A 2020 report published by the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board estimated that improved broadband connectivity across the Edmonton region could increase its GDP by up to $1 billion — approximately a 1% increase — per year. It also argued that closing the connectivity divide would bring significant socioeconomic benefits in areas such as healthcare, education, skills, and general community wellbeing36.
For many rural communities in Alberta, the internet gap has contributed to serious structural harms to social and economic resilience. Because of this, a number of communities have invested in municipally owned infrastructure for broadband delivery both in Alberta and, more broadly, nationally and internationally. The reasons for local investment in a communications network vary, but frequently include economic development, affordability, and improved access to education, healthcare, and social services.
There are multiple community broadband projects either completed or underway in the United States. According to the Institute for Local Self Reliance there are:
83 communities with a publicly owned FTTH network reaching most or all of the community.
77 communities with a publicly owned cable network reaching most or all of the community.
Over 185 communities with some publicly owned fiber service available to parts of the community.
Over 115 communities with publicly owned dark fibre available.
.
For rural communities pursuing municipally owned infrastructure initiatives, access to high-speed internet is often cited as one of the most important factors in retaining the local business and population base. Caroline McAuley, Mayor of Vermilion, has said “the lack of broadband and connectivity levels have been a deterring factor for inquiring new businesses, despite all of the advantages we have37.” The Town of Vermilion registered as an internet service provider with the CRTC in 2019, to test the feasibility of a community broadband project. This came after they failed to attract investment from incumbent providers.
Alanna Hnatiw, Mayor of Sturgeon County (another rural municipality testing a community broadband initiative), testified before the Standing Committee on Finance that “not only does the lack of internet service drive workers and employers to cities, thereby reducing productivity in rural areas, but improved rural internet service can play an integral role in Alberta's economic recovery38.”
Over 50 communities in 19 states with a publicly owned network offering at least 1 Gbps services.52Several municipal governments and local economic development authorities in Alberta are either actively exploring community broadband options, or undertaking broadband projects , that follow a variety of possible models. For example, the RedNet partnership manages and operates a fibre loop serving the City of Red Deer, Red Deer Library, Red Deer Public Schools, and Red Deer Catholic Schools. As a consortia, they share networking services via the RedNet network. As of June 2016: St. Albert is in the process of procuring services to install fibre for stage 2 of its city fibre optic network;53 the City of Calgary has made ; several different models, including leveraging existing unused infrastructure for broadband. The City of Calgary, for example, has made its dark fibre available for lease5439, and the Lethbridge Electric Utility has provided dark fibre services to public oriented organizations within the City of Lethbridge40.55
In early 2016, the Alberta Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, in conjunction with University of Alberta professors Dr. Michael McNally and Dr. Rob McMahon, conducted 8 eight consultations with Regional Economic Development Authorities (REDA) across the province on the topic of network infrastructure. The goal of the initiative is to produce and make available a “Getting Started - Building a Broadband Consensus” document for communities and the general public by the end of October 2016.56
A robust and promising approach to developing municipal broadband projects involves consolidating and organizing efforts into regional alliances of local government representatives. This approach was successfully followed by K-Net, based in Sioux Lookout, Ontario; the Eastern Ontario Regional Network; and the SouthWestern Integrated Fibre Technology network (SWIFT) in Ontario. The Alberta SouthWest Regional Alliance, through its Broadband for Economic Development (B4ED) initiative, focuses on developing a regional strategy to drive development and the application of broadband networks for the purpose of economic and community development. The Alberta Southwest Regional Alliance compiled five business models for community broadband deployment,57 which were presented to the Van Horne Institute's Digital Futures symposium in March 2016. In addition to the Alberta SouthWest Regional Alliance, a number of other REDAs are in various stages of conducting broadband preparedness assessments. These REDAs have shown an interest in policies that facilitate broadband deployment, such as “dig once” requirements, which entail deploying fibre infrastructure or at least conduit any time a construction project is initiated.
The Van Horne Institute’s biannual Digital Futures symposia on rural broadband regularly feature discussions around: broadband and socioeconomic development; building the business case and models for a networked community; technical considerations around community broadband projects; and the policy and regulatory landscape. These events are well attended by municipal politicians and representatives of regional economic development authorities.
Using the information they gathered, they spearheaded the creation of the Understanding Community Broadband: The Alberta Broadband Toolkit41. This guide is available to assist local governments in determining what solution might best fit their need for improved broadband services for residents and businesses.
Olds
Waterton
Parkland
Clearwater County
Other Initiatives
Internet Service Provider Wi-Fi Hotspots
Municipally driven Wi-Fi Hotspots
Retail Wi-Fi
Provincial and National Parks
References
36Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board. Broadband Situation Analysis: Final Report August 2020. Pg. 4, Accessed 08 June 2021.
37Angela Mouly. Vermilion ventures to test broadband internet in pilot project. Lakeland Connect, 20 July 2020.
38Standing Committee on Finance. Testimony : Second Session, Meeting 46. 18 May 2021.
39City of Calgary. Access The City of Calgary's dark fibre. Accessed 18 February 2021.
40Energyrates.ca. Lethbridge Electric Utility Rates & Plans - Energyrates.ca, Accessed 21 February 2021.
41
References
52. Institute for Local Self Reliance. Community Network Map, October 2015. Accessed 10 June 2016.
53. Alberta Purchasing Connection. Installation of Fibre Optic - Reference AB-2016-03817. Accessed 6 June 2016.
54. City of Calgary. Submission regarding notice no. DGTP-002-2015 Petition to the Governor in Council concerning Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-326, 21 December 2015. Accessed 8 June 2016.
55. Call Me Power. City of Lethbridge Electric Utility, 15 December 2015. Accessed 8 June 2016.
56. Dr. Michael McNally. E-mail correspondence, 4 July 2016 .
57. Bob Dyrda. Alberta SouthWest Broadband for Economic and Community Development, 8 March 2016. Accessed 13 May 2016and Understanding Community Broadband: The... | ERA (ualberta.ca). Accessed 16 February 2021.