Broadband internet access is a basic service … or will be in Canada, anyway!
The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC, sorta like the US FCC) recently ordered their internet service providers to “begin working toward boosting internet service and speeds in rural and isolated areas.” Here’s the full news article (at the CBC).
So what are they doing, exactly? Their goal is to make sure everyone in Canada has access to a 50mbps broadband connection to the internet, with unlimited data. And they’ll do it within 10-15 years.
The government is helping to set up a special fund that will help pay for this – all the providers pay into the fund, then can use that money to build infrastructure. It’s similar to how they handled building landline infrastructure.
The one caveat? They won’t intervene to make that access cheaper. So in a rural area, someone could “have access” to broadband, if they want to pay for that access.
Still – it’s a huge step in the right direction. The US isn’t there yet, but working towards it – check out the FCC’s national broadband plan for more info.
What do you think – is internet access a basic service, like electricity or water? I think so. How about you?
image from Wikimedia
Oh hey I am giving a “digital divide” talk in Canada tomorrow. And it talks specifically about the history of Canadian rural electrification and ow they offered cheap electricity (subsidized basically) for a LONG time and then when they stopped the rural folks had to form electric cooperatives so they were all owners but yeah it wasn’t cheap. Curious that they won’t subsidize people’s internet access in the same way but maybe they learned their lesson? We’re seeing some of that in the US (where I am, in Vermont) with ISPs as long as they’re not put out of business by the cable companies being all pissed about it.