Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I thank the committee for inviting our group, a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of information technologies in rural Quebec.
We are here today to speak on behalf of the communities affected by this problematic situation. We are talking about half a million Canadian men and women who, in 2016, still do not have access to cellular telephone technology or mobile Internet. And yet we know that by 2018 this technology, through smart phones and tablets, will dominate the Internet sector worldwide.
Satellite coverage is already rather good in Canada. However, in terms of performance and cost, we believe that this technology will soon become obsolete. Because of this, development in the North, in Canada in particular, will be adversely impacted. By 2019, average speeds will quickly reach 20 to 43 megabits, which is beyond current capacity.
As you know, Canada's topography and its vastness hamper the development of affordable wireless Internet. Infrastructure sharing has brought down costs for users. However, this had an adverse effect on rural communities deprived of services by discouraging, to some degree, telecommunications carriers from developing new sites.
We want to see dynamic services in all of Canada so as to ensure the security, retention and development of resources, in addition to maintaining the competitiveness of businesses. Elected representatives say, and have confirmed to us verbally, that they favour a technology that will be able to keep pace with upcoming developments. This will have to be wireless telephony, because it is and remains the only sustainable technology that can provide fixed and mobile broadband internet, and, collaterally, cellular telephony, which is a very important factor in some communities.
We cannot overemphasize the importance of developing a fibre optic backbone and alternative networks in the North. They will become the support structure of all future telecommunications in the Canadian North.
Today, telecommunications infrastructure has become just as strategic as our roads and bridges, particularly for our rural municipalities, located far from large centres, devitalized, often mono-industrial, and having rather undiversified economies.
Consequently, to support the initiatives of our municipalities and their citizens, who are willing, in co-operation with telecommunications carriers, to develop innovative solutions, and even to contribute financially to the cost of the services they need, AIDE-TIC believes that the current government could, in its next budget, include the following three measures to support these local initiatives.
First, the definition of broadband infrastructures should be amended in the Building Canada Fund to incorporate fixed, mobile and voice Internet. The objective is to allow our municipalities to have access to development projects. I am referring here to cellular technology.
Next, given the vastness of Canada and limited municipal means, we suggest increasing the federal share from 33% to 50%, thus reducing municipal participation and encouraging the creation of such initiatives.
Finally, despite the low volume of users, we must ensure that our roads remain safe and usable. In rural areas and the Canadian North, that is important. We believe that a tax incentive or a capital cost allowance rate of 55% should be provided to telecommunications carriers willing to service interregional access roads. This would enable the geolocation of users in danger on our roads, as well as 911 emergency services.
Mr. Chair, thank you once again for having invited us.
If members of the committee have any questions to complete the brief we tabled, we will be pleased to answer them.