CANADA'S BROADBAND INITIATIVE | |
CANADA'S BROADBAND INITIATIVEEconomic Prosperity Through Universal Internet Access
There was a time in Canada when being left off of the Central Pacific Railroad or the Trans-Canada Highway meant slow death to a small community. That same phenomenon may be happening again today, as high speed Internet becomes an essential component of commercial activity and personal communications. Our smaller, more remote communities are not currently receiving the level of Internet services that they need to prosper.
Gérald Chouinard, CRC program manager for Rural and Remote Broadband Access, is in charge of CRC's efforts to make sure that this problem is addressed. His job is to orchestrate the work in various R&D projects at CRC towards developing technologies and systems in support of Canada's broadband access challenge.
Working with one foot in technology development and the other in the policy/regulatory arena is nothing new for Shirleys Bay program managers. "Broadband Access has really become an international issue", says Chouinard, "It is almost a race between countries to see who can get the best access the soonest.” The U.S., like Canada, sees broadband access as a means to improving the quality of life of their citizens. It brings with it health through telemedicine, knowledge through online schooling and information exchange, improved business to business commerce, and facilitates business to individual commerce.
CRC is trying to develop technologies that would make it easier and cheaper to get high speed Internet to the home in rural and remote communities. The broadband initiative is intended to bring the quality of Internet access in rural and remote Canada to the same level as in urban Canada.
"In my opinion, CRC needs to focus on the last mile solution and bring it in at the lowest possible cost." says Chouinard. " Here at CRC we currently have 14 separate R&D initiatives underway, each selected for its potential to help achieve the broadband equal access goal."
"Finding a technology solution to this problem will allow Canada to avoid seeking solutions through difficult regulatory and cross-subsidization means." says Chouinard, "Once this technology is transferred to Canadian industry, it will provide an opportunity for companies to take part in the broadband implementation in Canada and also export equipment to larger developing countries like Brazil and India who have similar access problems."
Communication infrastructure programs are a complex combination of market awareness, technology, regulation and international standards negotiations. The broadband program is no different.
CRC has the needed expertise in areas such as RF transmission both, terrestrial and satellite; modulation and channel coding for high speed or large bandwidth systems; broadband communication protocols; audio compression; video compression; and network interfaces to name a few. CRC also possesses the skills and experience needed to ensure that its solutions will be communicated effectively to government and international regulatory bodies as well as successfully transferred to Canadian industry.
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