Canada's Narrowing Digital Divide

More than 80% of Canadians have access to fixed broadband networks, but for rural Canadians that figure drops to just 60%. Yet, this gap between who has broadband access and who doesn't is closing in rural areas at a rate nearly three times faster than in urban areas. Canada is narrowing its rural broadband divide thanks to a clearly articulated and well-funded connectivity strategy to ensure high-speed internet access for all. As many as 2 million more Canadians enjoyed broadband speeds in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023. Rural Canadian Speedtest users saw a 23% increase in those with broadband speeds. Satellite internet service plays a key role in closing the broadband divide for Canada's vast geography. In the US, regulators were ambivalent about allowing satellite internet to qualify for government broadband funding (this attitude has recently begun to change in favor). Canada knew many years ago that satellite internet was critical. In 2020, the Canadian government launched the C$3.225 billion Universal Broadband Fund (UBF). The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has a goal of connecting 98% of Canadians to high-speed internet (broadband) delivering at least 50 Mbps download (DL) and 10 Mbps upload (UL) speeds (50/10 Mbps) by 2026, and 100% by 2030.