Universal access to high-speed Internet service is a matter of social justice, said the executive director of TechYukon.

Rick Steele made the assertion today in response to a ruling by Canada’s telecommunications and broadcasting regulator that all Canadians should be able to access to fast Internet and unlimited data.

“It’s exciting news potentially for the rural communities,” Steele told the Star.

“We’re all moving to electronic government services and online purchases, and having adequate Internet access is becoming an issue in those towns.”

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) declared Wednesday that high-speed Internet is joining the land-line telephone as a basic service.

As part of its decision, the CRTC set Internet speed targets at 50 megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads and 10 Mbps for uploads.

In 2015, 82 per cent of Canadians had access to the Internet at these speeds.

The CRTC wants 90 per cent or Canadian homes to have access to the Internet at the target speeds by the end of 2021, and 100 per cent in 15 to 20 years.

Every community in the Yukon has high-speed Internet, but none except Whitehorse can use the web at the speeds set out by the CRTC.

Right now in Whitehorse, a standard cable Internet package offers a 16 Mbps download speed for about $80 a month. It costs about $111 for 50 Mbps from Northwestel Inc.

But in the communities, said Steele, “It’s a very different kettle of fish.”

Outside Whitehorse, the Internet is delivered via phone lines using digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, which is about 20 years old, Steele pointed out.

A user typically gets a download speed of 5 Mbps from a DSL connection, he said.

To put these speeds in perspective, think about Netflix, said Steele.

A user watching Netflix at 5 Mbps can expect a lot of freezing and buffering.

At 16 Mbps, Netflix streams smoothly in standard definition video.

At 50 Mbps, users can watch in HD without a problem.

The CRTC recognizes that access to high-speed Internet is essential to participation in the modern, digital economy, chair Jean-Pierre Blais said in a statement Wednesday.

This decision is the first step toward granting universal access to services like eHealth, online banking and shopping, online government services, education and emergency services.

Not included in the CRTC’s ruling are measures to expand affordable Internet access. Nor are subsidies for low-income users.

Blais suggested that questions of cost are best answered by a competitive marketplace.

Steele said it’s not unprecedented for the CRTC to intervene when rates are unreasonably high.

“We’ve already seen in the Northwestel serving area, the CRTC did step in for the rural DSL users and essentially tell Northwestel they’re over its rates, so they are starting to have rulings on pricing,” he said.

The thing is, Steele added, “you can have all the bandwidth you want in town, but if it’s at a price you can’t afford, it’s just as good as not having it.”

In order to get Canada moving toward its ambitious high-speed Internet targets, the CRTC will put $750 million toward Internet infrastructure upgrades over the next five years.

Steele said the Yukon is unlikely to see much of that money.

Internet speeds in the communities may seem relatively slow, he said, but the Yukon is far ahead of places like Nunavut, Labrador and the eastern Northwest Territories.

“You’re probably going to see the lion’s share of investment, as it should do, going to those most needy areas,” he said.

Luckily for Yukoners, Internet upgrades in the communities would be comparatively cheap and easy because there is already a fiber optic line transecting the territory.

The bandwidth is there, said Steele; it’s just a matter of getting it into homes and businesses.

“That’s where we have to make the technological change, because DSL isn’t going to do it.”

In any event, said Steele, governments will have to spend cash on expanding Internet access, because the private sector can’t afford it on its own.

The CRTC said Wednesday the option for unlimited data should exist across Canada, even in remote areas.

Unlimited data are not currently available to home users anywhere in the Yukon, said Steele.

The regulatory body also said that “the latest mobile wireless technology” should be available along major roadways.

There is no cell service for vast stretches of the Alaska Highway, which particularly impacts the scores of thousands of tourists who drive to the territory each year. It’s unclear at this time how, or if, this will change because of the CRTC’s ruling.

Northwestel would not comment on Wednesday’s announcement.

A spokesperson said today the northern telecommunications company is still reviewing the CRTC decision.