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The Gap is Growing
There still remains a massive gap in the price and quality of internet access for rural Canadians when compared to the access granted to city dwellers. Small business owners in rural communities suffer from unreliable access and "communities that cannot plug into the high-speed digital economy cannot attract new businesses that rely on basic services such as electronic invoicing, Internet conferencing and large digital file transfers." The CRTC plans to address the issue this fall in order to "'ensure all Canadians have access to affordable broadband service'", however ISP's claim the initiative would be too costly without substantial government subsidies. Some communities, such as the town of Olds, Alberta have started raising funds to create their own networks after being frustrated with slow and expensive satellite and wireless services.
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COMMENTS
And now more limitations to access will be given by the regulatory authorities, and more censorship will be done to all your media contents. I don't know whether to be ok or not with the smack down the FCC received from Comcast over the concern of whether an ISP should be forced to accept net neutrality. On one side, unrestricted access needs to be allowed, because we're the customers, and if we want to shell out the dough, we should get whatever we want, and I sure do not mind the FCC being put in their place as they technically restrict speech - which is unconstitutional. In any event, the door is easily opened to monopoly and cartel by not at least setting a standard. I definitely don't want to be virtually sprinting for pay day loans to pay for poor internet service.