The fund was created in 2008 at a time of some financial crisis and then a much broader economic crisis. Broadcasting was going through a difficult time because of the loss of advertising, and revenues were going down. To reflect the local scene this program was put in place to help in non-metropolitan areas, which were facing a particular economic challenge. In that original decision the commission did say that it would review the effectiveness of the fund, and that review led to the decision in July 2012. To be clear, although I arrived at the commission in July 2012, I didn't participate in the decision-making because the hearing had occurred much earlier.
On February 28th, 2013. See this statement in context.