Internet is essential service
When SWIFT (Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology) set out to hire two new staff members in the fall, the injustice of it all, that prospective candidates would require high speed internet to work from home, was not lost on management. The job posting read, “Staff will be expected to work from home with only (ironically) a reliable internet connection and good cell phone reception as prerequisites.”
It is a perfect case-in-point for the disadvantage faced by those living in rural and remote areas of the country, where broadband high speed internet is not available.
The SWIFT network last year received $180 million in funding to fulfill its goal to bring fibre based broadband to southwest Ontario, Caledon and Niagara Region.
People in Creemore don’t have a problem with high speed internet but for those living in the surrounding rural areas, internet speed is a hindrance to economic opportunities. In some areas, cellular internet is not available and where it is, it can be costly and without options for unlimited packages. With SWIFT, there is a new hope.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) Dec. 21 declaration that broadband internet service is now considered a basic telecommunications service for all Canadians can only bolster that hope.
The CRTC has created a new five-year $750 million investment fund, over and above existing government programs, to focus on underserved areas and be managed at arm’s length by a third party.
The CRTC has set targets for speeds of 50 megabits per second download and 10 megabits per second upload, an unlimited data option and that the latest mobile wireless technology be made available in homes, businesses and along major Canadian roads.
The fund will support projects in areas that do not meet these targets.
Simcoe County Warden Gerry Marshall, who chairs the SWIFT said, “…While it is too soon to determine if SWIFT will seek additional funding through the new CRTC program, SWIFT will make this ruling come to life by building broadband for everyone in southwestern Ontario, Caledon and Niagara Region.”
If this comes to fruition it will change the reality of people in rural and remote areas.
Think of the opportunities for people to expand their employment and for farmers to better manage their business.
Websites now have so much more data that many rural people are coping with speeds that are worse than when they had dial-up, or at least it feels that way. Fast internet service would also attract business and residents to the area.
The task force working on economic development in Mulmur has said lack of internet service is a top reason for business to choose to locate elsewhere.
It is an absolute necessity in today’s economy.
