Studying or having a business, while living in Haut-Saint-Laurent and having access to internet, represent difficulties for those concerned.
The high-speed internet issue in the Haut-Saint-Laurent has been written about extensively, and has been for several years. In 2017, Quebec and Ottawa united and announced an investment of nearly $ 6 million to serve more than 1,200 homes in this region. Even though three years have passed since the government announcement, many citizens still cannot count on a reliable connection.
Worse, students who have to home school because of the measures put in place by Prime Minister Legault are not even able to connect to the platforms. The reason is however simple; the connection speed is not sufficient.
A resident of Saint-Anicet explains that he fears for the academic success of his teenage daughter since she cannot attend school at home. “She goes to school every other day, said the father. The problem is, when she’s home, she can’t get online to attend class. Our internet speed is too slow. Our internet speed varies from 0.5 to 2.5 Mbit / second. This is insufficient to use platforms like Zoom and Team.”
Same situation for businesses
While some citizens are affected by the situation, so are businesses. Marc Faubert, owner of the Saint-Anicet golf club, says that he frequently has problems when his customers want to pay.
“It takes a very long time, says Mr. Faubert. It should be understood that transactions made with a card require internet access. In our case, since we don’t have consistency with the connection, it is not uncommon to see customers lining up to pay.”
Surprisingly, the optical fiber passes in front of the Saint-Anicet golf club, however, Mr. Faubert’s company cannot access it. “It’s only for Saint-Anicet elementary school, he says. No customer can be connected to it. It is exclusive to the school.”
Himself a father, Marc Faubert confirms that his daughter was forced to live with an aunt during the first isolation in order to continue her studies.
“She is at the University of Sherbrooke. During the first isolation, she came home. However, when the university resumed, but remotely, she was not able to connect to the internet to take her classes. Luckily, we have family in Sainte-Barbe and there, there is high speed internet.”
MP DeBellefeuille on the case
For the MP for the district of Salaberry-Suroît, Claude DeBellefeuille, reality shows the urgency of extending high-speed Internet access to less well-served regions.
“More than ever, high speed internet is an essential service just like electricity in the last century, says Mrs. DeBellefeuille. The failures we are experiencing today are invaluable and, and rightly so, sow the wrath of many residents of our district.”
Mrs. DeBellefeuille says she understands the distress of citizens, since she must also deal with the problem. “I live in Ormstown, said the MP. When I have an internet conference call, people see me as a robot. My internet connection is weak. Teleworking, studying, accessing public services and communicating with loved ones during a pandemic are unthinkable actions without a reliable Internet network.”
One of the problems
Claude DeBellefeuille indicates that one of the problems surrounding the implementation of high speed Internet in the Haut-Saint-Laurent is that the company that installs it does not own the poles.
“The company doing the installation is Targo. It faces a major obstacle. Before installing anything on a new pole, it must have permission to do so from the owner of the pole. Because the law specifies that Bell must make its decision known within 90 days of an authorization request, it seems not uncommon for clearance to be given on the 90th day.”
Attempts to merge the Targo and Bell companies have been made. At the time of publication, however, no feedback was received.
