Public good, private providers?: Alternative internet networks in Alberta

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dc.contributor.advisorTaylor, Gregory
dc.contributor.authorAnderson, Katelyn M.
dc.contributor.committeememberBakardjieva, Maria
dc.contributor.committeememberMcMahon, Rob
dc.date2021-02
dc.date.accessioned2021-02-01T16:39:55Z
dc.date.available2021-02-01T16:39:55Z
dc.date.issued2021-01-15
dc.description.abstractDespite high-speed broadband access being named a basic service by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in late 2016, many Canadians remain cut off from the internet, unable to participate in the social, economic, and political facets of life that have increasingly moved online. This research project considers existing alternative internet network models in Alberta. Instead of waiting for incumbent internet service providers to solve the problem of universal access, several Albertan communities have taken steps to connect themselves. Twenty years after the inception of the provincial internet backbone, the SuperNet, how have Albertan communities engaged with internet infrastructure? As politicians, regulators, and citizens increasingly state the essential nature of high-quality, affordable internet service as a public good, what lessons, if any, can be learned from the different ways non-incumbent operators conceptualize, build, and operate alternative networks? Using qualitative interviews, policy documents, and marketing materials, I focus on three network models: a fixed wireless access network in a rural community, a non-profit internet exchange, and a municipally-owned and operated fibre network in an urban centre. Drawing upon political economy of communications literature as a theoretical framework, I consider what policy recommendations can be made based on these case studies.en_US
dc.identifier.citationAnderson, K. M. (2021). Public good, private providers?: Alternative internet networks in Alberta (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/38613
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/113050
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisher.facultyArtsen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.en_US
dc.subjectcommunity broadbanden_US
dc.subjectalternative networksen_US
dc.subjectpolitical economy of communicationsen_US
dc.subjectInternet policyen_US
dc.subjecttelecommunications policyen_US
dc.subject.classificationMass Communicationsen_US
dc.titlePublic good, private providers?: Alternative internet networks in Albertaen_US
dc.typemaster thesisen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineCommunication and Media Studiesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgaryen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts (MA)en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrueen_US
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