Indigenous communities across Canada working to provide internet access for underserved

There’s a significant disparity when it comes to internet access in Canada.

Roughly 98 per cent of homes in urban areas have internet access that meets the standard of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). That number falls to just 45.6 per cent for rural homes and 34.8 per cent for Indigenous homes, according to 2019 data from the commission.

It’s notoriously hard to get high-speed internet service on First Nations in particular.

That’s why many Indigenous communities across the country have decided to build the necessary infrastructure to provide underserved areas with the quality of internet enjoyed by those living in urban areas.

Sally Braun, the director of First Mile Connectivity Consortium, talked with Gormley this week about the importance of providing Indigenous communities with high-speed internet. First Mile creates broadband systems and delivers those services.

Braun is based in Ontario and First Mile collaborates with K-Net of Sioux Lookout, Ont., and Cree Cable of Moose Factory, Ont.

“Between the three of us, we serve about 66 per cent of Ontario’s landmass,” Braun told Gormley. “Over on the Quebec side, you have (Eeyou Communications Network) that serves approximately 50 per cent of Quebec’s remote and rural landmass.”

They also have initiatives in British Columbia, Yukon and the Northwest Territories

First Mile’s name reflects one of the organization’s guiding principles, according to Braun.

“We take the view that first mile starts at the house,” she said, suggesting they prioritize building infrastructure at the home of those they serve (end-users) and then work towards a core centre instead of the other way around.

“For-profit companies, they tend to work from their core networks, which are usually based in urban centres. They work from the core network out to the end-user. And sometimes they run out of money before they get to the end-user.”

Braun said First Mile uses that approach for fibre, wireless, satellite or any other type of broadband.

She said another reason for a lack of access in remote communities is the terrain, especially in the remote areas of places like B.C. For-profit services might see the act of traversing through mountainous regions as being more costly than they’d be worth.

In October, in Saskatchewan, the Meadow Lake Tribal Council, Wood River Controls and SaskTel teamed up to create Indigenous-owned and -operated Beaver River Broadband. It operates in at least five First Nations communities.

Braun said First Mile would love to partner with Beaver River Broadband.

“We’re more than happy to assist, or mentor or help in any way we can,” she said.

Braun stressed the importance of having boots on the ground to help people.

“We always make sure that we have what is called ‘community champions,’ ” she said. “These are people that either know how to operate the equipment or if you can only get through to them by phone, they can go to the shelter and you can walk them through what needs to be done in the case of an outage or a reset.”

Braun said it’s imperative for Indigenous people to be heard.

“Those are the voices that need to be connected and brought to the table,” she said, “because we need Indigenous knowledge sitting at the policy table and the only way they’re going to be able to participate is if they have the connectivity platform to do so.”