Thank you to all who completed Bragg Creek Connect’s Internet Survey. The Committee received almost 200 responses to the survey, and the results confirm that the vast majority of residents in our area are experiencing severe issues trying to work from home, attend school or just stay virtually connected to friends and family during the pandemic as a result of poor Internet service. Reviewing the comments of the survey there is one word that was used over and over again from residents: frustration.
The survey paints the picture of a community where some have had to go to great lengths and have experienced high stress while trying to overcome poor connectivity to get the most basic tasks completed. In some cases, residents have had to jeopardize their health by travelling into their place of work, utilizing public hot spots or splitting up their family and having their kids live elsewhere so they can attend school online. There is concern about paying exorbitant fees to be able to access marginal services. Residents shared stories of lost job opportunities, home businesses suffering, and many have been unable to effectively work from home. Some even shared that they are looking to move out of the community because of poor internet services, which is quite concerning to the future of our wonderful community.
Pandemic or no pandemic we need significantly better high-speed Internet service in Bragg Creek and Area if our community wants to thrive, be competitive and attract and support young families.
Some of the results from the survey questions are as follows:
- High-speed internet is a critical or essential service: 97% agree
- 48% of respondents have download speeds less than 5 Mbit/s. This is well below the CRTC’s guideline of 50 Mbit/s
- 44% have upload speeds less than 1 Mbit/s. Also, below the CRTC’s guideline of 10 Mbit/s
- Area Providers to the respondents: Xplornet: 64%; Telus: 29%; Other: 7%
- Would you switch from your current provider? 84% of respondents say yes.
There was also a lot of frustration expressed with the lack of action by various levels of government, including Rocky View County, to provide what 97% of the respondents say is critical or essential infrastructure. Rocky View, because of the high cost, has taken a passive approach to high-speed internet infrastructure relying on the large commercial telecommunication companies to serve the needs of the community. The Federal government has allocated money for rural internet development; however, this funding requires a solid proposal from an experienced organization to develop high-speed infrastructure. To date the large commercial telecommunication companies have expressed no interest in equitably servicing rural Alberta. The Bragg Creek and Area community will need to continue to self-advocate and pursue creative outside-the-box solutions to get the high-speed Internet infrastructure that it is needed to every resident and business.
Mage Networks continues to proceed with plans to develop their high- speed solution, in what the survey concludes are the areas that have the poorest service, Wintergreen and West Bragg Creek. Starlink, the high-speed satellite Internet solution developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has begun beta testing, and a number of Bragg Creek residents including two from the Bragg Creek Connect committee are participating. Preliminary results are promising. None of the other commercial telecommunication companies currently serving the area have formally announced any plans to improve service in the community.
With the survey results in hand the Bragg Creek Connect Committee will share the results with Rocky View County and other politicians who represent the Community. We will continue to push for solutions with existing and future service providers. Please check in on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/BraggCreekConnect) for the latest news or to share your story.
