The OECD broadband numbers [
Excel, 47 KB] released today show that Canada continues to lead the world in cable broadband penetration, with 15.59 subscribers per 100 people, as of December 2008, and cable broadband in Canada is increasing its lead over telco DSL.
The numbers show that Canada maintained its OECD rank at number 10 and increased its lead over the UK (at number 11) by adding more broadband subscribers per capita (11 per thousand pop). The UK only added 9 subscribers per 1000 pop in the six months ending December 2008.
In the appeals before cabinet, some analysts and consultants have called for Canada to adopt British, French or German unbundling rules for DSL, failing to recognize two key facts: Canada’s high speed internet market is led by cable (not telco) broadband services; and, Canada’s market for broadband continues to outperform these European peers.
The OECD also released a report [
pdf, 457 KB] on the use of stimulus funds for broadband
This paper argues that policy makers need to evaluate the costs and benefits of any public investment in telecommunication infrastructure and select projects which can stimulate current demand but simultaneously expand the productive capacity of the economy in the longer term. All public investments in telecommunications should balance four key items – connectivity, competition, innovation/growth and social benefit.
On the issue of government intervention in a competitive marketplace, the report says:
Government investment in telecommunication networks must be used to foster competition and not to entrench existing operators at the expense of potential new entrants. One risk of governments investing in telecommunications is that they tend to have to choose winners in the market. Once one network is built or strengthened there is a relatively low chance of another infrastructure-based provider entering the market given the financial advantage already awarded to the incumbent via government funding.
We have a panel looking at Building Broadband at The 2009 Canadian Telecom Summit. The panel features a diverse group of leaders from Google, Barrett Xplore, Motorola, TeraGo Networks and Sasktel.