Martha, that is utter nonsense.My information is most certainly NOT dated. It comes from our own IT people at 3250 Bloor for our United Church connection rates and from our research of Industry Canada databases (http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/720.nsf/eng/h_50010.html ) and their own connection maps of less than a year ago for the Toronto Conference communication policy. Iggy is blowing smoke and seeking an angle for electoral support. In reality, the rural broadband policy in Ontario is a huge, expensive, coprorate-sponsored mess. And the United Church is headed down the wrong side of the digital divide with the new GC policy passed yesterday.

There was an excellent progam on CBC's Spark this afternoon about cellphone use in the classroom as a teaching aid. The third speaker, a Peterborough teacher, clearly identifies many of my concerns, including the economic discrimination involved in social networking. Well worth listening to. (http://www.cbc.ca/spark/2010/04/spark-112-may-2-4-2010/ )

We have been here before. We raised these same issues twenty years ago. Little has changed for the rural population of this country.

One thing we were noodling on this morning as staff was the GCE policy of re-evaluating UCRD with a view to reducing printed resources. In our area that would suggest that urban churches like ours, with high speed internet, might act as download centers for rural congregations. Welcome to the 90's.  We could also operate a teleconferencing  centre, as we have multiple phone lines. The savings on travel and time would be obvious.

I'll believe it when I see it. I have about 18 offices that I serve out of my corporate facility in London, Ontario. All except 1 are in the Windsor-Toronto corridor or at least close to it. Several have "high speed" that is so bad we may as well as downgrade them to the light service (except we need the static IP address that the premium service provides). My own home is in a fairly new part of London and my high speed sucks (there's no more pleasant term for it) but we can tolerate it since we're really mostly using it for email, banking, etc. that aren't that bandwidth intensive. The new Bell-Telus HSPA wireless network may address some of these areas, but even that has it's problems, most notably that wireless network performance is susceptible to line of sight and distance from tower. Then there's the fact that none of them offers decent tech support.

Yes, it'd be wonderful to have good high speed across Ontario and Canada, but this is not the first time a party has promised this. The root issue is that as long as the networks are in the hands of the telcos and other network providers, there's only so much government can do about it. Furthermore, the various providers are so tightly linked to each other (esp. Bell and Telus) that competition is a joke. They all offer the same level of service: s**t.

It'll take a lot more than this to get me to support Iggie. A lot more.

Mendalla

My concern is the digital divide in the classroom -- the have and the have-not schools are very different in their technological set-up -- and the students vary greatly in their at-home set-up.  Yes, high speed internet across the board would be fantastic -- but what of the schools and students that either don't have computers or do not have access to a modern computer?  High speed access doesn't help if schools and their students have nothing to access it with.

(So I'm not saying this is a bad idea, I'm implying it's more of just a first step.)

The disconnect is so obvious at times....

I live rural.  "Highspeed now available"... get real.....

Cottagers from the city demand to access work from the cottage... Retired wealthy must check email.... we depend on tourism..... employment is tied to tourism....the tourism industry benefits from accessible and convenient technology.

Let me explain.... first it was Industry Canada's Community Access Program (CAP)... free community access to computers and internet. Great, and classes too.... young and old can learn and those employable can get better employment... print resumes, do homework....because nobody is able to buy a PC. We have an aging population higher than the Ontario average and an unemployment level higher than the Ontario average.

Then slash the funding for access at community centres, libraries, hospitals.... 25 kms from a library no funding.... in rural communities town is clustered... city hall, community centre, little library.... Ruh Roh no funding.... Mr. Clement (Industry Minister) will see in his own riding 46 sites with no funding. 

Then tell me your government will spend $200-million on expanding broadband coverage to underserved households in Canada.

Then tell me public libraries and 80 per cent of Canadians now have Internet access.

Oh and then Iggy, tell me you will get high speed access everywhere....

So what?

What good is access...wireless, dialed up, sattelite, light, high speed.... when people cannot afford the monthly bill or to buy a pc?

Poeple are carrying gas cans to the store to buy deisel because they cannot afford a heating oil delivery. They are using a food bank.....

But golly gee you got us high speed and a cell phone tower...

High speed and cell phones is talking to those you think elect people or because you want to take your crap with you to the cottage. .

If you want to talk to locals... talk to them about HST going on a hydro bill or an oil bill they already cannot afford. Talk to them about anything else... there are tons... talk to them about closing their urgent cares and hospitals and that they have to drive 30-45 mins when they don't often have a car or if they do they might have enough gas to get there (plan getting sick while you have gas for work the rest of the week... then worry you can worry about how you will get to work later in the week)  

Politicians....

Get real....

The only thing real about this BS is the elitism

Yes, that is a justice concern.

I thought some might find this document interesting.

It is from the Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenberg School.  The data is largely American, but wouldn't be drastically different in the Canadian context.

http://www.digitalcenter.org/pdf/2009_Digital_Future_Project_Release_Highlights.pdf

I found some of their data surprising, and also useful when trying to shape content for the web.

So much for that -- once that happens, the world of commerce will take it over even more. I can't imagine much of the amazing work that gets done now continuing on but perhaps what will happen is that direct contact among people will return to our world...

And a Hallelujah from another Muskokan who has lived the Tony Clement vision.  Since it has been implemented I have had nothing but disruptive service - I know of one poor man who lost his connectivity altogether.

10 million dollars was granted to Muskoka to bring high speed connection and two years later little has changed and for some of us it was made worse.

And don't get me started on the G8 spending - like the Broadband promise its all surface, millions of dollars to make Muskoka look good for the journalists and the elites while the people who live here are left behind to clean up the mess.

This little delight says it all...

Gack!!! DKS I warned you ;-)

Have you seen what they are doing along hwys 400 and 11!

Heaven forbid some speeding entourage should glimpse a broken guard rail.  What would our global partners think!

LB - Beam me up Scotty, there's no intelligent life forms here.

Silly, OF COURSE it will plug the culverts. So then they have to dig it out again, lay down gravel and new culverts! Another Federal Infrastructure grant! 

Yes. I live in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound where locals are listened to by the Conservaive MPand the money is as high as the elephan't eye.