High-speed (or broadband) Internet has become integral to the lives of most Canadians. Broadband Internet service is all the more important in rural and remote areas, because it makes it possible to provide various essential services to the people who live in these areas, such as education and medical care, to which they often would not have access otherwise.
Even though the Government of Canada has undertaken multiple initiatives, connectivity across the country remains unequal; Canadians in urban areas have access to a wide variety of Internet services, while those living in rural and remote communities still have limited or no access to broadband service. One reason for this inequality is the extremely high cost of building broadband networks, particularly in more isolated areas. This HillStudy provides an overview of the issues with broadband Internet access in rural and remote areas of Canada and the initiatives taken in response to these issues.
Read the full text of the HillStudy: Deployment of Broadband Internet in Rural and Remote Areas of Canada
By Sarah Lemelin-Bellerose, Library of Parliament
Categories: Business, industry and trade, Executive summary, Information and communications, Science and technology, Social affairs and population