Frontenac County May Get Real Time Data On Internet Availability

Jeff Green | Aug 23, 2023

Ever wonder how accurate Internet Speed Tests are?

It turns out that, like many things Internet related, it depends which test you use, and picking the top choice that comes up through a browser search might not be the best choice.

Jeff Buell, who works for CIRA (the Canadian Internet Registration Authority) which is best known as the not for profit corporation that runs the .ca internet registry, appeared before the Frontenac County.

Buell pointed out that some Internet speed tests are contracted out by service providers and do not necessarily reflect the actual upload and download speeds that people running the tests from their personal device are receiving in the moment.

He  made a presentation to the Frontenac County Planning and Economic Development Advisory (PEDA) Committee last week (August 16) to talk about the Internet Speed Test CIRA offers to the public.

His presentation was tied in with a proposal for a Community Broadband Performance Testing Program in Frontenac Canada. CIRA is proposing that Frontenac County partner with them to begin collecting anonymised speed test data from Frontenac County residents.

If Frontenac County Council agrees to participate, CIRA will begin to collect speed test information from Frontenac in order to create a database that will use speed test data collected by Frontenac County residents to map internet service gaps throughout the county.

For residents, this data can be used to confirm whether their individual test data is reflected elsewhere in their own and neighbouring locations, over time.

For municipal officials, it will provide data that can be used to advocate for more and better service through various provincial, federal and private sector programs aimed at upgrading Rural Internet Service.

The data could also be used to hold companies that have received grants by promising certain levels of service, account for those promises if the service is not there.

Richard Allen, Frontenac County Manager for Economic Development, said that for his department the data would also help them show to potential residents and businesses what level of service they can count on if they relocate to Frontenac County.

The cost to Frontenac County to set up the program with CIRA would be $4,000 per year. If the county decides to do so, CIRA will set up a unique web address for Frontenac County residents to use in order to conduct tests on a one time or ongoing basis.

The CIRA speed test is similar to ones offered by Ookla or Fast.com that people may be familiar with, but in order to collect the data Frontenac County residents wishing to participate in the data collection program will need to set up a free account with CIRA, and will have the option of automating testing at intervals in order to provide information for the database.

The success of the program, if adopted by Frontenac County, will depend upon the uptake by residents.

In response to a question from PEDA committee member Michael Hage about how many residents need to participate in order to make the database robust enough to be useful, Buehl said that somewhere around 20% would be a good number.

“But the more rural people are, the more valuable their data is,” he said,

In his presentation, Buell provided a map of Durham County, which participates in the Community Broadband Performance Testing program. The map showed a series of blue dots at the bottom of the County, where population centres such as Ajax are located, and a pink, red and blank dots further to the north, in rural Durham.

“The map is self explanatory,” he said, “the red dots represent lower speeds, and it is in those areas where we need as much participation as possible.”

Frontenac County Warden Ron Vandewal is a member of the PEDA committee. He fixed on something that Buehl said at the beginning of his presentation. The speed test that CIRA operates, which can be found at Performance.cira.ca, has been used about 1.5 million times.

“That's not a lot of times, for a nationwide service,” Vandewal said.

Buell acknowledged Vandewal's point, and said that for the testing program to be effective a publicity campaign, using internet based and traditional media sources, would need to take place.

After the presentation, the committee passed a motion recommending that Frontenac County Council enter into a contract with CIRA to set up the program for Frontenac County, as part of the Economic Development Budget. The matter will be presented to the full council later this fall or as part of the 2024 budget process.