Is there too much focus on broadband access and not enough emphasis on adoption?
That is an issue I have raised frequently over the years [as early as this post from 2007]. Canada enjoys nearly universal access to broadband, but one in six Canadian households still does not have a broadband connection.
TELUS raises this important point in its submission to the Governor in Council [pdf] in respect of Bell’s appeal of the Fibre to the Home resale requirements in the CRTC’s Wireline Wholesale Decision [see full file for the appeal here].
An entire section of the TELUS submission explores this issue. The section, entitled “Encouraging greater broadband access and adoption requires a broader toolbox than that available to the CRTC,” leads off stating, “the benefits of ultra-high speed Internet access and adoption encompass economic policy, health policy, environmental policy, and more. These policy issues require policy levers that are beyond the institutional wherewithal of the CRTC.”
The section talks about measures to promote adoption that should be the focus of government, requiring an evolution in the focus from a monopoly era regulatory focus on mandated access. “Canada is now benefitting from a level of platform competition (between cable, telephone company and wireless networks) that renders monopoly-era remedies like mandated access unnecessary and harmful.”
TELUS says “Broad public policy issues demand broad policy tools.” And while the marketplace has evolved, with most Canadian homes having broadband access offered by multiple wireline and wireless networks, TELUS says “The world has moved on, but the CRTC’s toolbox has not.” TELUS tells the Governor-in-Council that “a far more productive, positive, and impactful focus for government efforts” would be to address “the other digital divide,” such as the socioeconomic factors delaying broadband adoption. “The private sector can build networks. But government can help to ensure that more Canadians use those networks.”
To fully exploit the benefits of ultra-high speed Internet, there must not only be access but also adoption. It is one thing for people to be able to sign up with a provider; it is quite another for them to do so. And while platform competition will encourage innovation and investment, it cannot, on its own, encourage adoption. This is a key area for government support.
In its submission, TELUS describes how nationally, 97% of Canadian households have access to broadband, yet only 80% subscribe. In some regions the gap between access and adoption is more acute, such as Saskatchewan where 99% of households have broadband access, but only 72% subscribe.
TELUS encourages the government “to devote resources to increasing adoption”. It observes many “important programs and initiatives that are beyond the resources and scope of the CRTC, yet of critical importance to broadband adoption.”
The TELUS submission is worth a review by all of us who support enhancing Canada’s internet economy. With so many of the submissions setting out somewhat obvious, self-serving positions, it is refreshing to read one that steps back and lays out a broader digital vision for Canada.
I’d like to think increasing adoption of digital technology is a position we can all support.