CRTC making it easier to connect Indigenous communities to high-speed Internet and cellphone services

GATINEAU, QC, March 18, 2026 /CNW/ - The CRTC is making it easier for Indigenous communities to get connected to high-speed Internet and cellphone services through its Broadband Fund.

Through the Broadband Fund, the CRTC contributes to a broad effort by federal, provincial, and territorial governments to connect underserved rural, remote, and Indigenous communities across Canada. To date, the fund has helped connect 135 Indigenous communities to high-speed Internet and cellphone services. This includes helping to bring high-speed Internet to all 25 communities in Nunavut, and committing funding to deliver fibre Internet to Atlin, an underserved remote Indigenous community in northern British Columbia.

Many Indigenous communities continue to face a gap in access to high-quality Internet and cellphone services. To help close this gap, the CRTC is gathering views on how to better support Indigenous applicants to the fund. This includes looking at how to reduce the time and work it takes to submit a project to the Broadband Fund and providing applicants with more flexible deadlines. The CRTC is also looking at how to reduce administrative burden through simplifying the amount of information it requires after a project has been selected for funding. This work builds on improvements the CRTC has already made to make it faster and easier to receive funding from the Broadband Fund.

The CRTC is accepting comments until September 18, 2026. Interested persons can participate by:

• filling out the online form;
• providing a link to an oral intervention video using the online form,
• writing to the Secretary General, CRTC, Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0N2; or
• sending a fax to 819-994-0218.

All comments will form part of the public record and will inform the CRTC's decision. First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples and organizations requiring assistance submitting comments, including oral interventions, can contact the CRTC's Indigenous Relations Team by email at [email protected].

A summary of the notice of consultation is also available in various Indigenous languages.

Quote
"Many Indigenous communities still face a gap in access to essential communications services. We are helping to close this gap by making it easier to get connected through the Broadband Fund. This is the next step in the CRTC's work to help connect everyone in Canada to reliable, affordable, and high-quality Internet and cellphone services."

- Vicky Eatrides, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, CRTC

Quick facts

• The CRTC is an independent quasi-judicial tribunal that regulates the Canadian communications sector in the public interest. The CRTC holds public consultations on telecommunications and broadcasting matters and makes decisions based on the public record.
• According to the 2024 CRTC Facilities Survey, 96.4% of all households in Canada have access to high-quality Internet services with speeds of 50/10 Mbps and unlimited data. However, only 69.6% of households in the three Territories and 65.7% of households on First Nations reserves have access to the same level of high-quality Internet service. See the CRTC's Communications Market Reports for more information.
• The CRTC is continuing to make improvements to the Broadband Fund as part of its review of the fund. In December 2024, the CRTC announced its first decision to improve the fund and help make it faster and easier to connect Canadians to high-speed Internet and cellphone services. The CRTC will issue another decision as part of its review.
• Contact the CRTC's Public Hearings group at [email protected] to request accommodations to participate in the consultation or to receive assistance with submitting comments. 

Related products

• Backgrounder: CRTC making it easier to connect Indigenous communities to high-speed Internet and cellphone services

Associated links

• Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2026-47 – Call for comments – Developing an Indigenous stream of the Broadband Fund
• Share your thoughts about developing an Indigenous stream of the Broadband Fund
• Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2023-89-2 – Broadband Fund policy review – Announcement of separate process for co-development of Indigenous stream

Stay Connected
Follow us on X @CRTCeng 
Like us on Facebook

SOURCE Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)

Contacts: Media Relations, Email: [email protected], Telephone: [phone]; General Inquiries, Telephone: [phone], Toll free: 1-877-249-2782, TTY: 1-877-909-2782