A grant from Internet venture Inukshuk helped build the Animated American Sign Language dictionary.
Industry Canada is reconsidering a decision that was set to end the flow of millions of dollars into online learning initiatives.
In a recent letter, the federal agency invited a panel of education experts to weigh in on the new licence conditions for valuable spectrum, the 2500 MHz band - a small slice of Canada's airwaves.
The experts, members of panels called Learning Plan committees, feel they're owed a say because that spectrum was once reserved for educational purposes, and for the last decade a portion of its profits has been distributed to educational initiatives through a program called the Learning Plan.
"This is good they're looking for our input," said Randy Bruce, a committee member based in Vancouver.
More than half a century ago, Canada and the United States set aside the 2500 MHz band for educational broadcasting, including university television stations. When the band was upgraded to accommodate fixed wireless services, the Canadian government licensed that spectrum to a company called Inukshuk, with the condition that it would share the profits with Web-based educational initiatives through the Learning Plan.
The dollars from the Learning Plan, which amount to about $2.5-million a year, financed modest projects such as the development of an animated American Sign Language dictionary for children, and an online audio archive of Tlingit words and phrases.
Last month, Learning Plan committee members received an e-mail informing them the band was being upgraded to support mobile wireless, and the Learning Plan would not be part of the new licence.
The e-mail was a total surprise. It came from Inukshuk Wireless, now a partnership between Bell and Rogers. Although notice was given and many corporate interests had participated, the consultation process on the licences had proceeded without the committee members' knowledge.
Then, earlier this month, shortly after an article about the Learning Plan appeared in The Globe and Mail, committee members received the letter from Industry Canada offering them a 10-day window to provide their input.
"We understand that members of the [Learning Plan]Committees may not have been aware of the consultation .… If you have any comments to provide, please forward them … so that they can be considered prior to the final decision being taken," the letter said.
The committee members have written a reply asking that Industry Canada reinstate the Learning Plan in perpetuity.
Asked whether that might happen, a spokesperson for Industry Canada wrote: "No decisions concerning the conditions of licence for [the new]licences have been taken. When a decision is issued on this matter, the rationale for the decision will also be provided."
Mr. Bruce, the Learning Plan committee member, said the U.S. has continued to honour the educational designation of the 2500 MHz band.
"The Internet is more woven into people's daily lives than ever before and it was decades ago that someone thought it was important to dedicate this band to educational purposes, so basically, what we're saying is that it is more important than ever," he said.
Ken Engelhart, a senior vice-president at Rogers, said the spectrum was originally set aside for educational television, and since it's no longer being used for that purpose, the old licence conditions can be tossed out.
"I think the use of the spectrum is evolving with the marketplace and what we see in the Internet is there's no such thing as educational Internet," he said. "It's the Internet. Schools use it, businesses use it, governments use it, people use it, but there's no educational Internet any more."
The upgrade to mobile wireless, rather than fixed wireless, will likely increase the spectrum's profitability.
Wireless spectrum has become extremely valuable. Devices such as iPhones and BlackBerries require networks that can handle more and more data, and the number of people carrying cellular phones increases each year.
The addition of new companies into the cellphone market in Canada has also placed more demand on existing spectrum.