Pounding Drum for Secure Internet Begins to Roar
Too many families and businesses are still waiting on the promise of high-speed internet. Access to high-speed internet is an essential service in today’s world.
The MLA for Cumberland North says the lack of internet access in the coastal communities, from Amherst Shore to Malagash, is preventing businesses from thriving. Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin says, “Access to reliable internet is essential to do business. Nova Scotians are missing out on many opportunities which could help grow our local rural economy.”
Smith-McCrossin says there are numerous missed opportunities, “Retired professionals tell me they want to move here and continue working from their homes doing consultant work but cannot due to the lack of internet access.”
Graham Hutchinson, a realtor in Malagash shares the frustration. “I recently had a buyer interested in a property valued at up to $1 million dollars. This potential buyer has a business that relies on reliable internet and when she found out access to the internet wasn’t guaranteed, she backed out,” says Hutchinson. “It’s not unusual for clients to back out of deals when they realize there’s not reliable internet. We’re losing clients and new businesses.”
Hutchinson also says the problem affects his own work. Once the internet goes down, he can’t finish a contract and the blackout can last anywhere from a day to three or four days.
Smith-McCrossin says not a week goes by without internet service complaints. “Even for household management, internet access is essential for banking and other personal needs.”
Businesses Put at Risk
Emmerson Chase, who operates a lobster business in Pugwash, says lack of internet access keeps his business from staying relevant and competitive in a global market.
Chase says he spends much of his time explaining to his international clients why there are delays with emails, invoices, and video calls. Their current internet speed makes it nearly impossible and leaves them at a disadvantage when compared to those in urban areas.
Chase says, “We’ve successfully grown our business from 10 seasonal workers to 30. We want to continue to grow but with this internet restriction, it’s been very difficult.”
Six Rivers News and Radio also suffer through 100 percent dependence on current providers. In an effort to ensure consistent news and music service, Six Rivers pays for two separate ultra services costing nearly $200 per month. However, the speed is anything but ultra and it often lapses completely. Company employees admit, privately, that the service is both inferior and over-priced but there is no intention to upgrade until forced to do so.
CRTC is Partly to Blame
Fed-up with patchwork and bandaid solutions costing millions to the province, the Pugwash Village Commission struck a committee a few months back to push for the same services offered in urban areas. The committee reported the solution could be found in the latest technology called 5G, which stands for fifth-generation wireless.
However, the CRTC, the federal body which regulates the telecommunications industry, has once again bowed to the large telecom companies, allowing them to roll out 5G in Canada’s major cities before even considering rural areas.
The same was allowed with the arrival of 3G and 4G, neither of which has ever been offered in much of rural Nova Scotia. The telecoms promise the CRTC to build in the cities first and do the rural areas later, a promise unfulfilled in every instance.
The CRTC could simply make it a condition of their license that Bell, Rogers, Telus, etc. cover the rural areas first for this occasion, allowing underserved communities to finally be at par with the privileged cities.