More than half of rural Ottawa homes still dealing with slow internet speeds
More than half of all rural residences in the city of Ottawa are affected by slow internet speeds in a world where faster communication is essential.
A report prepared for the city’s agriculture and rural affairs committee (ARAC) estimates that more than 16,000 homes in Ottawa’s rural wards still don’t have high-speed internet access—accounting for 58 per cent of all rural homes in the city. The majority simply don’t have access to what is dubbed the ‘universal service objective’ of internet speeds of 50 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 10 Mbps upload (50/10). About 3,400 homes that are supposed to have that 50/10 standard often find their service underperforms.
In addition, about 260 businesses in rural areas—roughly 18 per cent of all rural businesses—still don’t have high-speed internet access.
The staff report, prepared for Thursday’s ARAC meeting, follows a direction from February 2021 to study rural connectivity and what can be done to improve it.
“Access to reliable high-speed internet is no longer a luxury, but a necessity for many everyday tasks,” staff said in the report. “As seen throughout the pandemic, residential broadband connections are critical for access to activities like education and work.”
However, staff note that delivery of high-speed broadband internet can be cost prohibitive for the private companies that control the vast majority of the market and the physical infrastructure. Ottawa’s rural area is geographically large and population density is low, which discourages companies from investing. Senior levels of government have made funding announcements for rural connectivity, which city staff say is reassuring.
Staff say in the report that more than $1.5 million in funding from the federal government’s Universal Broadband Fund have been awarded for connectivity projects in three rural wards, though work has yet to commence.
- Carp, Ward 5, $655,324 of funding for Bell Canada for 93 households
- Dwyer Hill, Ward 21, $273,402 of funding to Bell Canada for 42 households
- Navan, Ward 19, $623,217 of funding to Rogers Communications for 146 households, with just under $500,000 in additional private investment from Rogers.
(DISCLAIMER: Bell is the parent company of CTV News and Newstalk 580 CFRA, where this article also appears.)
The Province of Ontario also plans to connect all Ontarians to high-speed broadband internet by 2025. Project announcements under Ontario’s Accelerated High Speed Internet Program (AHSIP) are expected sometime this summer.
“As it was a commercially sensitive competitive procurement process, information has not been forthcoming. However, as the stated goal of AHSIP is to bring all Ontarians to 50/10 connectivity by 2025, it is reasonable to assume that the parts of Ottawa that currently do not have access to 50/10 connectivity, as defined by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, will be included in the program,” staff say.
Staff say, at the municipal level, the city has very little say over where internet service providers (ISPs) build. The city’s only regulatory role under the Telecommunications Act is to provide municipal consent to ISPs who wish to build on city-owned property.
Instead, the city is engaged in advocacy to senior levels of government and in expanding its own offering of public Wi-Fi at city-owned facilities. Staff note that while this service is growing, it is not a solution to bridging the digital divide between urban, suburban, and rural Ottawa.
In February 2021, city council assigned $40,000 in funding toward rural connectivity. The report says that with the funding announcements from the federal and provincial governments, it was decided that money would be better-spent expanding public Wi-Fi delivery in city-owned facilities in rural wards. Staff will work with city partners to determine which facilities would be getting the expanded Wi-Fi options.
The agriculture and rural affairs committee meets Thursday at 10 a.m.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
AstraZeneca says it will withdraw COVID-19 vaccine globally as demand dips
AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a 'surplus of available updated vaccines' since the pandemic.
WATCH LIVE 'Summer of discontent': Federal unions vow to fight new 3-day a week office mandate
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
Toronto police seek suspect vehicle after security guard shot outside Drake's mansion
Toronto police are seeking help from the public as they continue to investigate a shooting that seriously injured a security guard outside rapper Drake's mansion.
'Ozempic babies': Reports of surprise pregnancies raise new questions about weight loss drugs
Numerous women have shared stories of 'Ozempic babies' on social media. But the joy some experience in discovering pregnancies may come with anxiety about the unknowns.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Seafood, eat food: Calgary Stampede releases Midway menu
The Calgary Stampede has released its menu of sweet, salty and spicy treats available on the Midway for the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they've changed their name
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
World's record-breaking hot temperature streak stretches through April
The world just experienced its hottest April on record, extending an 11-month streak in which every month set a temperature record, the European Union's climate change monitoring service said on Wednesday.