ADVOCATE
Cybera frequently advocates for improvements to the quality and availability of digital services in Canada.
There is currently a lack of high-quality, high-speed and affordable digital services across Canada. We are working to change this. Teaming up with government, education, and the private sector, Cybera is creating a community that champions vital networking and computing services and utilities for everyone, everywhere.
Examples of Cybera’s Advocacy Efforts
- Advising the provincial government on its long-term information and communication technology infrastructure plans.
- Participating in federal proceedings on the future of broadband connectivity in Canada.
- Advising communities as they build their broadband policy frameworks.
- Participating in community network pilots.
- Delivering presentations on digital literacy and access.
- Championing shared services, network expansions, IPv6, and internet efficiencies at a local and international level.
- Participating in international coalitions on internet governance.
Telecommunications Landscape Assessments
Government Review Responses
Advocacy news
Expanding our SuperNet Connectivity
The SuperNet is an important resource in Alberta. This high-speed fibre-optic and microwave network, built by the Government of Alberta in 2005, connects over 400 communities across the province. Its purpose is to serve as a digital highway, and is often the only link between some urban and rural areas, thus acting as a vital […]
CRTC shifts to championing internet competition
Last week, the CRTC announced it would immediately lower wholesale internet rates by 10% as part of a larger reexamination of Canada’s regime for wholesale regulation. This move is intended to improve competition among internet providers by making it easier for the smaller companies to lease bandwidth from the bigger ones. The CRTC also announced […]
New Alberta broadband support to address funding gaps
Last week, Service Alberta Minister Nate Glubish announced the Alberta Broadband Fund, a $36 million allocation of funding to support broadband deployment in Alberta that will begin taking applications this fall. This funding is part of the province’s previously announced $390 million investment in Alberta broadband projects that is being matched by the federal government, […]
Alberta budget and broadband strategy hold promise, but concerns remain
Last month, Alberta’s Finance Minister Travis Toews tabled the provincial government’s Budget 2022. It builds on a number of commitments outlined in the government’s Alberta Recovery Plan and Alberta 2030: Building Skills for Jobs strategy by introducing a number of investments relevant to advanced education, innovation, and skilled labour development. The provincial government is earmarking […]
New report takes a comprehensive look at Alberta’s internet gaps and opportunities
After a year of researching, Cybera (Alberta’s not-for-profit technology accelerator) has unveiled a comprehensive update to its State of Alberta Digital Infrastructure Report. This timely analysis comes as internet connectivity and access to high-speed broadband have taken on heightened levels of importance in the province, due to COVID-19. The updated report, first published in 2014, […]
Federal committee suggests new ways to improve telecoms competition (and offers slight rebuke of CRTC)
On June 22, 2021, the federal Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology released its study Affordability and Accessibility of Telecommunications Services in Canada: Encouraging Competition to (Finally) Bridge the Digital Divide. The study offered recommendations for improving competition in Canada’s telecommunications industry, and also provided a rebuke for recent CRTC decisions that have caused […]