Provinces criticized for reporting 100 per cent broadband access

Canadian provinces are taking criticism for reporting that they have 100 per cent broadband access. “This is outrageous, that public officials are going around saying that any area has 100 per cent or 95 per cent access,” David Ellis, a digital strategy consultant and course director at York University’s communications studies department, told The Wire Report. “I have a Cartier boutique right in my building, but that doesn’t mean I buy my watches there. Their watches start at $10,000 a piece. I can’t afford their watches.” Many provinces and territories approach the 100 per cent benchmark for broadband access, but experts say pricing, speed and uptake paint a different picture of Canada’s progress. According to the CRTC’s 2010 Communications Monitoring Report, about 95 per cent of Canadian households can access wireline broadband services, but the number increases to 100 per cent in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Other provinces register above 92 per cent, with the exception of Newfoundland and Labrador, at 78 per cent. The provinces of Saskatchewan, P.E.I., Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, as well as the Yukon, say they have broadband penetration rates—or access rates—of 100 per cent. But Internet usage is a different story. According to a survey published by Statistics Canada in May 2010, only 80 per cent of Canadians uses the Internet in 2009. Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick may boast 100 penetration, but according to Statistics Canada, 77, 76 and 73 per cent of residents, respectively, use the Internet. Alberta and British Columbia have the highest number of users, at 85 per cent. When it comes to deploying broadband, each province faces different challenges, including geography, population density and funding—and each takes its own approach. Experts give good reviews to British Columbia’s Network BC program to connect rural and remote communities. Since the program launch in 2003, 119 communities have received open network access, with speeds reaching near 10 Mbps. In April 2010, the provincial government announced $1 million in funding to connect another 50 communities. The Maritimes also fair well in terms of access. Nova Scotia’s economic and rural development ministry runs the $75-million Broadband for Rural Nova Scotia program. The Prince Edward Island government announced in November 2008 it had entered a development agreement to extend broadband services to every community on the island, with the project’s $8.2-million price tag covered by Bell Aliant. New Brunswick completed its broadband expansion in May 2010 through a network of 161 towers and satellites. But Newfoundland is struggling to get the funding it needs to expand broadband coverage. In 2003, the Newfoundland and Labrador government launched a broadband initiative to promote access. Through the program, the province’s access penetration rate grew from 60 per cent to about 78 per cent by 2010. But in February 2010, the government announced it had to cancel its call for project proposals due to a lack of funding. “Due to anticipated project costs escalating to more than half a billion dollars, the Provincial Government has cancelled the ,” the government said in a release. The province is now reexamining its strategy. In May 2010, Ontario Economic Development Minister Sandra Pupatello said that Ontario is also in need of funding. The Ontario government launched the Rural Connections Broadband Program in 2007 to expand broadband availability in rural communities. Barb Swartzentruber, manager of broadband programs at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said in an interview that the biggest challenge is getting broadband to less densely populated and remote communities. “There isn’t a good enough business case for the private sector to invest directly and independently,” she said. But Swartzentruber added that the Ontario program’s local approach—providing funding to municipalities, which then approach service providers—has been successful. Since its launch, the program has partnered with municipalities on 47 infrastructure projects. “If you take the bottom-up approach, which I think has proven to be fairly successful, then you build a lot of awareness, a lot of uptake, and it becomes sustainable over time,” she said. Other provinces, including Manitoba, Alberta and Quebec, have focused on network builds to connect government and public sector institutions. Saskatchewan took an approach similar to that of the Atlantic provinces. SaskTel spokeswoman Michelle Englot said in an interview that the province reached 100 per cent penetration in November 2009, but that a portion of the population receives broadband via satellite, with speeds of 1.5 Mbps. Average speeds for wireline in the province are up to 5 Mbps, she said. Englot said Saskatchewan’s success in broadband deployment can be partly attributed to SaskTel’s role as a provincial Crown corporation and its ability to work closely with the government. Speed can be an issue in regions served by satellites, such as the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the Yukon (it advertises a 100 per cent penetration rate on its website). The CRTC defines broadband as Internet access at speeds of at least 1.5 Mbps. But Ellis said that number is too low, and that it should be a minimum of 4 Mbps—the number used by the United States’ Federal Communications Commission. “The commission makes it sound as though this is it. This is the speed of sound or light, and that’s what broadband is. But it isn’t. Not only is it way too low, it’s not some fixed, agreed upon quantity,” he said. “I think about 4 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up is the right ballpark for a realistic, near-term target. I’m not talking about two-to-three years out ... The problem is that are selling themselves short. They have been made to believe it is more important to get everybody on crappy broadband than to spend more money, learn more, plan more for the future and try to get that up to 4 Mbps. Then make sure there’s real throughput.” Bernard Courtois, president of the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC), in an interview agreed that speed is an important factor. “Getting onto enough capacity and speed so that they can participate in interactive video and public services. There has to be an ongoing program of upgrading,” he said. The federal government offers its own $76.7-million Broadband Canada initiative, but Catherine Middleton, Canada research chair of communication technologies and the information society at Ryerson University, told The Wire Report by email that it’s important for the provinces to develop their own strategies. “The challenges of building broadband infrastructure do vary by province. It's appropriate for provinces to develop strategies to encourage investment that will best suit the needs of their citizens,” she wrote. Ellis and Courtois agreed that the federal government needs to play a lead role. “You need a concerted strategy that looks at how can you enhance your government and public services for the population … How is the community going to take advantage of broadband for economic and social development?” Courtois said. “You have to have a comprehensive approach, but the basic building block is the broadband.” Ellis said the federal government could create a centralized database of national information on broadband speeds, access, uptake and prices, to get an accurate picture of broadband deployment. He also called for a broadband public education campaign. “There has got to be some program of public education … something that makes people aware of what it is they can get and what they should be demanding--from their tax dollars and from the service providers that get the tax dollars put in their pockets.” kfournier@thewirereport.ca

Provinces criticized for reporting 100 per cent broadband access

News | August 25, 2010

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