{"id":5556,"date":"2012-04-26T10:12:18","date_gmt":"2012-04-26T14:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=5556"},"modified":"2012-04-26T10:12:18","modified_gmt":"2012-04-26T14:12:18","slug":"a-growing-digital-divide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=5556","title":{"rendered":"A growing digital divide?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is the rural-urban digital divide growing?<\/p>\n

In the text of his speech to Canada 3.0<\/a> earlier this week, Industry Minister Christian Paradis is quoted saying:<\/p>\n

We know Canadians lead the world in Internet use.<\/p>\n

But there remains a gap between rural and urban Canadians in terms of access to leading-edge broadband.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The press release<\/a> that accompanied his address used slightly different language:<\/p>\n

The Minister underlined the Harper Government’s commitment to creating a competitive and viable digital sector, promoting greater adoption of technology across the entire Canadian economy and bridging the growing gap between urban and rural Canadians.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the text of the speech, the Minister did not use the adjective “growing”. A review of the video of the actual speech<\/a>\u00a0seems to correspond to the distributed text, stating that there is a gap, but not calling it a “growing gap.”<\/p>\n

In fact, the digital services\u00a0available to rural and urban Canadians are increasingly similar, thanks to massive levels of investment by the private sector, supplemented by strategic investments by various levels of government. Xplornet has begun to offer service on its fourth generation satellite<\/a>, and rural subscribers also have access to savings through bundles, thanks to a Shaw, Xplornet joint marketing agreement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If there is a “growing gap” in adoption of digital services, it is based on household income. That is a problem that spans our vast national geography.<\/p>\n

For Canada to lead in a global digital economy, we need to develop digital literacy and access among low-income Canadians. Nearly half of the households in the lowest income quintile have no computer at home, let alone a broadband connection. That is more than a million households with no computer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To bridge that gap, we need a program that can work in the urban core of Canada’s largest cities as well as in remote regions.\u00a0The information technology and communications services industries need to do more to expand opportunities for economically disadvantaged households.<\/p>\n

We need to start with ensuring that all school aged kids have access to a connected home computer. That is an objective that is measurable and attainable. The US introduced a program last fall<\/a> that has no government funding, just leadership.<\/p>\n

In his address at Canada 3.0, the Minister indicated that the long overdue national digital strategy will be released later this year and will include components to address a literate workforce: “when we put that strategy forward, it will only succeed if industry as well as federal, provincial and territorial governments work together.”<\/p>\n

Greg O’Brien, editor of Cartt.ca, engaged the Minister<\/a> following his address in Stratford.<\/p>\n

I asked: \u201cIs there a way for your office to say \u2018hey Rogers, hey Bell, hey CRTC, let\u2019s get together and get this program put together where we can, for $10 a month, get broadband to low income families in Canadian cities, who are being bypassed by the digital world?\u201d<\/p>\n

His answer: \u201cThe principle is what I said: We don\u2019t want any (digital) gap. We want to have as (many) Canadians as possible to have access to the internet, rural, urban, and of course if there are some other possibilities that could be looked at, why not? We have to work together. We have to understand the provinces, the federal government, the private sector \u2013 this is exactly why I said let\u2019s work together so if some interesting things are worth it to look at, this is something we can look at for sure. If there are some good ideas that can be repeated here, why not?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You should read Greg’s Commentary<\/a>:\u00a0Canada 3.0 COMMENT: Is Canadian broadband for all, do-able? Maybe, says the Minister<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Minister Paradis will be delivering a keynote address on June 5 at\u00a0The 2012 Canadian Telecom Summit<\/a>\u00a0(June 4-6 in Toronto). Greg will be the moderator of the Regulatory Blockbuster panel earlier that day. On June 6, there is a panel looking at Building a Digital Canada.<\/p>\n

We’ll be looking for an action plan to address the real digital divide – based on income.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is the rural-urban digital divide growing? In the text of his speech to Canada 3.0 earlier this week, Industry Minister Christian Paradis is quoted saying: We know Canadians lead the world in Internet use. But there remains a gap between rural and urban Canadians in terms of access to leading-edge broadband. The press release that …<\/p>\n

A growing digital divide?<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","two_page_speed":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nA growing digital divide? • Telecom Trends<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is the rural-urban digital divide growing? 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