This week’s declaration by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission that broadband internet service is now considered a basic telecommunications service for all Canadians has some broadband advocates suggesting a similar thing should happen in the United States. CRTC set speed targets of at least 50 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up for all Canadians no matter where they live, and created a fund that will invest up to $750 million (Canadian) over and above existing government programs to help make that happen in underserved areas.
Access to decent speeds and reliable service in rural and remote areas of Canada is a long-standing problem, just as it is in the United States. The U.S. rural broadband dilemma was recently brought up by West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito in a letter she sent to President-elect Trump encouraging the new administration to include broadband deployment as a core component of any new infrastructure proposals – with particular focus on rural America.
“West Virginia needs to grow and diversify its overall economy, and internet access is fundamental to that transition. Broadband can revolutionize rural communities by linking them to the national, and even global, economy,” Capito says in the letter.
Canadian advocacy group OpenMedia, which led a nearly 50,000-strong citizen movement for internet as a basic service, is suggesting the United States could do something similar to improve broadband access to all its citizens.
“Canadians asked for universal internet access, support for rural communities, world-class speeds, unlimited data options, and minimum guarantees for the quality of their internet. Today, we won it all − and there’s no reason why the United States can’t do the same,” OpenMedia Campaigns Director Josh Tabish said after the CRTC announcement was made.
Tabish stresses that many Americans face the same challenges that Canadians do around broadband, especially when it comes to accessing reliable, high-speed internet in rural and remote communities. “These challenges can be surmounted, but it will take real political will to do so. Does Donald Trump really want to see the United States fall behind its neighbor to the north? If not, it’s essential that he ensures the FCC continues to uphold net neutrality and stands up for rural Americans,” Tabish says.
According to the FCC, 39 percent of the U.S. rural population lack broadband access. OpenMedia describes the CRTC ruling as a “positive example for the United States and the rest of the world.”
