Tell Toronto City Council: Say YES to Community Broadband!

UPDATE: On Friday (Feb 5) Toronto City Council voted to pass ConnectTO, Toronto's historic community broadband proposal! ðŸŽ‰ Today’s decision sends a strong message not just to the residents of Toronto, but the entire country: the affordability and service gaps left by Big Telecom will no longer be tolerated. This incredible development will set the stage for a new approach to broadband rollout across Canada — so stay tuned as we carry this momentum forward!

On February 2, 2021, City Council is debating building Toronto’s own community fibre Internet network to fill the gaps left by Big Telecom.1

This is a HISTORIC opportunity! Community broadband in Toronto could finally bring affordable Internet to everyone in the city AND set the bar for connectivity across the country.

But we’ve only got a few days to act — and Big Telecom’s lobby is hot on our tails. Speak up right now: tell your councillor to say YES to Community Broadband!

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Not in Toronto? We need you! Click HERE to take action!

Do you want faster, cheaper Internet? Then let’s build it.

People have been saying for years that the Digital Divide in Toronto is out of control. And the data tells the same story:2

  • 2 out of 5 households in Toronto don’t have home Internet that meets Canada’s national 50/10 Mbps speed targets
  • 1/3 of Toronto households are worried about paying their Internet bills — especially low-income households, single-parent families, newcomers, and communities of colour
  • For people without home Internet, monthly cost was the top reason (49%)

The problem has gotten this bad only because the CRTC and the federal government have trusted Big Telecom for years to get it right. But clearly, that strategy isn’t working.3

Community-owned broadband is one of the best ways to fix this.4,5 It’s been shown to give people more power to choose their providers, overall cheaper Internet bills,6,7,8 and not to mention: universal access to high speeds and state-of-the-art fibre Internet infrastructure — the kind that Big Telecom has no intention of bringing to every Toronto household.

But this is bigger than just Toronto; this Internet battleground will have ripple effects across the entire country. If Big Telecom can't adequately connect Canada's largest city – what chance does the rest of the country have? 

We could be watching Canada’s premier community broadband case study in the making. Municipalities everywhere will be looking to the Toronto model and saying, “If TO can do it, so can we.”

Faster and cheaper Internet for everyone could be our reality — but it all comes down to making a splash in Toronto before February 2nd. Email City Council now: say YES to community broadband, and YES to affordable, quality Internet for all!

Don’t live in Toronto, but want to support community broadband where you live? Take action HERE.

 

Sources

  1. Agenda Item: Affordable Internet for All - City of Toronto
  2. Mapping Toronto’s Digital Divide - Ryerson Leadership Lab
  3. Toronto’s Broadband Plan an Indictment of CRTC’s Delay on Affordable Internet - The Star
  4. Want Faster, Cheaper Internet? Let’s Build It - OpenMedia
  5. Hope Springs Municipal: How Small Towns are Driving Canada’s Digital Future - OpenMedia
  6. Remarks by the President on Promoting Community Broadband - The White House
  7. Community-Owned Fibre Network: Value Leaders in America - Harvard
  8. Localizing the Internet: Five Ways Public Ownership Solves the U.S. Broadband Problem - Institute for Local Self-Reliance

 

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Press: Matt Hatfield | Phone: +1 (888) 441-2640 ext. 0  | [email protected]