If we are to grow as a region, better internet is key. At their meeting last week, the United Counties of SD&G Council approved a motion to pen a letter of support for Xplornet’s application to the Canada’s Universal Broadband Fund.
The $1.75 billion fund supports projects aimed at expanding access to high speed internet across the country.
This is just the latest in a series of efforts to bring high speed internet to our largely rural region. I for one welcome the introduction of a private interest in building high speed internet infrastructure in SD&G, because while there have been promises from different levels of government over the years, their efforts have advanced less like broadband, and more like dial-up.
Way back in 2015 then Prime Minister Stephen Harper was promising faster internet for our area during a campaign stop in Lancaster, South Glengarry.
“Fast, reliable internet today is essential to realize economic opportunity and to create jobs,” said Harper. “Right now, Canadians are selling products, managing relationships with customers and suppliers, and recruiting new employees, all online. So much business is now on the internet that small businesses with broadband access can take advantage of opportunities that once were only open to the ‘Big Guys.’”
Harper’s sentiments then have only become truer now, especially with the ongoing pandemic.
Twice earlier this month there were widespread outages in internet service provided by major companies like Cogeco.
This disruption affected not just the sizeable number of at-home workers, but also their children, as suddenly they found themselves isolated from the rest of their class and unable to learn.
Also, due to the pandemic, the internet is now one of the few ways that many can socialize with family and friends outside of their bubble. Whether they be a grandparent wanting to see their grandchildren, or a COVID-19 patient in a hospital isolated from their family, the internet is now a must have utility just like running water and electricity.
Like I said, getting better, faster internet in our region has been a promised goal from both the province and the federal government for years now, let us just hope that it is well worth the wait.
In 2019, the Canada Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) declared that an internet download speed of 50 megabytes (MB) per second and an upload speed of 10 MB per second as the minimum level of internet service. Ten years ago when I was still living with my parents at their home in rural South Glengarry, their internet topped out at less than 1 MB per second download speed and half that for uploads.
The Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) an organization dedicated to bringing faster internet to rural municipalities estimated at that time that it would take until 2030 to reach the CRTC’s minimum level of service without significant public funding.
In 2019 EORN announced that it and its members would contribute $71 million towards getting better internet in rural areas. At that time, Stormont, Dundas, South Glengarry MPP Jim McDonell welcomed the news and acknowledged that it was an area that needed some much needed attention.
“It is essential that proper infrastructure is in place to support public safety across the province, especially in Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry, where cellular coverage is often lacking,” said Stormont, Dundas and South Glengarry MPP Jim McDonell.
The Xplornet initiative mentioned at the top of this article is a step in the right direction.
Recent internet outages and continued slow speeds across much of the region shows that more public-private partnerships like this one are needed to get the region where it needs to go.
With the pandemic leading to a greater and greater dependence on fast and reliable internet, all regional municipalities, including the City of Cornwall should go all-in on investing in this essential utility.
What do you think readers? Has your reliance on the internet changed over the past year? Email me a Letter to the Editor at nseebruch@seawaynews.media
