BSO Hearing: The words “essential broadband” have a far different meaning for deaf and blind Canadians

By Perry Hoffman

GATINEAU – Broadband has become, as CRTC chair Jean-Pierre Blais put it earlier basic service objective hearing, “vital” to Canadians, all Canadians. It’s perhaps even more essential to those with disabilities – those who are blind or vision-impaired or deaf.For nearly two weeks, the CRTC has heard from a wide range of parties on a number of topics including whether speed targets should be established in a basic broadband offering, how to serve rural and remote communities and the impoverished. The Commission also launched a line of questioning into how a national broadband strategy should be initiated and who should...