Wire the West!

The federal government’s $3.2-billion universal broadband fund, an initiative to support high-speed internet projects across Canada, has been closed to applications since last year — except in Alberta.

Canada’s wealthiest province has shown great difficulty bridging the urban-rural digital divide. Outside of city centres, the province remains stubbornly resistant to progress in this essential area of modern technology.

Alberta ranks last among provinces for rural broadband availability, according to the most recent data from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. It’s a considerable decline from the early part of the 21st century, when the public-private SuperNet fibre project appeared to put Alberta on the cutting edge of rural connectivity.

The optimism of the time was evident in a news release from the Progressive Conservative government in 2001 announcing construction of the network: then-innovation minister Victor Doerksen claimed, “Alberta has established itself as a world leader in the new global economy.”

But 23 years later, not only is the province not leading in rural broadband, it finds itself trailing jurisdictions with far fewer financial resources, including the Northwest Territories.

Broadband is an internet connection that allows data to be transmitted at high speeds through technologies ranging from satellites and wireless signals to different wired infrastructure.

Since 2016, when the CRTC declared broadband an essential service, federal and provincial governments have been trying to provide connectivity that meets the expressed goal of 50 megabits per second for downloads and 10 megabits for uploads.

The most recent CRTC statistics from 2022 show progress has been made nationally with 93 per cent of households having such speeds available.

But it has been slower for Canada’s 1.1 million rural households. In Alberta, 42 per cent of rural households have access to internet services at the target speed. It is not much better in Saskatchewan (43 per cent) or Manitoba (46 per cent). Three provinces have achieved above 80 per cent broadband availability for rural households. Quebec, the largest province, leads with 84.5 per cent, followed by Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.

SuperNet — and specifically the Alberta government’s management of contracts — shoulders some of the blame for the province’s poor showing.

A 2018 report by the province’s auditor general found the government did not effectively manage the agreements that governed the network. The report noted deficiencies in measuring performance and in ensuring SuperNet’s corporate partners complied with contract terms. The results were particularly problematic given that by 2018 the province had estimated its total investment in SuperNet at $1 billion.

Not all of Alberta’s challenges stem from SuperNet. In 2022, the province released a broadband strategy that includes federal-provincial funding totalling $780 million, with each level of government contributing half. The plan aims for universal broadband access at the CRTC’s target speed of 50/10 by the end of March 2027.

The strategy provides for household connections via fibre, fixed wireless access and low Earth orbit satellite, or LEO. Starlink already provides internet satellite service across Alberta with just two small areas listed as “sold out,” so the province is assured of reaching its goal of universal connectivity by 2027.

In fact, the province could declare that it has met this goal now. But the CRTC excludes LEO when calculating coverage. The province has a lower bar for considering what areas have broadband than the federal regulator.

The government must address some weaknesses before it can get the most out of its existing fiscal commitment of $390 million to connect rural areas. It needs to increase the speed with which projects are selected and funded. Mapping problems have also plagued rural broadband projects generally, but there are initiatives underway to get better data.

Funds must flow much more quickly. The federal auditor general has been particularly critical of how slow the universal broadband fund is financing projects. Of the $1.3 billion available in the 2022-23 fiscal year, just 25 per cent of the fund was actually spent.

Alberta’s broadband fund is designed to match federal expenditures and, unsurprisingly, it also shows the same slow results. A recent provincial news release says government-funded broadband projects across Alberta have expanded the target speeds to 51,000 households, but 438,000 still lack access.

The overwhelming majority of homes that were not connected in 2021 still require broadband despite three years of provincial and federal funding.

Though it may run contrary to the political instincts of Alberta’s current United Conservative Party government, it is in the best interests of the province to work closely and strategically with Ottawa. There are too many recent examples of the Alberta government leaving federal cash on the table, for example, the $137 million earmarked for cleaning abandoned oil wells and funding to assist the homeless.

Alberta must recognize that the federal Liberal government has invested $488 million in Alberta on connectivity since 2015 and remains a significant partner, not an obstacle.

The province should also aim to ensure that money spent today is for projects that are competitive tomorrow. Those that cannot be improved to higher speeds must be closely assessed. Funding should be given only to projects that are scalable at speeds much higher than the 50/10 target. That was ambitious when set by the CRTC in 2016 but is not nearly so almost 10 years later.

The European Parliament and the United Kingdom have set speed targets 20 times higher than Canada’s. Yet our federal government has noted that one-fifth of current projects nationally are not scalable to that degree.

The time has also come for Alberta to undertake a strategic review of SuperNet. The lack of transparency around SuperNet makes drawing definitive conclusions difficult, but given that contract oversight problems were highlighted as a key issue in the last SuperNet contract, the government should commit to a review of the current agreement to ensure obligations are being met.

The consequences of Alberta not getting its broadband investments right are significant. With abundant natural resources, including renewable energy sources and a cool climate, the province is aiming to be a prime spot for large data centres, which require a robust fibre infrastructure.

If successful, these data centres could complement Alberta’s growing digital-talent pool in the mushrooming technology sector, all of which provides a possible pathway to economic diversification and less reliance on oil markets.

When it comes to rural broadband, the status quo is unacceptable. Reliable, high-speed connectivity across the province is a foundational element for Alberta’s economic future. For rural Alberta to thrive, the province must expand 21st-century infrastructure and capitalize on the investments already made.