Feds, provinces to create national broadband strategy

Canada will develop a national broadband strategy with the goal of getting high-speed internet into rural, remote and Indigenous communities that still don’t have access to the fast, reliable broadband services available to city dwellers.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada announced Friday night that the federal government will team up with its provincial and territorial counterparts to develop a strategy to ensure universal access to broadband in the name of economic growth, innovation and social progress.

“Access to reliable and quality high-speed Internet is no longer a luxury,” ISED Minister Navdeep Bains said in a statement.

Bains lauded the existing networks, but said more needs to be done to connect all Canadians. The strategy plans to target areas where the market has failed to provide access.

“The commitment to a strategy we made today reflects the ambition we all share to get all Canadians online and participating in the digital economy,” he said.

The announcement comes nearly two years after the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission declared broadband a basic service and established download and upload speed targets of 50 megabits per second and 10 Mbps, respectively.

At the time, the CRTC called on the federal government to develop a national strategy, reasoning that Canadians without access to broadband are “profoundly disadvantaged.” It argued it could not create the strategy alone, noting the federal and provincial governments are better placed to tackle issues such as spectrum access, broadband affordability and digital literacy.

In the absence of a single strategy, numerous parties are working to deploy internet in harder-to-reach places where it’s required for participation in an increasingly online world. The federal government plans to dole out $500 million by 2021 through the Connect to Innovate fund and the CRTC will award $750 million for internet projects in the worst-served areas over five years. Numerous municipalities have decided to build their own fibre infrastructure where private players don’t see a business case.

In a joint statement, the federal, provincial and territorial ministers agreed to collaborate with each other, the private sector, municipalities, public institutions and Indigenous communities in order to make the most of any efforts.

“We want to establish Canada and British Columbia as a preferred location for new and emerging technologies and ensure the benefits of tech and innovation are felt across the province,” B.C.’s trade minister Bruce Ralston said in the statement, adding that internet connections are critical for tech companies.

“We look forward to collaborating with jurisdictions across Canada to foster job creation and economic development through innovation so Canada stays competitive, and continues to be a place where people want to live and do business.”

It’s not yet clear who will work on the strategy, when the work will begin, how long it is expected to take, how much money the government will dedicate, either to developing the strategy or to spending on broadband afterward. ISED was not able to answer these questions by deadline Monday.

Still, Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and e-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, said it’s positive that the federal and provincial governments are moving forward with a strategy.

But building a national broadband strategy will require hard financial and policy choices, he said, including where to spend limited resources. On the policy side, the government may have to take a stronger stance for affordable access and open networks, Geist said, issues that are currently before the CRTC.

“There’s no one against internet access,” Geist said. “The issue is really what are you prepared to do.”

THE ISSUE IS REALLY WHAT ARE YOU PREPARED TO DO.