Many rural and remote Canadians continue to experience a digital divide. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) operating in these communities play a crucial role in connecting Canadians, yet they are understudied. This study aims to address this gap in the literature by focusing on policy, regulatory, and competitive challenges and issues facing small ISPs. Small ISPs face competitive pressures, but more importantly deal with regulatory challenges induced by the lack of a coherent national approach to rural broadband. Ten Canadian ISPs were interviewed as part of this study. The paper recommends the Government of Canada develop a national broadband strategy informed in part through consultation with small ISPs.

This article provides a historical and thematic analysis of eight Canadian federal government broadband programs. Examination of program documents led to the identification of several themes. These themes formed the basis for understanding and revealing trends in federal programs over time. Analysis of the trends, informed by Dwayne Winseck's approach to political economy, reveals that in general federal broadband programs have not fully realized the democratic potentialities of broadband. Furthermore, there is partial evidence on the degree to which programs have facilitated private gains for telecom firms in some areas (e.g., program expenditures, technology, and market forces).

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