Canada has announced that 'high-speed' internet is 'basic service' for citizens

Canada has declared that access to high-speed internet is a must for citizens in the country. This is a step up from the previous announcement where access to landline phone services was considered necessary. In addition to the declaration by CRTC, the national telecoms regulator, the Canadian government has announced a $750 million investment package to improve internet connectivity in the rural areas for the next five years. CRTC, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission declared that all the citizens are entitled to access broadband internet and voice services both on fixed as well as mobile wireless networks. The regulatory body, as reported by Financial Post, has set the bar high regarding speed and data plans by mandating 50 Mbps as the download speed along with 10 Mbps upload speed along with unlimited data plans. The benchmarks mandated by the body are ten times faster than the current speeds in Canada right now which was set in 2011. CRTC chair Jean-Pierre Blais added, “The future of our economy, our prosperity and our society — indeed, the future of every citizen — requires us to set ambitious goals and to get on with connecting all Canadians for the 21st century,” as reported by The Verge. The Canadian government is trying to bring connectivity to 18 percent population that does not have access to high-speed internet and expects that 90 percent of the country will have access to new speeds by 2021. The situation in Canada is a far cry from the situation in India as the current average Internet speed in the **country is 4.1 Mbps** in comparison to 13.8 Mbps as reported by Akamai’s State of The Internet, Q3 2016 report. The government here has to do a lot to improve in terms of the internet speeds and connectivity coverage.