I WOULD LIKE TO provide a response to some of the editorial note’s that appeared within Ken Kelley’s article this morning. This response may be attributed to me. If you have any questions at any time, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Regarding access to High Speed Internet:
Minister Jordan referred to high-speed Internet and the government’s service objective of 50 Mbps download/10 Mbps upload, rather than service at any speed.
The CRTC’s 2018 Communications Monitoring report notes that this service was available to 37% of rural households and 97% of urban households.
Regarding Spectrum:
We are committed to promoting greater competition in the telecom sector to give Canadians more choice and better prices.
The 600 MHz auction framework supported more vigorous competition, better pricing, and improved quality of coverage in many urban and rural regions.
Over 40 percent of the spectrum available in the auction was set aside for regional competitors.
ISED launched a consultation on making spectrum available in smaller geographic areas (smaller tiers), something that we know is important to small service providers.
ISED also recently reached out to 300 of those smaller providers to gather input about their particular needs when it comes to acquiring the spectrum they need to connect to rural Canadians.
Brian Kaufmann
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister, Rural Economic Development
