The Digital Divide
The digital divide is a term that is used to refer to the gap in demographics and regions that have access to the Internet or modern communication technology. Take a minute and think about who you know personally that does not have internet access. For me, that list would start and end at my grandparents and baby boomer relatives. I’m not really surprised at this because Canada has an internet penetration rate of 93.3%, one of the highest in the world! If I were to guess at who the remaining 6.7% are, I think it would probably be those who have no interest in using the internet (like my grandparents), those who live in remote regions which may not have great infrastructure (like Nunavut, for instance) and those who live in poverty and are not able to afford it.
We live in a society that strives to always be connected. Whether it’s through computers, smartphones, tablets or any other devices, many of us love to be connected. However, this privilege does not come cheap, especially in Canada. If we look at mobile data rates, Canada ranks among the most expensive mobile data countries. It kills me to think that my family pays nearly 400$ a month in internet and mobile data plans combined.
If we think about why mobile data costs so much in Canada, many people will be quick to point the finger at the big 3: Rogers, Bell and Telus. Maybe the problem is that there’s not enough competition? Well… I think it’s pretty crazy to see that the big 3 telecom giants in Canada actually own all the smaller companies. Rogers owns Rogers Wireless, Fido, and Chatr. Bell owns Bell, Virgin, and MTS Mobility. Telus owns Telus Mobility, Koodo, and Public Mobility. In other words, the big 3 own the competition. I feel like the only force that can act to lower prices is government intervention.
In December, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (or CRTC) declared broadband internet a basic telecommunications service. They are aiming to offer all Canadians at least download speeds of 50 megabits per second and upload speeds of 10 megabits per second, with the option of unlimited data. The CRTC aims to have this accessible to everyone within the next 10 to 15 years, and will attempt to achieve this by a fund of $750 million dollars over the next five years. I think this is a nice first step at helping to reduce the digital divide, however my concern stays the same — price. The CRTC has not intervened directly to make the Internet cheaper.
While the CRTC’s recent ruling will make progress towards giving all Canadians a decent Internet connection, I feel like more needs to be done to address the other demographics. Specifically those that can not afford it. I would like to see some government intervention to reduce mobile data rates because I think it’s insane that we have to pay so much for a gig or two of data.