“Canadians who participated during our process told us that no matter where they live or work in our vast country — whether in a small town in northern Yukon, a rural area of eastern Quebec or in downtown Calgary — everyone needs access to high-quality fixed Internet and mobile services,” Jean-Pierre Blais, CRTC Chairman and CEO, said in a release. “We are doing our part to bring broadband services to rural and remote communities.”
For farmers, access to fast and reliable Internet is vital to controlling and managing data.
“The CRTC’s ruling to deliver this vital infrastructure service will grow our farms, communities, and provincial economy while providing equal educational opportunities to our next generation,” Keith Currie, OFA president, said in a statement. “OFA looks forward to working with government in 2017 to deliver the high speed access to rural Ontarians and formalize this investment as an infrastructure essential.”
Recently, Better Farming reporter Jennifer Jackson spoke with Geoff Hogan, executive director of Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT), about the importance of reliable broadband to farmers and some of the steps being taken to ensure rural communities have the same access as urban centres.