BRAGG CREEK— Exploring solutions to solve Rocky View County’s rural Internet access problems, a Bragg Creek committee is researching innovative ways to ensure residents have reliable access to a basic necessity.
While Bragg Creek boasts beautiful areas and scenery, Bragg Creek Connect co-chair Richard Brown said, the terrain can prove challenging when it comes to providing Internet services due to the rolling hills and vast forests that are part of the landscape. He explained that they need to work around the terrain to provide service.
“When you look at the future you’ve got to be connected,” Brown said. “That’s just been highlighted by the pandemic. You’ve got a lot more people working at home and having to rely incredibly on the Internet.”
Bragg Creek Connect launched more than two-years-ago after the Bragg Creek Chamber of Commerce, the Bragg Creek Community Association, the Greater Bragg Creek Trails Association and the Bragg Creek Revitalization committee got together to explore the priorities and initiative that were needed in the community.
“Reliability and actually getting Internet service rose to the top fairly quickly,” Brown said. “It’s a necessity as opposed to a luxury.”
He added at times once can visit the Bragg Creek mall and spot people sitting in their cars accessing the Internet when they have video-conference calls, because their home connection is unreliable and slow.
Bragg Creek Connect co-chair Kelty Latos Latos added that some families in the community have not been able to attend online classes during the pandemic due to the poor Internet connection at their home.
Latos and her husband moved out to West Bragg Creek in 2017, she said, and they were immediately taken aback with the difficulty they faced in securing a good Internet connection.
It was critical to have Internet access because her husband works from home.
Simple daily tasks like attending a meeting using the video-conferencing app Zoom, making a Skype call or sending a work email is at times impossible with the current Internet speeds, and this experience has only been heightened by COVID-19.
Speaking personally Latos said she was unable to attend online prenatal classes in advance to the birth of her first baby during the pandemic.
“We’ve barely been able to participate in prenatal classes through Alberta Health Services because of the poor Internet connection,” Latos said. “That’s generally a place where you create community. It’s a place of support for young couples that are going through having a kid for the first time and we haven’t been able to form any connections because we can’t talk on the Zoom meeting— We just sit there and watch.”
It becomes difficult to access essentials like banking, school or work, Latos said. She added that apps like Netflix also become challenging to access when looking to relax.
Brown said the Internet within the Bragg Creek hamlet is slightly better, but many residents still face challenges when accessing the Internet.
Bragg Creek Connect is advocating better Internet access for the area from Wintergreen down through the hamlet to West Bragg Creek.
Brown added work can be done to provide better and more reliable high-speed Internet service for the entire county.
The committee has been working with Rocky View County and a couple of consulting firms on how to improve service in the region. The need for better and more reliable Internet service has been brought before council for funding.
Rocky View County applied to an Alberta Community Regional Economic Support $82,500 grant to develop Rocky View County’s Internet Servicing Strategy. The application was rejected by the provincial government.
The County will be meeting in September to decide on how to move forward.
“Most councillors seem to understand the need for Internet,” Latos said. “We were optimistic with the study— But since the study has failed we’re trying to figure out our path forward to get more grassroots support and engagement,” Latos said.
Brown added Rock View County Councilor Marc Kamachi sits on the committee.
Latos said Bragg Creek Connect needs more local engagement to help build support at the County and Provincial levels.
The group is currently looking to find out where areas of need are in Rocky View and share the steps they have been taken to bring reliable Internet to the Bragg Creek area. Latos added that she hopes they can collaborate with other communities in the County suffering from similar issues.
Companies that include Xplorenet, Mage Networks, StarLink by SpaceX and potential the Alberta SuperNet system are being researched as potential options to bring reliable and fast Internet to residents, Brown said.
“Long term our vision is to be able to put the infrastructure in place the same as any other city. To have fibre in every home,” Brown said. “We can enjoy the same benefits of anyone who lives in an urban area.”
The group is also exploring creative solutions to meet Bragg Creek’s Internet need be it public-private partnerships or community-owned infrastructure, Latos said. The key take away is that they are working to ensure residents have access to an essential part of everyday life.
“I’m optimistic for our area,” Latos said. “But I think we need more grassroots groups like us that are pushing for it, that are agitating for it, that are making the need known how vital this is.”
