Connectivity is a human right, says Irekvist

TORONTO – Connectivity is not only a tool for good, it is a human right, the president of Ericsson AB’s Canadian division told the Canadian Telecom Summit Tuesday. Jeanette Irekvist spoke about the digital divide plaguing much of Canada. “Those that are not connected are truly left behind,” she stated. Ericsson has existed as a company for 145 years, she explained, with Canadian operations being conducted for 70 years. “That actually means we’ve been here longer than Tim Hortons,” she joked. While Tim’s may be more visible, she believes her firm touches the lives of more Canadians. The Canadian subsidiary is Ericsson’s second largest hub, after Sweden. It employs 3,100 people and spends $400 million annually on research and development. It has labs in Montreal and Ottawa and a sales office in Toronto. Montreal has been home to the company’s Global AI Accelerator since 2019. It has partnered with 20 Canadian universities and spent more than $25 million on academic research since 2013. The digital divide has evolved over the past decade, she asserted. With the rise of 3G, people discovered they were missing out on services. That has become more pronounced as further iterations emerge. Closing the divide will require deployment of fixed wireless, fibre, and satellite technologies. While most attention has been paid to underserved areas in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities, there is also a digital divide affecting urban and suburban regions. Irekvist pointed to two communities neighbouring Toronto to make her point. The city of Milton, Ont. is underserved, as is the region north of Oakville, Ont. She saluted efforts such as the federal government’s Universal Broadband Fund which is making connectivity more in reach for Canadians. The government’s goal is to have all citizens connected by 2030. Fixed wireless is the most prominent technology being rolled out, she said. Fibre deployment is expensive. Most customers cannot tell the difference. Thirty seven per cent of Canadians are satisfied with their fixed wireless connections, she stated. That compares with 47 per cent in the American market and 39 per cent globally. She urged her listeners to work to close the digital gap. “It is up to us as an industry, for all of us here in the room, our customers, stakeholders, and partners, to get this done,” she asserted. “If we want to close the digital divide in Canada, we do have the technologies.” Data shapes what people learn and what they believe, she noted. She added that one-third of the world is still unconnected. The COVID-19 pandemic illustrated the dire situation that puts people in. – Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca

Connectivity is a human right, says Irekvist

News | June 18, 2024

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Connectivity is a human right, says Irekvist

News | June 18, 2024

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