High-speed Internet is a basic service, and it should be afforded to everyone on fixed and mobile wireless networks in Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said in a ruling Wednesday.
As a result, telecommunication providers must offer speeds of at least 50 megabits per second for downloading data and 10 megabits for uploads, the Financial Post reported.
The ruling also sets up a $750 million fund to expand broadband services to remote and rural parts of the country.
"These goals are ambitious, they will not be easy to achieve and they will cost money, but we have no choice," Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais said.
“The future of our economy, our prosperity, our society – indeed the future of every citizen – requires us to set ambitious goals, and to get on with connecting all Canadians for the 21st century."
Despite calls to set a low, basic price for Internet, the CRTC opted not to, saying a wholesale market will "facilitate sustainable competition, resulting in innovative service offerings and more competitive prices for consumers," per The Globe and Mail.
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