COMMENT: Sure, broadband as a basic service sounds good - but who will fund it?

By Lesley Hunter

OTTAWA – Should broadband be deemed an essential service for all Canadians in the same way as basic telephone service?Count the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) firmly on the ‘yes’ side of that question. In a new report called Is Broadband Basic Service, the Ottawa-based consumer organization details how Canada could benefit from such a plan, and how countries like Japan and the European Union have been successful thanks to policy and infrastructure investments that make broadband service a basic right for their citizens. All of which stands in contrast to Canada where no such regime exists – at least...