Industry Canada’s 2001 Broadband Task Force identified several challenges in carrying out its ICT4D projects. First, there was no clear definition of “broadband”, since the dynamic technology changed so rapidly. To solve this issue, the group defined broadband as “a high-capacity, two-way link between an end user and access network suppliers capable of supporting full-motion, interactive video applications” (p.2). They determined that a minimum 1.5Mbps two-way (symmetrical) connection per individual user could meet that goal.
You might be wondering what the government’s definition of broadband is now? Surprisingly, the 2001 definition hasn’t been removed from government documents, however, infrastructure minimum goals now refer to a standard of 50Mbps down/10Mbps up (Broadband Fund: Closing the Digital Divide in Canada), fast enough to use data-hungry video-conferencing and streaming applications, which have recently surged in popularity, pushed by the implementation of social-distancing measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 virus.
Until very recently, the broadband standard was a mere 1.5Mbps download, 384Kbps upload – slower than the 2001 definition. This is largely because some communities in remote and northern regions require access to satellites broadband, which is restricted given high costs and technical characteristics.
A second challenge that the Task Force faced was Canada’s large size and dispersed population. In 2001, around three-quarters of the country’s communities – mostly in rural, remote and northern regions – did not have access to broadband. In part, this was due to the lack of a business case. Private sector corporations that rolled out infrastructure in urban centres and southern rural communities could not recuperate investments in the scarcely populated and expensive to serve regions. As a result, many faced – and continue to face – significant digital divides, a challenge we consider in Unit 6.
Canada’s current strategy to bridge the digital divide (current as of 2021)
High-Speed Access for All: Canada’s Connectivity Strategy, which includes the Universal Broadband Fund, funds infrastructure projects that increase connectivity in rural and remote areas, including up to $50 million primarily for Indigenous communities, which are at a significant disadvantage:
“According to the latest CRTC Communications Monitoring Report, only 41% of rural households and 31% of First Nations households on reserves have access to 50/10 Mbps service, compared to 98% access in urban households.”
The government claims that they are on target to achieve their goal of 50Mbps/10Mbps by 2030.