Apply for funding: Frequently asked questions

To start an application for the Broadband Fund, you will need to obtain an activation code, also referred to as a GC Key, and log into “My CRTC Account” with the GC Key.

To obtain a GC Key, call our IT specialists at 1-866-893-0932 during their business hours, Monday to Friday (except holidays) from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

For more detailed information, please refer to the Forms and My CRTC Account page.

You are no longer required to submit an application workbook. The CRTC has integrated the workbook into its Online Intake System, where you will submit all documents and information. The Online Intake System is interactive and allows you to save and edit your application throughout the application process.

The CRTC expects projects to be completed within three years following the conditional funding decision, although projects proposing to increase satellite transport capacity in satellite-dependent communities can receive up to five years of funding.

The CRTC recognizes that some projects may take longer than three years. Applications for projects that require longer than three years will therefore still be considered. In such cases, it is recommended that you provide a justification for the longer project schedule in your application.

You, or at least one member of a partnership, joint venture, or consortium, must have at least three years of experience in building and operating broadband infrastructure in Canada and must be eligible to operate as a Canadian carrier. Alternately, an applicant can rely on a supplier or contractor who has that required experience.

Section 2.1.1(d) Applicant eligibility – Experience building and operating broadband infrastructure in the Technical and Program Details Guide provides more information on this experience requirement and how you can meet it.

The CRTC has adopted new measures to support Indigenous applicants. The goal is to reduce barriers and complexity for Indigenous-led projects and to promote Indigenous ownership, governance, and control over the infrastructure that serves Indigenous communities.

Section G in the Call 4 Application Guide provides more information on the support provided by the CRTC to Indigenous applicants.

The CRTC has also committed to developing an Indigenous stream for applicants who are seeking funding from the Broadband Fund. The Indigenous stream will provide a tailored process to access broadband funding that aims to reduce barriers for Indigenous applicants with the goal of helping to close the connectivity gap for Indigenous communities.

If you would like to participate in this proceeding and provide your feedback, please consult Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2026-47. For questions or more information on how to participate, contact the CRTC by email at flb-bbf@crtc.gc.ca or by phone at 1-877-249-2782.

First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples and organizations requiring assistance submitting comments, including oral interventions, can contact the CRTC’s Indigenous Relations Team at era-irt@crtc.gc.ca.

To ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and have access to the same information, contact between the CRTC and applicants will be limited:

• CRTC staff will not advise you on how to best present your application or assist you with completing your application. CRTC staff will, however, respond to general questions regarding the application process and the information required in an application. They will provide individual responses and will post answers to frequently asked questions on this page. To submit questions to the CRTC, please contact the CRTC by email at flb-bbf@crtc.gc.ca.
• Once the application submission deadline has passed, CRTC staff will generally no longer respond to questions. The CRTC may, however, request that you provide clarification or correct inadvertent errors, deficiencies, or omissions in your application, as well as file supplementary information or documents, through requests for information or as a result of further community engagement.

Funding recipients will be announced in funding decisions that will be published on the CRTC’s website. The CRTC will also make a general statement to notify applicants when all the funding decisions have been made for this call. You can stay up to date on the CRTC’s funding decisions for Call 4 by subscribing to the RSS feed or by checking out the Projects selected for funding page.

The CRTC will send a confidential letter to applicants whose proposed projects are not selected for funding.

The eligible project types for Call 4 are:

Universal service objective fixed broadband projects: projects that deliver new or improved wireline or wireless broadband Internet access service that meets or exceeds 50/10 Mbps directly to households.

Satellite-dependent community operational expense projects: projects that increase satellite transport capacity to improve telecommunications services beyond the highest speeds currently available.

Satellite-dependent community capital projects: projects that build or upgrade earth station equipment and/or access infrastructure to improve telecommunications services.

Eligible applicants include:

• Canadian corporations of any size
• Provincial, territorial, and municipal government organizations
• Band councils or Indigenous governments
• Partnerships, joint ventures, or consortia composed of the above eligible entities

The following are not eligible for funding from the Broadband Fund, either as applicants or as members of a partnership, joint venture, or consortium:

• Individuals
• Federal government departments, agencies, boards, commissions
• Crown corporations
• Special operating agencies

Note: Eligibility is limited to organizations that can deliver broadband projects. Federal entities and individuals are excluded to ensure funding supports local and regional connectivity initiatives.

No. Projects that propose to only build infrastructure to improve resiliency in a geographic area and do not meet the eligibility requirements of the project types in Call 4 are not eligible for funding.

Projects in satellite-dependent communities must offer services that improve the speed available in those communities. Universal service objective projects must deliver new or improved services that meet or exceed universal service level speeds to underserved households.

To be eligible for funding in Call 4, your project must serve an eligible geographic area, which includes all underserved households in Canada that do not currently have access to fixed broadband internet access speeds of at least 50/10 Mbps. These are represented by road segments, or satellite-dependent communities. The CRTC has published the Call 4 Reference Map and Eligibility Mapping Tool to help you check the geographic eligibility of a project area and to create maps related to your project(s). The Call 4 Reference Map identifies the eligible geographic areas for eligible project types for this call and is for reference purposes only. The Eligibility Mapping Tool must be used to create the maps needed to apply for funding from this call.

For details on geographic eligibility, refer to section 2.1.3(a) Fixed broadband project – Eligibility criterion – Geographic eligibility of the Technical and Program Details Guide for fixed broadband universal service object projects, or section 2.1.5(a) Satellite-dependent community project – Eligibility criterion – Geographic eligibility for satellite-dependent community projects.

You must use the Eligibility Mapping Tool to create your map to apply to the Broadband Fund. The tool shows existing broadband coverage and funding across Canada, and allows you to create coverage shapes, sites, and routes, and subsequently download your completed map file (.kmz).

You will also use this tool to determine the number of eligible underserved households under you proposed coverage area, as well as the number of households that may be overbuilt. The tool will generate a summary of coverage and email it to the user creating the map. Attached to this email will be a summary file (.xml) that needs to be uploaded along with the application map file (.kmz) when submitting the application.

You must use the Eligibility Mapping Tool to download your completed map file (.kmz) and coverage summary file (.xml) to apply to the Broadband Fund.

If you have already created a GIS file with your project map, the tool allows you to upload it and review the coverage information to ensure it is correct before downloading the map from the tool.

Note that the upload function in the Eligibility Mapping Tool only currently supports uploading coverage polygons and road centerlines for areas that will be served by the project. The tool will automatically convert the road centerlines to road buffers, denoting coverage. Sites and routes must be created using the tool.

You can read the Mapping Guide for detailed instructions on how to use the Eligibility Mapping Tool.

The CRTC conducts an Annual Facilities Survey to collect information on the recent state of broadband services and network facilities nationwide. The data shown in the Call 4 Reference Map and Eligibility Mapping Tool is based on the processed information from the Annual Facilities Survey.

The CRTC may also use newer information, whether public or confidential, as it is received and verified. This means that updates on geographic eligibility may be made available during the period between the launch date of Call 4 and the submission deadline.

The map and data sets on the CRTC’s website reflect information as of the publication date shown on the site. They are provided for reference only, as broadband services and network facilities may have been upgraded since then.

You should check whether:

• new broadband services or network facilities have been deployed since the data was published, making a geographic area no longer eligible
• new projects are or will be underway in the target areas and within the proposed project’s time frame

You should conduct your own due diligence to confirm that the geographic areas you propose to serve are eligible under the Broadband Fund. This includes researching available broadband services and network facilities, and consulting with relevant service providers and communities.

You are encouraged to:

• review the list of projects that have been announced to date under Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada’s Connect to Innovate and Universal Broadband Fund programs
• consult the list of selected projects under the CRTC’s Broadband Fund
• consult with provincial and/or territorial government broadband funding programs

The CRTC published an updated Call 4 Reference Map showing the eligible geographic areas at the launch of this call. The map may be updated if new coverage information becomes available before the application submission deadline that can be found in the Call 4 home page. No changes will be made to the map after that date.

You are responsible for monitoring the map and are encouraged to stay up to date on any changes by signing up to the CRTC Broadband Fund’s RSS feed.

After the application deadline, the CRTC will use the most current verified data to mitigate the risk of overbuilding in each area and ensure the efficient use of funds across the country. This data may come from public announcements by companies or governments, or from confidential information the CRTC has collected.

For a universal service objective fixed broadband project, once an area has access to terrestrial broadband Internet speeds of at least 50/10 Mbps, it is not eligible for funding. Refer to section 2.1.3(b) Fixed broadband project – Eligibility criterion – Minimum service levels of the Technical and Program Details Guide for minimum required service levels for a universal service objective fixed broadband project.

For a satellite-dependent community project, once a community no longer relies on satellite transport capacity for one or more telecommunications services (such as voice, and fixed wireless and Internet services), it is not eligible for funding as a satellite-dependent community project.

For universal service objective fixed broadband projects, eligible geographic areas include all underserved households in Canada that do not currently have access to terrestrial broadband Internet speeds of at least 50/10 Mbps. Direct-to-home broadband satellite Internet service is not terrestrial and does not affect eligibility for funding under this project type.

For satellite-dependent community capital projects, all communities that rely on satellite transport capacity for one or more telecommunications services (such as voice, wireless, both fixed and mobile, and Internet services) are eligible for funding. This includes communities that receive broadband Internet access through low earth orbit (LEO) satellites at speeds of at least 50/10 Mbps.

Sections 2.1.3(a), 2.1.4(a), and 2.1.5(a) in the Technical and Program Details Guide provide more information on the geographic eligibility of projects.

First, review the relevant sections of the Technical and Program Details Guide to confirm the eligibility of the geographic area and the eligibility criteria for the related project type:

• 2.1.3 Universal service objective project-specific eligibility criteria
• 2.1.4 Transport infrastructure required for a universal service objective project
• 2.1.5 Satellite-dependent community project-specific eligibility criteria

Following the review, if you still believe an area is inaccurately defined as eligible, please email the Broadband Fund team at flb-bbf@crtc.gc.ca and include:

• the name and identifying number of the eligible satellite-dependent community or road segment
• a description of the coverage or facilities that should cause the area to be ineligible.
• details about any new or updated:
  • fixed broadband that meets or exceeds universal service objective speeds and provides coverage to eligible households (represented by roads)
  • terrestrial-based connection(s) that provide telecommunications services (such as voice, and fixed wireless and Internet services) to a satellite-dependent community

Telecommunications service providers must include up-to-date telecommunications facilities and coverage data with their annual submissions to the CRTC’s Annual Facilities Survey via the Data Collection System (DCS). Clearly indicate if your organization requires the CRTC to re-issue Form 267 – “Gigabit transport network end-points” or Form 256 - “Geographic residential broadband capability” to allow the incremental update of facilities information for the current survey year.

You are expected to provide a complete list of equipment with the highest probability of deployment. This list will be used to assess the feasibility and resiliency of the proposed project.

The CRTC understands that the proposed equipment may be different than actual deployment due to external factors outside of your control or changes of circumstances. In such cases, equipment changes can be made during the statement of work phase with justification and approval by the CRTC.

You are expected to submit your best proposal and provide accurate, complete, and realistic information. The technical design should demonstrate the detailed scope and include enough information for the CRTC to determine its eligibility and assess its technical merit, including feasibility and resiliency.

A complete and comprehensive design should demonstrate your ability to deliver the services and meet the objectives of your project. This includes stated point of presence (PoP) capacities, an equipment list, and minimum wholesale and broadband access service requirements. You must also provide a logical network diagram (LND) showing how the network will be connected and where services will be delivered.

For more details, consult the Technical and Program Details Guide.

The project interconnection point is where the proposed project will connect to existing infrastructure. This can be a central office, a tower, an access point, a PoP, a splice can, a manhole, or any other piece of brownfield infrastructure upstream of the proposed project. The project interconnection point should be identified in the LND and maps.

As part of its evaluation of the project’s proposed design, the CRTC will assess whether the capacity supplied by or via the project interconnection point would be reasonably capable of meeting the requirements of the proposed project.

Note that a single project can have multiple interconnection points, depending on its scope and details.

The CRTC recognizes that operational funding is a necessity for satellite-dependent communities. Considering the general uncertainty regarding the availability of alternatives to conventional satellite services, including uncertainty regarding the availability of low earth orbit (LEO) satellite services, you are encouraged to apply for five years of operational funding.

The requested funding amount and/or duration, if approved by the CRTC, can be reduced in the future if it is no longer required.

• proposed downlink and uplink speed refers to the earth station’s transmission speeds
• proposed download and upload speed refers to the broadband service speeds delivered to users in the satellite-dependent community

There’s no required amount that you must invest in your project.

However, the CRTC will assess a project more favourably if it includes funding from sources other than the Broadband Fund (either you or third-party sources) towards total eligible project costs. The CRTC will evaluate this criterion by dividing the amount of funding requested from the Broadband Fund by the total eligible project costs to obtain a percentage during the evaluation process.

The CRTC considers that notification and outreach to all affected communities that you propose to serve is a crucial aspect of effective project planning and successful implementation.

You must demonstrate that outreach has been undertaken or attempted with each community affected by a proposed project, notifying them by providing details, and providing community representatives with the opportunity to communicate feedback directly to you and/or the CRTC.

For a detailed description of the notification and outreach requirements, see the Community engagement webpage.

To determine if Indigenous groups may be affected by your proposed project:

• Consult the web-based information system, Aboriginal and Treaty Rights Information System (ATRIS) to map out the location of Indigenous communities and identify treaties, claims, or assertions, consultation protocols and obtain contact information for any potential impacted Indigenous communities or groups.

For additional assistance with ATRIS or Indigenous rights information, contact the Consultation and Information Service at Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada at indigenous.consultations.autochtones@rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca.

You should note that a proposed project could adversely impact Aboriginal or treaty rights even if the project is not proposing to directly serve an Indigenous community.

The CRTC recommends that you engage with Indigenous communities as soon as possible to understand potential impacts of the proposed project and respond to any concerns. You should engage in a manner that respects the unique rights, interests, and circumstances of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities. Engagement should respect the community’s preferred or established approach.

If a proposed project presents a risk of an adverse impact to an established or asserted Aboriginal or treaty right, a duty to consult may arise. As rights holders, Indigenous communities are best positioned to identify any impacts on their rights and advise on potential measures to avoid them. If a risk is identified at the application stage, you must provide details on consultations undertaken and any accommodation measures that have been or will be implemented as a result.

The CRTC may request additional information during the evaluation process.

Yes, if a project involves providing service or building infrastructure in an Indigenous community, you must provide evidence of consent from the representatives of this community before the CRTC provides its final funding approval.

The CRTC may issue a conditional funding decision requiring you to provide proof of consent from the representatives of the Indigenous community before it issues the final funding decision.

The CRTC will assess an application more favourably if it provides proof of consent from an Indigenous community as part of its application. Written consent can be provided in any form chosen by the representatives of an Indigenous community, such as:

• a letter of support
• a formal resolution (such as a band council resolution)
• an agreement or a memorandum of understanding
• a transcript of oral consent (such as minutes from a meeting)

The CRTC continues to place emphasis on community outreach and engagement in Call 4.

Community outreach and engagement will be assessed in two phases. In the eligibility phase, the CRTC will evaluate applications according to the requirements set out in section 2.1.1(e) Project eligibility - Outreach of the Technical and Program Details Guide.

To be eligible to receive funding from the Broadband Fund, you must:

• identify and list all affected communities, clearly indicating which of these communities, if any, are Indigenous (refer to section 8 of the Technical and Program Details Guide for the definition of “affected community”)
• provide evidence of notification and outreach efforts to demonstrate that you have attempted to contact each affected community (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous) before the application deadline and have invited community representatives to respond (refer to section 8 of the Technical and Program Details Guide for a definition of “community representative”)
• identify any established or asserted Aboriginal or treaty rights that the proposed project may impact
• indicate whether you consider that the proposed project presents a risk of adversely affecting any established or asserted Aboriginal or treaty rights
• demonstrate how your consideration of established or asserted Aboriginal or treaty rights was informed, describing the specific efforts you have made to identify potential impacts to Aboriginal or treaty rights

In the assessment phase, the CRTC will evaluate applications according to the requirements set out in section 2.2.1(d) Assessment criterion – Engagement of the Technical and Program Details Guide.

The CRTC will assess an application based on the quality of your outreach efforts with affected communities. Outreach should be informative and timely and should establish a line of communication between the affected communities and the applicant.

The CRTC will use this criterion:

• to assess the quality and outcome of early outreach and engagement with affected communities that you propose to serve
• whenever possible, to determine whether these affected communities support the project and are likely to subscribe to the services provided as a result of the project
• where applicable, to understand the needs of the Indigenous communities that will receive the services provided as a result of the project and to assess the quality and outcome of outreach to those Indigenous communities

Finally, when selecting projects for funding, the CRTC may give special consideration to projects proposed by Indigenous applicants and/or projects that would service Indigenous communities or official language minority communities (OLMCs). It will consider whether proposed projects would fulfill

• the economic and social requirements of Indigenous communities or OLMCs, consistent with the policy objectives set out in paragraphs 7(a), (b), and (c) of the Telecommunications Act
• the Government of Canada’s commitment in the Official Languages Act to support and assist in the development of English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada

You should attempt to contact all rights holders that are identified by ATRIS as having Aboriginal or treaty rights in the area of the project. Contacting all rights holders is ultimately a benefit to all, since it notifies them of the proposed project and provides an opportunity for them to engage in a dialogue with you regarding the proposed project.

You should avoid adversely impacting an Aboriginal or treaty right, and may receive important information that may help to improve the proposed project.

For assistance with ATRIS or Indigenous rights information, contact the Consultation and Information Service at Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada at indigenous.consultations.autochtones@rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca.

Out of respect for all rights holders, you should attempt to contact all Indigenous communities in the area, regardless of whether a project will be constructed in existing utility rights-of-way, to notify them of the proposed project and provide an opportunity for them to engage in a dialogue with you regarding the proposed project.

Yes, to be eligible for funding from the Broadband Fund, you must demonstrate that outreach has been undertaken or attempted with each community affected by a proposed project. You must notify the community about your project, provide details of your project, and provide community representatives with the opportunity to communicate feedback directly to you and/or the CRTC.

To support you in your notification and outreach efforts, the CRTC has developed community outreach template letters that can be used when first contacting affected communities. When considering what communities will be affected by a proposed project and should be engaged, you should consult the Call 4 Reference Map.

You must demonstrate that outreach efforts have been undertaken or attempted with each community affected by a proposed project. This includes notifying affected community, providing details of your project and giving community representatives with the opportunity to communicate feedback directly to you and/or the CRTC.

The CRTC will also review the quality of your outreach efforts. Effective outreach should be informative, timely, respectful, and establish a line of communication between you and the communities.

You are encouraged to approach communities early and openly and to give community representatives the opportunity to share priorities and raise concerns associated with your project.

The CRTC understands that not all affected communities may respond by the application deadline.

To accommodate engagement after the application deadline, the CRTC provides a confidential process for you and affected communities to submit additional engagement documents directly.

This process is confidential, like the application process. Documents submitted after the application deadline will not be made public. However, if an affected community submits documents directly to the CRTC and does not share them with you, the CRTC will forward those documents to the applicant.

For applicants

You can file evidence of community outreach and engagement with the CRTC after the application deadline, using the Broadband Fund email address.

If you use this process, you must, in addition to the additional evidence you are filing, provide:

• your name
• the project name used by the applicant
• the confirmation number provided in the confirmation email

The CRTC will add any additional evidence of community engagement received to the relevant application. However, you must demonstrate that outreach efforts have been undertaken or attempted with each community affected by a proposed project before the application deadline. An applicant cannot use this process to reach out to a community after the application deadline has passed.

For affected communities

Communities affected by a proposed project can also contact the CRTC directly. To facilitate this, when an applicant initially notifies communities affected by a proposed project, it should provide those communities with:

• the Broadband Fund email address
• the mailing address of the CRTC

Affected communities should also include the applicant when sending any evidence directly to the CRTC.

The CRTC will add any additional evidence of community outreach and engagement received to the relevant application and will notify the applicant when any new evidence is received.

Most communities have a website that will provide contact information for community representatives.

For Indigenous communities, ATRIS is an excellent resource for contact information for representatives. The “Profile” of each Indigenous community typically provides an address, a phone number, and a contact name and title that you can use.

If possible, you could call a representative community member to briefly explain the proposed project and ask for a contact for future correspondence. This form of contact may be a particularly effective and respectful way to identify the appropriate person(s) to contact.

The CRTC is looking for any sort of community benefit that you and an affected community have agreed to as a result of the proposed project, above and beyond the provision of improved broadband Internet access services. The CRTC considers that agreements providing additional economic and/or social benefits to affected communities, for example, revenue sharing or employment opportunities, would represent evidence of engagement between you and affected communities, and would be assessed favourably.

For projects that affect Indigenous communities, the CRTC will assess a proposed project more favourably if you demonstrate responsiveness to concerns raised by representatives of Indigenous communities or groups and provide evidence of collaboration with potentially impacted Indigenous communities or groups. Accordingly, the CRTC will assess a project more favourably if:

• it has the support of potentially impacted Indigenous communities or groups
• it will provide economic benefits and/or employment opportunities to Indigenous communities and groups