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Please note the remote and rural communities that are not going to be included in receiving any of these funds (ie. ALL the remote communities across northwestern Ontaro) because they are exempted from this fund as a result of their designation as being located in a "High Cost Service Area". 

From CRTC press release

CRTC orders rebate for Bell Canada, Bell Aliant, Telus and MTS Allstream’s home telephone customers and approves a plan to bring broadband Internet to 287 communities

OTTAWA-GATINEAU, August 31, 2010 — The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today directed the large telephone companies to rebate $310.8 million to their urban home telephone customers. At the same time, the CRTC has approved a plan for the deployment of broadband Internet service to 287 rural and remote communities.

“Today’s announcement is a positive solution for Canadian consumers,” said Konrad von Finckenstein, Q.C., Chairman of the CRTC. “Subscribers of the major telephone companies in urban areas will enjoy a rebate on their home telephone service. And residents in hundreds of rural communities will soon be able to take advantage of the many social and economic benefits broadband Internet access provides.”

Over the next four years, broadband Internet service will be rolled out to communities where it is currently not available. This service will be comparable to urban areas and fast enough to link residents to telehealth services and bring about business and educational opportunities. The large telephone companies will use funds that have accumulated in their deferral accounts to pay for these initiatives.

The companies will make investments totalling $421.9 million to expand their networks: Bell Canada and Bell Aliant Regional Communications will connect 112 communities in Ontario and Quebec; Telus Communications Company will connect 159 communities in British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec; and MTS Allstream Inc. will connect 16 communities in Manitoba.

The CRTC has ordered the companies to rebate the remaining funds to their existing customers residing in urban areas. The rebate must be credited within the next six months and will range from approximately $25 to $90 per subscriber.

In addition, the companies are already investing $35 million from the deferral accounts in initiatives designed to make telecommunications services more accessible to Canadians living with disabilities.

 “The question of how the funds in the deferral accounts should be allocated was hotly debated. Our decision to rebate consumers was contested all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. We are pleased that the Court confirmed our jurisdiction in this matter, clearing the way for the distribution of the funds,” Mr. von Finckenstein added.

Telecom Decision CRTC 2010-637
Telecom Decision CRTC 2010-638
Telecom Decision CRTC 2010-639

The CRTC

The CRTC is an independent public authority that regulates and supervises broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada.

Reference document:

Telecom Decision CRTC 2008-1

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Backgrounder on the deferral accounts

In 2002, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) required that the large telephone companies create “deferral accounts” as a way to encourage competition in the local telephone market. Instead of reducing rates for local telephone service in urban areas, the companies were instructed to place surplus funds collected from urban consumers into the deferral accounts.

The CRTC later determined that the funds that had accumulated in the deferral accounts should be used to deploy broadband Internet services to unserved and underserved communities, as well as to improve accessibility to telecommunications services for persons with disabilities. Any funds remaining in the accounts after carrying out these initiatives were to be returned to customers in urban areas.

As of May 31, 2010, the deferral accounts held $770 million (including interest). Of this amount, $310.8 million will be rebated to customers, $421.9 million will be spent on broadband services and $35 million has already been allocated to accessibility initiatives. The remaining balance will go toward the administrative costs of the consumer rebate.

Bell Canada, Bell Aliant Regional Communications, MTS Allstream Inc., Saskatchewan Telecommunications (SaskTel) and Telus Communications Company were required to create deferral accounts. The Commission previously approved SaskTel’s proposal to spend all of the funds in its deferral account, which amounted to approximately $1.5 million, on accessibility initiatives.

Expansion of broadband Internet services

The Commission has approved plans to deploy broadband Internet services to 287 communities across five provinces by 2014. The areas covered by these projects are listed below.