Rural Broadband Development in Canada’s Provinces: An Overview of Policy Approaches

Potential for private sector under-investment in rural broadband networks motivates a wide range of public sector initiatives around the world that aim to promote incentives to supply high-speed Internet access services in rural and remote communities. This paper provides an overview of policies and program design strategies that have shaped rural broadband development in Canada. The Canadian experience is particularly interesting in the context of broader debates about addressing the urban-rural digital divide because a combination of competition and targeted subsidies have helped achieve near universal access to some form of Internet connectivity.