Wow. Okay.
Mr. Kellison, before finalizing the 3800 megahertz spectrum auction rules, your department consulted on whether deployment requirements should be increased.
The Canadian Federation of Agriculture said that the timelines and coverage percentages were insufficient to ensure service in rural areas. The National Coalition of Chiefs supported deployment within five years. Ecotel warned that deployment timelines beyond 10 years in rural areas become a justification for not providing service. Even Telus proposed putting spectrum to use in every service area within five to seven years, yet Bell and Rogers opposed any acceleration.
Your department decided not to accelerate the spectrum deployment requirements. When farmers, first nations and a major carrier are asking for faster rural deployment requirements, why did the government side with the telecom companies to go slower?