Prof. Helen Hambly Odame of the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development spoke to TVO online about the ongoing issue of the “digital divide” that separates those in cities with high-speed broadband internet access and those in rural and remote regions with poor – or no –access.

The federal government promised in its throne speech to accelerate connectivity timelines and ambitions of the Universal Broadband Fund.

But Hambly said she worried that many communities would still be underserved because the fund’s criteria for eligibility might be so narrow that only those communities with almost no internet access would be eligible, leaving out rural areas in southern Ontario that have access but poor connections.

Hambly Odame studies communication and information for agricultural innovation and community development and leads the Regional and Rural Broadband (R2B2) project.