reliable, affordable, and high-quality Internet and cellphone services for every part of their daily lives.

Through its Broadband Fund, the Commission contributes to a broad effort by federal, provincial, and territorial governments to address the gap in connectivity in underserved rural, remote, and Indigenous communities across Canada.

With this order, the Commission approves a request to postpone the completion date for Shaw Cablesystems G.P.’s (Shaw) transport fibre project in northeast British Columbia and a request to change that project’s recipient control from Shaw to Rogers Communications Canada Inc. following the latter’s acquisition of the former.

Background

  1. In Telecom Regulatory Policy 2018-377, the Commission set out objectives and governing frameworks for the Broadband Fund. In the Application Guide appended to Telecom Notice of Consultation 2019-372, which initiated the second call for Broadband Fund applications, the Commission defined a material change as including, among other things, a change in control of the recipient or a major change in the cost or scope of a project.Footnote 1
  2. Shaw Cablesystems G.P. (Shaw) participated in the second call for Broadband Fund applications. In Telecom Decision 2021-44, Shaw’s funding application was approved. That application supports building approximately 150 kilometres of fibre optic transport network along Highway 29 between Chetwynd and Fort St. John to serve the following seven communities in northeast British Columbia: Attachie, Bear Flat, Charlie Lake, Farrell Creek, Moberly Lake, Saulteau First Nations, and West Moberly First Nations.
  3. The Commission later received written acceptance of the funding award from Shaw and approved Shaw’s related statement of work in Telecom Order 2021-332, subject to the conditions of funding set out in Telecom Decision 2021-44.
  4. Among the conditions of funding is the requirement, set out in paragraph 15 of Telecom Decision 2021-44, that any material changes to the project be approved by the Commission. An application for a material change is known as a change request.

Change requests

  1. The Application Guide appended to Telecom Notice of Consultation 2019-372 stipulated the Commission’s expectation that projects be completed within three years of the funding award. Telecom Decision 2021-44 was issued on 4 February 2021. This project was therefore expected to be completed by 4 February 2024. However, when the Commission approved the statement of work in Telecom Order 2021-332, it also accepted a later project completion date of summer 2026 given the impacts associated with British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority’s (BC Hydro) Site-C Dam project and the realignment of segments of Highway 29 that Shaw’s statement of work identified as affecting project timelines.Footnote 2
  2. In Telecom Order 2023-225, issued on 27 July 2023, the Commission approved two change requests from Shaw to relocate two points of presence (PoPs) from the original locations indicated in the approved statement of work. One PoP, which served Saulteau First Nations, was to be relocated within the Saulteau First Nations community, away from an area identified as having a high volume of vehicular traffic. The other, which served West Moberly First Nations, was to be relocated to an alternative site within West Moberly First Nations that is generally better situated geographically and topographically.
  3. In Telecom Order 2024-83, issued on 24 April 2024, the Commission approved a third change request to relocate the PoP that was in the community of Attachie to an alternative site within Attachie due to practical land use limitations that arose after the approval of Shaw’s statement of work.
  4. On 12 June 2025, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Rogers)Footnote 3 submitted a fourth change request. This request seeks an additional seven months to complete the project, from summer 2026 to spring 2027, due to permitting delays related to BC Hydro make-ready delays.  
  5. On 19 September 2025, Rogers submitted a fifth change request for a change in control of the recipient from Shaw to Rogers due to Rogers’ acquisition of Shaw.

Commission’s analysis

  1. The Commission has reviewed the documents submitted with the applicant’s fourth and fifth change requests, including those submitted confidentially.Footnote 4 The Commission underlines the importance of addressing connectivity gaps quickly by completing Broadband Fund projects in a timely manner.
  2. The permitting and BC Hydro make-ready delays referenced in Rogers’ fourth change request are extraordinary delays. The Commission is satisfied that these third-party administrative delays were beyond Rogers’ reasonable contemplation and control.
  3. Concerning the fifth change request, the Commission notes that Rogers completed its acquisition of Shaw in April 2023. Through Telecom Order 2024-329, Shaw’s tariffed services were incorporated into Rogers’ tariffs. The Commission is satisfied that transferring the Highway 29 fibre transport project to Rogers does not affect the project’s scope or cost, nor the services to be provided to the seven communities of Attachie, Bear Flat, Charlie Lake, Farrell Creek, Moberly Lake, Saulteau First Nations, and West Moberly First Nations.
  4. For these reasons the Commission considers that approving the applicant’s fourth and fifth change requests would satisfy the objectives identified by the approach set out in Telecom Regulatory Policy 2018-377.

Conclusion

  1. The Commission approves Rogers’ change requests and expects that the project be completed by spring 2027. All funding conditions and conditions imposed under section 24 of the Telecommunications Act, as set out in Telecom Decision 2021-44 continue to apply. Going forward, this project will be referred to as Rogers Communications Canada Inc.’s British Columbia transport fibre project.

Secretary General

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