Canada and the United States – Sharing a Border and Better Connectivity Efforts

Canada and the United States – Sharing a Border and Better Connectivity Efforts

Like the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA), the Canadian Telecommunications Association (CTA), previously known as the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, prioritizes helping its members connect and invest in communities to create a path to better economic futures through high-speed broadband connectivity.

“How do we connect more people and ensure that there’s an equitable playing field when it comes to connectivity?” said Robert Ghiz, President and CEO of the Canadian Telecommunications Association.

Since Ghiz was brought into the organization in 2017, keeping this question in mind has aided the association in its primary objective of creating an economic and regulatory environment that promotes broadband for all Canadians and one that has proven to be effective over the years with 93.1% of Canadians in Canada are connected to broadband as of 2024, with the North at 57.5%, rural areas at 67.4%, and First Nations around 50%.

He noted that there’s a lot more work to be done, with some challenges unique to Canada. One is that the country is larger than the United States but has the population of California, meaning that its citizens are vastly spread out across a much larger land mass.

In addition to physical challenges, Canada faces both political and security issues when it prepares for mass deployments, just as other nations around the globe do. A secure and reliable connection is only possible when national security is prioritized, something that both the U.S. and Canada take very seriously. To protect its digital infrastructure from cyber attacks, Canada takes pride in banning services and software that pose a threat.

“Security is something that is vitally important,” noted Ghiz. “That’s why our members and our government make those decisions that they do, and we’re happy to follow suit.”

For more on the similarities between FBA and CTA and how CTA is ensuring that every Canadian has a secure and reliable internet connection, listen to the latest Fiber for Breakfast podcast.

###