Internet speed target set Canada-wide

All Canadians should be able to download a 3 minute song in12 seconds and streamhigh-definition videos by 2015 under new national internet speed targets.

Canada's telecommunications regulator, theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission,expects all Canadians to have access to broadband internet speeds of at least five megabits per second for downloads andone megabit per second for uploads, the regulator announced late Tuesday. Those speeds must be actual speeds rather than advertised speeds, the regulator said.

A megabit is an eighth of a megabyte. A 3-minute song on iTunes is about 7.5 megabytes.

To stream movies in high-definition using Netflix's top quality, you need download speed about 4.7megabits per second, the company's tech blog says.It adds thatmost Canadian ISPs carry its streams at an average ofbetween 2.5 and three megabits per second.

More than 80 per cent of households already have access to download speeds of at least five megabits per second or higher, the CRTC reports.

The commission anticipates that the target will be reached for the remaining households through a combination of private investments, government funding and public-private partnerships. It says it will monitor the industry's progress.

"This activity will allow the commission, in future, to determine whether regulatory intervention may be needed," it said.

The target comes out ofa review of basic telecommunications services, which included a public consultation last fall.

The reviewlooked at what role the commission shouldhave in boosting high-speed internet access, whether itshould beconsidered part of basic telecommunications service and whether it should be subsidized.

In the end, the commission decided not to make internet a basic service and decided against establishing a subsidy regime,saying it preferred to rely on "market forces" and that regulatory intervention is "not appropriate at this time."

Home phone rules loosened

As a result of the review, the CRTC also loosened requirements for large telecommunications companies such as Bell to provide home telephone service.

Inurban areas, where competitors exist and home phone service has been largely deregulated, such companies will still have to provide access to a basic home phone line to all customers who request it, but will no longer be required to provide:

• Access to low-speed internet at local rates.
• Operator and directory assistance services.
• Access to the long-distance network.
• Enhanced calling feature.
• Acopy of the current local telephone directory.

The companies will still be required to provide those servicesin regulated areas, mostly rural regions, where there are no competitors.

The CRTC alsoraised the cap on the price of a basic residential phone line to $30 per month by 2013.