Blog

The Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) and Eastern Wardens' Caucus recently made submissions to the federal government’s department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada as they consulted on a proposal to reassign and auction off part of the broadband spectrum that is now reserved for rural Internet Service Providers (ISPs), such as Xplornet. Their input raised serious concerns about the impact of the proposed approach on rural broadband users.

Not only might the approach prevent expansion of 5G service into rural areas that don’t have it now, but it may claw back the availability of high speed for some advanced ISPs and their customers. This should be a major concern for those who have been advocating improvements in rural broadband or working hard to build up this crucial telecommunications infrastructure. We believe it is important for rural citizens to inform themselves and if they have concerns about the proposal to express these to the Minister responsible as well as their local MP.

The EORN and Eastern Warden’s Caucus submissions are informative and can be found here (scroll down to Organizations): Consultation on Revisions to the 3500 MHz Band to Accomodate Flexible Use and Preliminary Consultation on Changes to the 3800 MHz Band  https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf11431.html

A short article in the Brockville Recorder summarizes the concern and can be read here: https://www.recorder.ca/news/local-news/rural-internet-at-risk

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development is:

The Honourable Navdeep Bains, 235 Queen Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H5

Telephone: 343-291-2500 Fax: 343-291-2511 Email: ised.minister-ministre.isde@canada.ca