Low-income access to affordable Internet is ‘poverty issue’: Bell

Canadians who can’t afford Internet access don’t face an “affordability problem,” but a “poverty issue that is in need of a social safety net,” which should be addressed by different levels of government, Robert Malcolmson, BCE Inc.’s senior vice-president of regulatory affairs, said at a CRTC hearing Tuesday. “Clearly, broadband connectivity is a necessity, and social assistance programs run by governments, we think, should take that into account,” he said. Outside of remote and rural areas, “the issue is not about Internet rates being just and reasonable, but rather it's that some Canadians with low incomes struggle to afford the Internet. What we've heard on the record is that despite this, low income Canadians are continuing to subscribe to Internet services.” The CRTC heard from a number of intervenors last week who talked about the challenges of connecting low-income Canadians to Internet service. “This isn't an issue of access; it's a matter of what low income Canadians are giving up in order to stay connected,” Malcolmson added, noting that the government of Yukon provides a $37-a-month subsidy for a voice service as part of its social assistance program. “Now may be time to introduce similar government subsidies for broadband,” he suggested. The federal government can also play a role in the deployment of broadband, Malcolmson said, noting the government has committed $500 million for that purpose in its most recent budget. Overall, both government and the CRTC should collaborate to make broadband Internet access available to all Canadians, Bell proposed. “There are roles to play for both,” Malcolmson said in response to a question by CRTC Chairman chair Jean-Pierre Blais, who asked who should lead the development of a national broadband strategy. On Tuesday, Blais took the unusual step of making a speech in the middle of the three-week hearing on what telecom services should be available to all Canadians, in which he said the hearing could be used to create a national broadband strategy. “We heard you yesterday, and tried to be responsive,” Malcolmson said during the company’s opening statement, in which Bell suggested that the commission advise the government on how to invest the $500 million promised in the budget, and that the funding be distributed in a reverse auction, as in the Connecting Canadians program. Malcolmson elaborated that “priority one, in our view, should be identifying those Canadians that don’t have access to the basic level of connectivity today, that don’t have access to in our country’s remotest areas, and finding a way to fund the extension of service to those communities,” he said. Bell argued that speeds of 5 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload are sufficient for Canadians to participate in the digital economy, though it suggested the government fund the deployment of 10 Mpbs service in remote areas that don’t currently have access to 5 Mbps speeds. “There’s evidence on the record that I think shows that what uses people make of broadband are served by 5 and 1 speeds,” Malcolmson said. “Having said that, we all recognize the need for speed is moving. That’s why, in our proposal, we said establish the base level of 5 and 1 , but if you’re making subsidy money available, there should be an element of future-proofing in the network builds, so we suggested that successful bidders would have to build out 10 and 1 capability.” Philippe Gauvin, senior legal counsel for Bell, said that 5 Mbps speeds allow customers to use services like streaming HD video and video-chatting — though not for eight people to do so at the same time. Blais also noted that both Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. have introduced or announced programs to bring Internet access to low-income Canadians. Malcolmson responded that Bell launched a program last year that brings free gigabit Internet access to 50 community hubs in low-income communities in Toronto. — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Shruti Shekar at sshekar@thewirereport.ca.

Low-income access to affordable Internet is ‘poverty issue’: Bell

Broadcast | April 19, 2016

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