In 2021, the National Broadband Internet Service Availability Map was released, showing Internet service speed for communities in rural and remote areas.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requires Internet users to have an Internet speed of at least 50 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 10 Mbps upload, which is listed as 50/10. The map indicated which areas met this requirement and which fell short.
If an area has an internet speed slower than 50/10, it is eligible for a grant to improve service.
According to the initial map, areas like the south side of Burns Lake, Decker Lake, and some areas on the outskirts of town such as Richmond Loop and Railway Avenue had internet speeds below 50/10, but the main downtown area had more than 50. /10 speeds.
In Houston, the stats were similar, with areas such as Palling and Barrett Lake as well as outlying streets such as Omineca Way and Moutainview Drive posting speeds below 50/10, while the majority of the populated area posted internet speeds. greater than 50/10.
Following the release of the map, local governments, including Burns Lake and Houston, expressed concern about discrepancies between the reported level of available broadband service speeds shown on the federal map and the levels of connectivity that parties community stakeholders say they know.
As a result, the Bulkley-Nechako Regional District participated in a 2021 Federal Broadband Internet Service Study to better understand the factors contributing to the discrepancy between Internet speed data published on the Federal Government map and community experiences in British Columbia.
The Government of British Columbia engaged TANEx Engineering to conduct the study to determine the extent of possible discrepancies. These data indicated that 106 localities were identified as having possible discrepancies with the map. The report said there were no discrepancies in Houston, although in Burns Lake there were a few identified.
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) has been contacted to compile a detailed report of each of these identified locations, including Burns Lake, to see if these discrepancies are in fact accurate.
Burns Lake CIRA testing indicates that 50/10 of the results were recorded from just nine unique test locations and six IP addresses, as opposed to the entire downtown area. Of the 194 tests conducted in the region, only 14 were at or above 50/10 speed.
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Eddie Huband
Multimedia journalist
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