Podcast: Lee Bragg On The Challenges Of High-Speed Internet In Rural Atlantic Canada
This episode of “Insights” takes a look at the challenges of delivering affordable high-speed internet to 100 percent of households in Atlantic Canada. Eastlink’s Lee Bragg tells Don Mills is not likely going to happen, at least using fibre lines to deliver the service to rural areas.
Our conversation with Lee Bragg of Halifax-based Eastlink provides a much clearer understanding of the challenges for companies that must remain competitive and governments that have promised affordable high-speed internet no matter where you live.
Bragg is candid with his assessment, saying the infrastructure and ongoing service and expansions costs are too high for rural communities that want the same speed and fees that consumers get in urban areas like Halifax.
He says urban areas are cheaper to service and they end up covering costs to deliver service to more sparsely populated areas – something that’s true of most infrastructure investments.
“This is the case for almost anything, whether it’s roads, sewer, water, busing,” says Bragg. “The urban areas subsidize the suburban and rural areas.”
Bragg says rural consumers have good options but they need to accept the speeds will be good, but slower. He points to companies like New Brunswick’s XplorNet and Elon Musk’s satellite service Starlink.
He also touches on a range of other topics, from the financial health of EastLink compared to its larger publicly traded companies and the future of cable services with the growth of internet streaming.
You can listen to Mills’ conversation with Bragg in the player above or on a podcast platform like Apple or Spotify.
The “Insights” podcast combines the experiences of an economist, David Campbell, and a social scientist, Don Mills, to explore the challenges and opportunities facing Atlantic Canada, to promote data-driven decision-making among policymakers, and to encourage a wider dialogue and debate leading to greater prosperity for the region.