INSIDE: Roads Canada has more than 1.

Canada’s vastness has long posed a challenge for the exchange of materials and information. Yet, despite its expanse, Canada is solidly connected by ribbons of steel and asphalt, and invisibly crisscrossed by webs of airline routes and satellites. These interlocking networks form a system of telecommunications and transportation admired throughout the world. Canada’s success in the competitive telecommunications field ensures the nation benefits from ongoing cutting-edge research and development. A paramount goal of Canada’s communications system — from the establishment of the earliest telegraph line in 1846 to the launching of Anik F2 in 2004 — is to provide a reliable and consistent flow of information to a population widely separated by vast distances and many time zones.