Our Connection Challenge

Brent Cameron | Apr 29, 2020

Before getting into the issue of this article, a brief history lesson.

David Sarnoff was the Bill Gates of his generation. Beginning as a Marconi operator in the early part of the twentieth century, he recognized the potential of wireless technology and would go on to start the Radio Corporation of America – RCA – in 1919.

The problem early on was getting people to justify the cost of buying a basic radio set - $75 in 1922, the equivalent of $1100 today – when all you got was a large wooden box that emitted a static crackle. That is why RCA would partner to start another company in 1926 – the National Broadcasting Company, or NBC. Static was replaced with music, drama, comedy and news, and people could better justify spending the cash on a console.

Radio held the potential to connect people, but without the supportive network it was just a useless and expensive piece of furniture.

Life in much of Central Frontenac resembles those early days of radio. We have sophisticated technology that can deliver education, entertainment, access to goods and services, and - in some cases – jobs and incomes. But for the most part they remain expensive gadgets that do not live up to their potential.

Lack of quality high speed internet in our community is an issue we all recognize. Mayor Frances Smith has been a leading figure in the EORN project seeking to build out infrastructure across all of eastern Ontario. The nearly quarter-billion dollars committed to its next phase will hopefully go a long way to getting us to where we need to be.

But where we need to be is at the point where Central Frontenac and neighbouring townships have access to sufficient download and upload speeds – sufficient to communicate, to learn and to earn. This pandemic demonstrates we desperately need a network that makes the hardware (and software) live up to its potential.

We lack a robust internet infrastructure when we need it the most. E-learning and working remotely may be fine for urban dwellers, but bad connections lead to students falling behind in their studies, and layoffs for those who might otherwise have had the option of working remotely. This crisis has exposed an uncomfortable reality – that uneven connectivity creates societal winners and losers based on postal code.

As the council representative to Central Frontenac’s Economic Development Committee, I am all too aware of the challenge we have in sustaining and growing the local economy. We will never be the kind of place that attracts manufacturing plants and big box retailers – nor do we want to be. But we want to keep the talent we have and attract new residents who see in this place the beauty we do.

The internet holds the promise of accessing information and services, purchasing specialty goods, and earning a living from right here. Given the challenge of rural economic development at the best of times, it is not an exaggeration to say that it would be a game changer.

People often live where they need to, not where they want to. So many newer full-time residents are recent retirees, with the latitude to choose communities like ours – and we are grateful. But for those who need to earn enough to support themselves and their families, the pressure to leave is enormous. If access to high speed internet allowed them to study or earn a living here, we would benefit greatly.

As with every major event in our history, we will attempt to learn lessons from this outbreak. Most will focus on how we responded to the medical emergency, and rightly so. But if our intention is to come out of this pandemic stronger, more resilient and wiser, then the need for better communications infrastructure – cellular, broadband and fibre optic high-speed internet – must also figure prominently in those conversations.