‘Biggest issue holding rural Manitobans back’

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This article was published 16/04/2020 (2143 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mitch Janssens figures he’s lucky to be able to conduct business from the cab of his combine while working on his farm in southwest Manitoba even if he does have to find high ground and hold his phone up to the window to ensure service.

He’s among a large majority of rural Manitobans who are dissatisfied with internet and cell phone service according to a survey of more than 1,500 people just conducted by Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP).

The survey underlines the fact that a growing number of rural residents are frustrated with continuing to pay either the same rates or more than urban residents for substandard service.

Almost two-thirds of respondents said they were either somewhat or very dissatisfied with both their internet and mobile service.

“We’re fortunate because we can typically get cell service even though we will lose connections and it’s hard to continue conversations while you’re working,” Janssens said. “Lot’s of people have zero service when they go on the field and have to rely completely on two-way radios.”

It’s no secret that reliable high speed internet and wireless service can’t be taken for granted in rural Manitoba. The current social distancing protocols forcing many in rural Manitoba to work from home just underlines the frustration many have with the substandard service.

Jill Verwey, KAP vice president and chair of the rural policy committee, said the decision to survey members was made long before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

But she said the pandemic is making the problem that much more obvious.

“We have been experiencing poor service for a number of years,” she said. “Now with the number people at home streaming and the number of individuals with smart phones… our so-called high speed internet is down to a dribble.”

Although there have been various declarations from different federal government departments to the effect that high speed internet is an essential service, there are many internet and wireless deserts in Manitoba and across the country.

Plenty of programs and funding has been announced over the years that have not changed the fact that many communities in the country do not have the kind of service that people in the city take for granted.

(A $63-million federal/provincial program to build fibre networks to many remote northern Manitoba communities was announced two years ago but not a dime of that funding has yet been dispersed.)

One respondent in the KAP survey said, “this is the biggest issue holding rural Manitobans back.”

Verwey said people in rural Manitoba are trying to do business on-line, just like people in the city. “If we don’t have adequate service we’re not keeping up, we’re falling behind,” she said.

“We use it for everything,” said Janssens who operates a 4,800-acre farming operation spread out across close to 50 kilometres. “We’re like everyone else. We are completely dependent on it.”

Verwey said poor service has been an issue for many years despite the fact that Bell MTS and others have spent money building out their networks connecting many towns to the fibre networks. But many continue to be left out. A recent decision to alter the way the major companies are compelled to provide wholesale rates to re-sellers created another setback.

Smaller rural Internet service providers like Virden-based RFNow are trying to encourage partnerships with municipalities that would be able to fund more robust fibre optic connections as opposed to reliance on wireless or microwave broadband networks.

Chris Kennedy, the CEO of RFNow, said those kind of long term decisions, which may cost more money up front, will save money in the long term.

“We know there are municipalities out there who have already lost business to bigger communities and they are tired of it,” he said.

Bell MTS is committed to spending $1 billion on building up its provincial broadband infrastructure and has made strides. It recently announced expansion of its fibre network in Flin Flon.

Andrew Parkinson, a spokesman for the company said, “We’ll have more announcements about expanded coverage later this year, and we are always open to discussing funding partnerships with communities and the government in areas that can’t be supported by private investment alone from companies like Bell MTS.”

Verwey said KAP will continue to lobby federal and provincial governments – and the big telcos – to get more creative.

“Rural communities are definitely at a disadvantage,” she said. “We are going to put pressure on governments and the (internet and wireless) service providers so they can make service equitable to all individuals and all business owners… not just ones in the city.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca