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Internet issues

WHEN IT COMES TO THE

Internet, it seems it can never be fast

enough. Rural Internet service has

improved significantly since the days of

dial-up, but it still has a long way to go

before it matches the connectivity and

speed enjoyed by people in urban cen-

tres. A recent decision by the Canadian

Radio-television and Telecommunications

Commission (CRTC) declaring broadband

Internet a basic service, as well as funding

commitments from the federal govern-

ment, will help farmers and rural commu-

nities reliably take part in the digital age.

“Most farms today are connected, but

the quality is just not there,” said Sylvain

Charlebois, a professor in food distribu-

tion and policy at Dalhousie University.

“They have the data readily available to

share with other growers and customers,

and as much as possible they connect to

online training and marketing tools, but

they don’t have the bandwidth for a relia-

ble, fast connection.”

Currently, 82 per cent of Canadians

have access to broadband Internet ser-

vice, with most gaps in rural and remote

areas. The CRTC’s goal is 90 per cent

connectivity in five years, with 100 per

cent connectivity in 15 years. In its 2016

budget, the federal government commit-

ted $500 million through the Connect

to Innovate program, and as part of the

CRTC’s decision a new $750-million fund

is being developed.

“Agriculture can seem almost myth-

ical to some urban Canadians,” said

Charlebois. “It’s very important that

consumers get their information about

their food right from the source, and it’s

also important for farmers to know what

consumers’ expectations are. By giving

everyone access to the same information,

rural and urban Canadians can focus on

common goals.”

This lack of connectivity can hurt

economic growth in rural and remote

areas of the province, and make it difficult

for farmers to entice people to live in

nearby rural communities. Lynn Jacobson,

president of the Alberta Federation of

Agriculture, said that reliable broadband

connectivity could help to revitalize rural

communities.

“Broadband connectivity will not just

help farmers themselves,” he said. “It will

help farmers find outside workers to settle

in our communities, as reliable Internet

service is important to help attract people

to smaller towns.”

Improved broadband will also ensure

farmers take advantage of the growing

advancements in precision agriculture.

While most auto-steering is hooked up

to a GPS via satellite, the data collection

points require fast Internet connections.

“High-speed Internet is something people

take for granted until they get to rural

communities,” said Jacobson. “In addition,

more growers are doing their marketing

online and they can’t do that unless they

have reliable connections.”

Alberta has been a leader in bringing

connectivity to its rural areas, with the

Van Horne Institute hosting seven digital

futures conferences over the past four

years. “These conferences help push along

the broadband conversation,” said Michael

McNally, an assistant professor at the Uni-

versity of Alberta who researches informa-

tion and telecommunications policy. “We

developed a provincial broadband toolkit

to share with community leaders in order

to jump-start the process of bringing

broadband to those areas.”

While McNally thinks expanding

broadband connectivity to cover 90 per

cent of the Canadian population in the

next five years is achievable, he said high-

er targets will be harder to hit.

“We need to have a real emphasis

on scalability,” he said. “Where we’ve

failed in the past in the province is that

we developed solutions that didn’t work

everywhere and weren’t able to expand as

demand grew.”

Helen Hambly, an associate professor at

the University of Guelph whose research

focuses on high-speed Internet in rural

areas, said that many rural Canadians

have tried to overcome the digital divide

by going to community libraries, using

the Internet at their workplace, or using

handheld devices and incurring high

data-usage fees. But for many farmers,

none of the above are viable options.

“We’ll eventually need a robust fibre

optic backbone everywhere in Canada,

which will take time,” said Hambly. “But

that kind of connectivity is essential to

opening up new economic opportunities

for farmers, be those products or process-

es. These days, access to online informa-

tion is invaluable to farmers.”

IMPROVEDCONNECTIVITY COULDHELP REVITALIZE RURAL ALBERTA

Currently, 82 per cent of Canadians have access to

broadband Internet, with most gaps in rural areas.

The Food Issue

2017

Grains

West

44

BY JENNIFER BARBER

RURAL

TECHNOLOGY

Photo: Shutterstock