First, because no one other than the traditional phone companies has shown any interest in serving consumers in high-cost areas, even though they would receive subsidies for doing so. It makes no sense to talk about letting the market set prices when there is no competition and therefore no market. Second, because every carrier and every telephone user benefits from universal service. The same is true for telephones. Your call centre in New Brunswick is more valuable because consumers in Nunavut can call your toll-free number.
Subsidies make that possible.
Third, and most important, the pundits are wrong because telephone service is not a luxury. It s a fundamental requirement for anyone who wishes to participate in the social, economic, and political life of our country. If subsidies are needed to ensure that every Canadian can communicate, then subsidies should be paid. Universal telephone service isn t some arbitrary scheme imposed by utopian dreamers or meddling bureaucrats. It is a central and valuable feature of life in Canada today, one that deserves the most vigorous possible defence.