Broadband Internet
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association request that the Provincial Government include municipalities as a key stakeholder in the development of broadband infrastructure policies and programs;
AND FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association request that the Provincial Government provide direct funding and support to municipalities in ensuring affordable access to, or the development of, high speed (100 mb/s and faster) community network infrastructure in priority employment and other urban areas.
WHEREAS establishing a fibre optic network is essential for the provision of high speed internet services within Alberta and is a foundation for future economic development, economic diversification and community sustainability priorities;
WHEREAS the Province of Alberta has invested in fibre optic infrastructure backbone – the Alberta SuperNet - that connects communities across Alberta;
WHEREAS the cost to transmit over Alberta’s SuperNet infrastructure continues to be cost-prohibitive to municipalities;
WHEREAS many communities continue to be underserved by internet providers;
WHEREAS Alberta municipalities are launching initiatives that leverage network-based technologies to strategically improve services to residents and businesses;
WHEREAS the success of these initiatives is reliant upon the availability of high bandwidth internet connectivity and connections to and between facilities and other local infrastructure;
WHEREAS the Canadian Internet Registration Authority has released an internet performance report, which places Alberta second lowest among the provinces and territories for internet download speed;
WHEREAS the Cybera organization has studied and identified the lack of adequate broadband access, affordability and speed as a major deterrent to the future development of Alberta.
The City of St. Albert has launched a Smart City initiative, with the intention of leveraging technologies to strategically improve municipal efficiency, economic development and community services. The success of this endeavour will be reliant upon the availability of high bandwidth Internet connectivity as well as network connections to and between City facilities and other infrastructure.
In 2015, St. Albert has also queried its resident and business community to benchmark the current state of local Internet services and to project future needs. Findings indicate that most parts of St. Albert are experiencing low Internet speeds, that many residents and businesses are not satisfied with the cost or value of their service, and that many anticipate a need for increased bandwidth requirements over the next five years. Furthermore, survey responses indicated a low level of confidence that the required bandwidth will be made available by incumbent telecommunications providers when needed. The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) released a report April 2016 on “Canada’s Internet Performance: National, Provincial and Municipal Analysis”. With respect to download speed, Canada is ranked 21st globally. Within Canada, Alberta has the second slowest download speed and Edmonton is ranked 21st out of 25 Canadian Cities on the basis of internet speed, quality and future-readiness.
Specific to municipalities, the Cybera organization pointed out in a submission to the CRTC that “despite the existence of the SuperNet, broadband connectivity and affordability in Alberta remains a significant barrier for many public sector organizations to participate in the digital economy.”
The Government of Alberta and Government of Canada have both recently initiated consultations on broadband policy. The Government of Alberta is undergoing a review of SuperNet service and management and the Canadian Radio Television and Communications Commission (CRTC) is conducting a review of its policies and standards with respect to Canada’s broadband services in order to be in step with the future and the changing needs of Canadians.
This is the first time this resolution has been submitted by the City of St. Albert. There was an AUMA resolution passed in 2015 with respect to “Review of broadband internet availability in Alberta”. However, this proposed resolution differs from the former in the following ways:
- It proposes to entrench municipalities as a recognized stakeholder in the development of policies and programs;
- It requests direct funding and support from the Provincial government;
- It includes economic development and employment areas as key objectives/investment locations; and
- It recognizes the unique needs of urban areas and their position at the heart of Alberta’s economic future.