Universal Broadband Fund (UBF)

• Geographic coverage map and eligibility mapping statistics from the Eligibility Mapping Tool
• Completed UBF Application Form
• Required program templates, including the eligibility, budget, financial forecast and service offering templates, plus applicable supplemental templates
• Registration or incorporation documents and independently prepared financial statements for the last three years
• Logical network diagram, project schedule, and any required letters of support or other supporting evidence

Who is eligible?

• Canadian incorporated for-profit and not-for-profit corporations
• Broadband infrastructure providers and operators
• Partnerships, joint ventures and consortia made up of eligible Canadian entities
• Indigenous organizations, band councils and Indigenous government authorities
• Provincial, territorial, municipal and other eligible public sector bodies

Who is not eligible

• Federal entities, including Crown corporations

Eligible expenses

• Direct labour costs, including salaries and benefits for employees working on the project
• Direct material and equipment costs, such as fibre optic cable, servers, switches, radio equipment, towers, poles and backup power supplies
• Network software and satellite capacity purchases or leases needed for the project
• Necessary travel costs and fees for contracted services directly related to network deployment
• Other direct project costs that can be specifically identified and measured

Ineligible Costs and Activities

• Land, rights-of-way, buildings, permanent shelters, and existing capital or telecommunications infrastructure
• Operating costs, ongoing maintenance, service contracts, technical support contracts, warranties, and cleaning fees
• Legal fees, insurance, contingency amounts, financing or interest costs, and taxes eligible for rebate
• General office space, office equipment, business setup costs, advertising and promotion, and radio or spectrum licensing fees
• Research and development, software or hardware development, non-commercial off-the-shelf telecom equipment, and lease-to-own contracts

Eligible geographic areas

• Canada
• Areas identified on ISED's Availability Map as having less than 50/10 Mbps service
• For eligible mobile projects, unserved Indigenous communities and related unserved roads or strategic highways in Canada

• Only complete applications are assessed.
• Applications first undergo an eligibility screening to verify applicant eligibility, required information, eligible activities and completed declarations.
• Eligible applications are then assessed on essential criteria such as technical feasibility, managerial capacity and long-term sustainability.
• Applications that pass the essential review are compared against broader factors such as co-funding, scalability, affordability, open access and community benefits.
• Ministerial selection decisions are followed by contribution agreement negotiations; projects requesting more than $50 million may take longer to be approved.

• Applicants may submit more than one proposal if each project is technologically and financially independent.
• Confidential information in an application must be clearly marked, and submitted materials become the property of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.
• Successful applicants are expected to use a fair, competitive and transparent procurement process.
• Indigenous consultation and compliance with environmental laws may be required for selected projects.