High-speed internet

Telecommunications giant Telus, a private company, received $6.7 million in funding from the federal government to connect, by the end of the year, 2,000 households on the Sunshine Coast to high-speed internet. That is a very hefty price tag for 2,000 households to be financed thru public funding with taxpayer’s money.
There is a current debate that all telecommunications companies should be regulated and nationalized as a public asset and classified as utilities deemed essential services for the general public and not under the ownership of private corporations.
Funding to corporate, private businesses allows these oligarchies to control power in monopolizing service and limiting competition. The government should not be using public taxpayers’ money to fund private businesses and receive nothing in return for the investment. Already Canadians are paying higher prices for the Big Five telecoms, who have been successful in limiting competition and using their authority to seek funding for infrastructure at public expense without compensation. The public is the loser in this scenario. The CRTC has done too little to curb this monopoly and acts as a pseudo-regulator.
Building a unified, nation-wide fibre optic internet backbone would require taking over and nationalizing the Big Five’s existing assets and making massive investments to extend service to neglected/rural communities. This newly developed federal-level entity could resell carrying capacity at cost to municipal and provincial public providers and local cooperatives.
Linda Dutton, Gibsons