Conservatives don’t see big picture on broadband: Telecommunities Canada

Community broadband advocates are miffed at the Conservative Party of Canada's lack of understanding on broadband issues. Speaking with Tech Media Reports this week in the wake of the Tories' platform release, Gareth Shearman, president of Telecommunities Canada (TC) says Conservatives don't get it."They're not seeing the full picture here," he tells TMR. "They're not seeing the benefits of universal access to high speed Internet services."The benefits of broadband are well-known. Access to high-speed Internet services can drive a whole range of social and economic elements, including distance education and telehealth, but also stimulate economic growth for companies looking to expand outside of their particular locale."The intention of a national strategy for digital inclusion would be to ensure the well-being and economic productivity of our communities by enhancing the capacity of their most disadvantaged members to be included in daily life online," reads a TC policy paper published in March 2008.The Conservatives, however, have stuck to their guns on broadband, choosing not to make it a key tenet of their 2008 election platform. And while broadband may figure in a commitment to "support rural and remote communities by investing in new infrastructure throughout rural and northern Canada," the Tories appear to believe that corporate and personal income tax cuts will be the primary driver to get broadband everywhere."We're quite upset with the policy or lack thereof which seems to be, simply put, leave it to market forces to complete the expansion of broadband in Canada. And that doesn't work as we're finding out," he says.The numbers tell the story, as Canada has slipped in international rankings for broadband. At one time, Canada was in the elite category holding down the number two spot only behind Korea. The country has since fallen to the bottom of the top 10.Shearman fears that a Conservative-led government will deliver more bad news to community broadband initiatives by killing the Community Access Program (CAP). A key tenet of the Connecting Canadians initiative launched under the Liberal Party of Canada 10 years ago, CAP's goal is to help provide Canadians with affordable access to the Internet and the services and tools it provides. At its peak, CAP had 8,800 sites across the country and received $25 million in annual funding. As of 2007, the program received $8 million in funding and covered 3,786 sites."As time has gone on, the support for has dwindled to the point where it's almost tokenism now because they cutback on the number of CAP sites that were funded," he says. " dragged on from year to year and it almost looks like they're looking for a way to dump it."There is money to reinvigorate broadband, according to Shearman. He suggests that part of the proceeds from the spectrum auction should go to broadband expansion. This is something other groups have advocated for.In an article published in the National Post, telecom consultant Mark Goldberg, along with Janet Yale, executive VP of corporate affairs at Telus Corp., and Michael Janigan, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), called on the federal government to commit at $1 billion of the $4.25 billion generation from the spectrum auction for broadband that is universal and affordable to everyone.The Liberals have also called a large portion of the spectrum auction proceeds to go to broadband. Industry critic Scott Brison suggested that $2 billion go completing the job of a national broadband network.The other political parties support a national broadband plan to varying degrees (more information is below). Shearman says he likes what he's heard from the other parties, but isn't convinced their plans go far enough and that the type of broadband being bandied about is no where near what's required."The whole term of high speed is really a joke because what we're getting from DSL and cable is nowhere near the kinds of speeds that places like Japan and Korea are providing for their citizens. And we don't see any sign that the phone companies are looking to rollout fibre to the home at any point in the foreseeable future whereas other countries have a program and a policy for doing this," he says. "That's what we think is lacking in Canada."Telecom Issues in Other National Party PlatformsLiberalsComplete the job of making broadband Internet service available to rural communitiesNew DemocratsInvest in a pan-Canadian broadband strategy to bring high-speed internet to more communities in CanadaImplement net neutrality to protect everyday Canadians' right to freely access the internet content of their choice at a flat rate and with clear and transparent rules End price gouging and net throttling, preventing a two-tiered internet in CanadaGreen PartyVision: The Green Party of Canada is committed to the original design principle of the Internet - network neutrality: the idea that a maximally useful public information network treats all content, sites, and platforms equally, thus allowing the network to carry every form of information and support every kind of application.Green Solution: Green Party MPs will pass legislation granting the Internet in Canada the status of common carrier; prohibiting ISPs from discriminating due to content while freeing them from liability for content transmitted through their systems.

Conservatives don’t see big picture on broadband: Telecommunities Canada

News | 10/09/2008 5:39 pm EDT

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