Frustration drives competition

Frustration drives competition – at least in America. Canada and the US are notoriously underdeveloped in terms of broadband capacity. A study released at the end of 2009 by Harvard University demonstrated that out of 30 countries Canada ranked 22nd for broadband access, the States 13th, while Japan, Sweden and South Korea were ranked highest.

Google is responding and potentially revealing a radical shift in their business strategy. They are launching experimental fibre broadband network in select U.S. cities. Google has been acquiring an unknown amount of fibre for years and will be offering connection speeds of up to one gigabit per second (more than 100 times faster than what most Americans currently have access to).
The company is interested in operating 'open access' networks, allowing the choice of multiple service providers.

Google will be prevented from moving this model into Canada despite owning fiber resources here; current legal restrictions require infrastructure-owning telecom service providers to be majority Canadian owned and controlled.

Cable companies have a vested interest in slowing down the progress of high-speed internet, as it will change their business model allowing instantaneous high-definition streaming, but the stakes are much higher than this. It would also allow such things as streaming of 3-D medical imaging over the web for consults with international experts, and global collaborations in education. A country such as Canada which has its population spread out over a vast geography has an intense need for such technology. Graham Bell, who spent so much time here, would be sorely disappointed in us.

So, as Google works to move American service further in-line with global standards, it appears Canada will remain near the bottom of list for access to information.

Alternative sources :
CBC
CBC
Google