The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission opened Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2026-47 on March 18 to seek public comments on creating an Indigenous stream within its Broadband Fund. The proposed stream is intended to reduce barriers for Indigenous applicants seeking support for internet and cellphone infrastructure. The CRTC’s consultation page says formal comments are due Sept. 18, 2026, at 8 p.m. Eastern time; replies to interventions are due Dec. 18. Source↗

Nunavut communities remain heavily dependent on satellite-based connectivity, and the proceeding specifically asks how funding rules should be adapted for Indigenous applicants. Questions include whether application deadlines, eligible costs, reporting requirements, upfront funding, training support, outreach and assessment rules should change. The CRTC published a South Baffin Inuktitut summary of the consultation. Source↗

Interested people and organizations can file an intervention by Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The CRTC will then accept replies until Dec. 18. The record will inform a later CRTC decision on whether and how to establish the stream; no decision date is listed in the notice.

Proceeding number: Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2026-47. Public record: 1011-NOC2026-0047. The CRTC says the process is separate from its fourth Broadband Fund application call, whose deadline was extended to Oct. 15, 2026. The current consultation asks how a future Indigenous stream should work; it does not accept project applications or allocate money. Source↗