Study estimates $7 billion outlay for building broadband network across Canada

A Winnipeg-based telecom provider MTS Allstream Inc has estimated the price tag for closing the digital divide between urban and rural Canadians at about $7-billion.

That is what the cost of the rolling out high speed internet to the remotest areas of the country would cost. The $700-million per year, for 10 years bill is beyond market forces alone to foot, the company has told Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in one of the first such estimates to be made for Canada.

The estimate came in a presentation yesterday before the CRTC as the federal regulator investigates how best the digital gap between urban and rural areas could be closed.

According to MTS president Kelvin Shepherd, ultimately the cost would be borne by consumers and businesses.

Governments in many parts of the world, especially in Australia and the US have already pledged tens of billions of dollars for the expansion of internet access, and setting ambitious targets for connection speeds. Some Scandinavian countries have even mandated ultrafast access to the internet as an essential right. The Canadian government has allocated about $225-million in grants to finance internet access across the entire country.

According to MTS, its estimates are calculations based on publicly filed documents, from many sources, but these are preliminary due to the rapid changes in technology and the expansion of other services, such as wireless and satellite. Wireless and satellite have deeper penetration into remote areas, but are often unreliable or lack the capacity to download large files or to stream video.