Resolution 2021-01

Submitted by Flagstaff Family and Community Services and Tofield/Beaver County West Family and Community Support Services

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the FCSSAA work with the Provincial Government to advocate to the Federal Government for equitable internet and cellular service in Alberta. The digital divide is becoming wider, and the inequity of service is becoming a hindrance for our citizens.

More and more Government services are transitioning to on-line models. This has proven to be a barrier for many Albertans who cannot afford, have sporadic, or do not have access to Wi-Fi, internet, or cellular service. We also have to acknowledge that access to technology is not the same as having the ability to run that technology. The use of these technologies, while improving service in the opinion of Government to the citizens, is actually building barriers for our most vulnerable to access these services, because their reality is they do not have the skills to be digitized, or the available means to access these services. Local FCSS’s have witnessed an increase in people coming to offices who need to fill in Government forms, who do not have the ability, knowledge, or the technology to access these forms. We are moving forward so quickly because of the pandemic that the average citizen and especially vulnerable citizens are not prepared or have the ability to pivot. This will become a massive issue for people who cannot meet their needs electronically.

The barriers are two-fold. The people live in areas not served by either reliable internet or cellular service or they cannot afford internet or cellular service. Many Municipalities are investing in upgrading their services, sometimes with Federal Government assistance, but barriers exist for municipalities due to requirements for broadband funding such as a need for three years of experience deploying and operating broadband infrastructure or a partnership with an internet service provider. These programs, however, are not always designed to be equitable to serve those who are the most vulnerable.

The *Alberta Rural Connectivity Coalition has determined that although 87.4% of Canadians have access to an internet connection at the Federal government’s basic service objective of 50/10 Mbps, only 37% of rural Albertan’s have internet connection at this speed.

Canada does not have the highest cost worldwide for internet/cellular data, but we do rank 4th highest for pricing related to 1GB of cellular data as presented by *Forbes and 5th highest for costs for 100 Mpbs internet speed as reported by *Mobile Syrup. We are not likely to see a downtrend in this pricing. When comparing pricing for cellular service, it can range from $37 to $107 per month for basic service up to 5GB. It not unusual to see a bill up to $300 monthly for adequate service for families.