CRTC's call for DSL broadband "perpetuates the digital divide between rural and urban Canada": Bell

By Lesley Hunter

OTTAWA and MONTREAL – Should the CRTC be able to dictate which technology Bell Canada uses to provide broadband to rural and remote communities in communities in Ontario and Quebec?Absolutely not, says Bell. And it appears to have at least one CRTC commissioner on its side.After agreeing in 2008 that Bell could use its deferral account funds to build broadband out to 112 underserved communities in Ontario and Quebec, Bell applied for permission the following year to deploy the latest HSPA+ broadband technology. But in Tuesday’s deferral accounts decision, the CRTC told Bell that it must instead bring digital subscriber...