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 in Alberta.
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.”
Several municipal governments and local economic development authorities in Alberta are either actively exploring community broadband options, or undertaking broadband projects that follow several different models, including leveraging existing unused infrastructure for broadband. The City of Calgary, for example, has made its dark fibre available for lease39, and the Lethbridge Electric Utility has provided dark fibre services to public oriented organizations within the City of Lethbridge40.
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 eight consultations with Regional Economic Development Authorities (REDA) across the province on the topic of network infrastructure. 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
O-NET is Canada’s first example of a community owned and operated fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) deployment. It was conceptualized in 2004 by the Technology Committee of the Olds Institute for Community and Regional Development. Community leaders originally conceived of an “open telecommunications network” that would directly connect every home and business to fibre optic cable. Internet Service Providers could then use this fibre link to offer services to customers.
When those ISPs did not come forward, O-NET was established separately as an ISP to supply services, using the community infrastructure. Construction began in 201142. O-NET now operates as a “triple play” service provider, with internet, telephone, and television services available to all residents of Olds.
The Olds example has demonstrated the importance of having strong local support in order for a community broadband project to be successful. At a 2015 broadband information session with the Calgary Regional Partnership, Mitch Thomson, executive director of the Olds Institute, remarked: “The Olds Institute has over 150 volunteers and 11 standing committees. [We] have tried to tally what value those volunteers brought to the process. At a $10.00/hour rate, it would reflect millions of dollars of dedicated expertise and effort from volunteers in many corners of our community43.”
O-NET offers internet packages at speeds of 250 Mbps, 500 Mbps, and 1 Gbps at $90/month, $105/month, and $125/month, respectively44. O-NET also offers wholesale service to communities interested in developing their own FTTP networks. O-NET connects to the Calgary Internet Exchange (YYCIX) through fibre leased from Shaw45. As a result, O-NET can serve as the ISP over any network that also has a fibre connection to Calgary. At present, O-NET provides service to the village of Waterton in Waterton National Park46.
Waterton
In 2014, Waterton began construction of a fibre network, leveraging funds from a Parks Canada initiative that required all Parks Canada offices to have a fibre connection. TELUS fibre optic cables run to the entrance of the park, and access was extended to near the town by Parks Canada during the construction of the Kootenai Brown Trail47. Waterton has since procured a fibre connection to Calgary through TELUS, and utilizes O-NET as its ISP.
Waterton offers a wireless network that covers the town and its townsite campground. According to Improvement District chairman, Brian Reeves, wireless internet access is “the number one thing people ask for, no matter whether they’re staying: in a hotel or in the campground in a motorhome48.”
Parkland
Parkland County has utilized provincial and federal grants to construct a wireless communications network. This network is comprised of 20 towers for service providers to collocate on, thereby extending wireless broadband and mobility coverage. The towers are designed to serve a full range of rural communications service providers, including broadband (internet), mobility (cell), public safety (fire, police, ambulance), and enterprise customers.
This tower use model is intended to accommodate providers that offer different wireless services to residents and businesses, otherwise known as an Open Access Network (OAN). The county is not a Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP), but instead provides infrastructure for the use of WISPs in return for rent (which covers the operating costs of the towers)49. Parkland is the first county in Canada to pioneer this model. Parkland now faces the challenge of improving network capacity at each tower using fibre, and encouraging a competitive service environment for ISPs50.
Clearwater County
Clearwater County’s Broadband Internet Project is a multi-year initiative that aims to deliver high-speed connectivity to a majority of residents and businesses in the county. A vast majority of county residents and businesses are underserved by available connectivity options, most of which fall below the CRTC standards for broadband speeds51.
Clearwater County is building an Open Access Network (OAN), similar to Parkland, but primarily using fibre infrastructure, with some fixed wireless. Using a fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) model, the county will provide points from which ISPs can connect, and then provide last-mile connections to customers. As with Parkland, this model significantly reduces infrastructure costs for ISPs in low population density areas, allowing for broadband internet at a more competitive price.
Proposed services over the OAN could include Voice over IP, internet TV, prepaid tourist internet, and connectivity to support agri-tech services. The project started in 2020 and is expected to be completed in 2025.
Figure 11. Clearwater County Broadband Internet Project. Construction began in 2020. Source: Clearwater County.
Other Initiatives
There are other projects in various states of evolution in Alberta. Big Lakes County is undertaking a fibre-to-the-home initiative called Project Aurora53. Service download speeds are projected to be between 100 Mbps and 10 Gbps.
The Town of Vermilion is undertaking a project called V-Net, which uses a combination of fibre (fibre-to-the-node) and Wi-Fi for last mile distribution. The town hopes to complete a six-month pilot program with 10 businesses in 2021 and, with positive results, will consider expanding the service to the residents of the town54.
More small, quick-win solutions are also starting to emerge in the province. The Town of Viking is using its grain elevator to offer a point-to-multipoint wireless internet service. Anyone who is able to establish a clear line of sight path to the elevator is able to access internet services. A three-year contract covers the cost of the internet, plus the customer radio equipment55.
These numerous municipal and county services that are currently operating, or under construction, are likely to be joined by more projects over the next few years. The significant grant funding dollars available for rural internet projects by various government agencies are providing more opportunities for rural and remote parts of Alberta that are still underserved. These opportunities are further discussed in the Future Needs and Opportunities section.
Internet Service Provider Wi-Fi Hotspots
Wi-Fi hotspots are an important service that ISPs offer in order to differentiate themselves and extend their brands. Hotspots are locations where internet access is offered to the public via 802.11 Wi-Fi technology (a specification for implementing wireless local area networks [WLANs]).
By 2019, the CRTC reported over 51,000 hotspots available in Canada, with +12,000 of those in Alberta56. However, this number is disputed by the largest provider of Wi-Fi hotspots in Canada (based on the number of access points available), the Shaw Go Wi-Fi network, which says it has more than 100,000 hotspots across Western Canada at the writing of this report in 202157. This is an increase from the 75,000 hotspots Shaw reported in Canada in 2016.
Regardless, there are many places to get free Wi-Fi access in Alberta. The full Shaw Go Wi-Fi network is open to Shaw customers, and is available for “Guest Access” in select locations58. TELUS established its own Wi-Fi hotspots in 2015. By 2021, they had reported over 20,000 free hotspots across Western Canada. Bell also offers Wi-Fi access points across Alberta, with almost 500 partner retail outlet locations59.
Figure 12. A comparison of “heat maps” between Shaw Go Wi-Fi (left) and TELUS’s free Wi-Fi (right) in Alberta, as of February 2021. TELUS’s map does have some inaccuracies outside of towns and cities, but shows more distribution than Shaw’s. Shaw has more sites in larger municipalities. Sources: Shaw Go Wi-Fi and TELUS Free Wi-Fi60.
Municipally driven Wi-Fi Hotspots
In 2015, the Olds Institute directed funds from its social enterprises, Mountain View Power and O-NET, to the development of a free public Wi-Fi network in Olds. There are currently more than 80 hotspot locations in and around businesses, and another 19 outdoor access points in parks, campgrounds, exhibition grounds, schools and commercial areas within the community. Approximately 11,000 people connect to this network every month, on average. Another 2,600 devices connect monthly to the network developed within the Olds Hospital and Care Centre (patients have access to free Wi-Fi and can receive their O-NET services while in care).
The City of Edmonton is offering a program called Open City Wi-Fi that provides free public Wi-Fi in some of the city’s publicly accessible facilities. More than 14,000 devices connect to Open City Wi-Fi every week, utilizing more than 2TB of data traffic. The service routinely accepts over 4,500 concurrent sessions during peak periods.
The City of Calgary has also launched public Wi-Fi access in many of its facilities, such as recreation centres, golf courses, and C-Train stations. The city awarded a contract to Shaw Communications to provide public Wi-Fi through the Shaw Go Wi-Fi service. The contract allows anyone to use the service without having to be a Shaw customer.
On a much smaller scale, the town of Hanna provides Wi-Fi to residents and visitors in and near most municipal buildings.
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.
41Dr. Michael McNally. E-mail correspondence, 4 July 2016 and Understanding Community Broadband: The... | ERA (ualberta.ca). Accessed 16 February 2021.
42O-NET. About O-NET | O-NET (o-net.ca) Accessed 21 February 2021.
43Calgary Regional Partnership. Notes of June 17, 2015 CRP Broadband Information Session, 17 June 2015, p.4. Accessed 22 May 2016.
44O-NET. Products. http://o-net.ca/internet/ Accessed 21 February 2021.
45Calgary Regional Partnership. Notes of June 17, 2015 CRP Broadband Information Session, 17 June 2015, p.6. Accessed 22 May 2016.
46Mountain View Gazette. O-NET could become a nationwide Internet, phone, TV service provider. mountainviewgazette.ca/article/ONET-could-become-nationwide-20151110. Accessed 24 May 2016.
47Pincher Creek Echo. Fibre optic speeds in Waterton, 25 February 2015, p.5.
48Pincher Creek Echo. Fibre optic speeds in Waterton, 25 February 2015, p.5.
49Parkland County. SMART Parkland Intelligent Community. Accessed 8 July 2016.
50Parkland County. Phone conversation with Barb Scully, Connected Communities Coordinator, 12 July 2016.
51Clearwater County. Clearwater County - Broadband Project. Accessed 29 January 2021.
52Clearwater County. Clearwater County - Broadband Project. Accessed 15 June 2021.
53Big Lakes County. Communications | Big Lakes County. Accessed 22 February 2021.
54Angela Mouly. Vermilion ventures to test broadband internet in pilot project - Lakeland Connect. 20 July 2020. Accessed 25 February 2021.
55Nutec Electro Tel sales agent: phone conversation 26 February 2021.
56CRTC. Communications Monitoring Report 2020, page 98.
57Shaw. Shaw Go Wi-Fi - Over 100,000 hotspots across Canada | Shaw. Accessed 22 February 2021.
58Shaw. How to set up Guest Access for Shaw Go Wi-Fi. Accessed 22 February 2021.
59Bell. Bell Wi-Fi locations. Accessed 22 February 2021.
60Shaw & TELUS. Shaw Go Wi-Fi - Over 100,000 hotspots across Canada | Shaw & Free Internet & Free Wifi - Public Wifi Hotspots | TELUS. Accessed 22 February 2021.
61Olds Institute. E-mail communication with Mitch Thomson, 8 July 2016.