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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