Manitoba, Nunavut, N.W.T. behind on broadband: Report

Manitoba, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories struggled to bring broadband Internet access to rural communities in 2010 as the rest of the country neared 100 per cent accessibility, the CRTC said in a new Broadband Report released Wednesday. More than 98 per cent of Canadian households had access to broadband Internet—defined as any Internet service with download speeds of at least 1.5 Mbps—by the end of 2010, the report said, drawing on data collected by the commission. But those numbers are lower in Manitoba and the Northwest Territories, where only 89 per cent of households had access to broadband services by the end of 2010, as well as in Nunavut, where 27 per cent of households had access. Broadband access rates, or availability, reflect the size of the footprints and do not necessarily reflect broadband subscription rates. The CRTC said mobile broadband availability rates have climbed to more than 90 per cent for most the country but remain at 62 per cent or less in Manitoba and the two territories. The Yukon also posted lower mobile rates of access, but still achieved a 100 per cent total broadband footprint thanks to DSL networks that provide broadband to 90 per cent of the territory’s households. Wednesday’s report said the broadband component of Canada’s Economic Action Plan was successful, saying it utilized much of a $225 million Industry Canada fund to extend rural broadband access through the federal Broadband Canada plan. That has helped to bring broadband access to more than 214,000 households in B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and the Northwest Territories, the report said. The CRTC noted that broadband availability is expected to increase to 99 per cent of Canadian households by 2013. The report said approximately 10 million Canadians subscribed to mobile Internet plans in 2010, representing roughly 39 per cent of all Canadian mobile subscribers. Of those customers, telcos collected average monthly revenues of $23 per customer subscribing to a plan capped at less than 501 Mb of monthly data (72 per cent of subscribers), $44 for those with caps between 501 Mb and 2 GB (17 per cent), and $64 for the remaining 11 per cent. news@thewirereport.ca

Manitoba, Nunavut, N.W.T. behind on broadband: Report

News | November 23, 2011

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