NORTH BAY, Ont. – Delivering broadband to rural and remote regions in Canada is no easy task when compared to broadband deployments in urban settings – and since the majority of telecom conferences (also held mostly in big cities) normally try to address all of those issues in perhaps a single session, a brand new conference intends to dedicate itself entirely to the challenges faced by carriers, vendors, government, consumers and others when it comes to rural broadband.
The first annual Canadian Rural and Remote Broadband Conference will take place this November 12-14 in North Bay, Ontario (pictured) and is meant to be an information sharing forum for community leaders, rural advocates, service providers and government who want to take action to address the rural broadband challenges.
This summit will provide a unique opportunity for stakeholders to come together and share their knowledge, experiences, lessons learned and advice via a gathering focused on the challenges and realities of creating a sustainable and ubiquitous digital economy for the rural and remote regions of our country.
The agenda, available here, is focused on educating and informing community leaders and related stakeholders about the challenges and options surrounding the implementation of broadband solutions in their regions and the evolving technological landscape, specifically in rural and remote areas, says the conference press release.
“I want this conference to set the tone for broader collaboration across all stakeholders – communities, regions, service providers, vendors and all levels of government across the country,” said Amedeo Bernardi, the conference organizer.
Bernardi has a long history in rural connectivity himself having spent many years in wired and wireless communications in across Canada working for the likes of Clearnet, Bell Mobility, Ontera, and Bruce Telecom.
Bernardi noted that it says in the Competition Bureau’s recent study on the Canadian broadband market: “There is a significant difference between broadband internet options available to consumers in the more densely populated areas of Canada and those in more rural and remote settings. In the more sparsely populated parts of the country, where companies are less likely to earn a comparable level of revenues to repay their investments, it is difficult for a company to justify making the very large investments necessary to provide modern networks. The real world effect of this is that networks in rural and remote areas are generally slower, and served by fewer companies, than those in more urban areas.”
The conference will be held at the North Bay Best Western Hotel and Conference Centre beginning with a welcome reception on Tuesday, November 12, followed by two days of learning. Please click here for more details. Early Bird registration is open now until September 30th.
For more information, or if you wish to be a sponsor of this important event (Cartt.ca is a media sponsor), please contact Amedeo Bernardi at amedeo@amedeobernardi.ca.
