{"id":4632,"date":"2021-04-19T10:56:19","date_gmt":"2021-04-19T14:56:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acorncanada.org\/oc-magazine-high-speed-internet-price-just-too-steep-many-canadians\/"},"modified":"2022-08-27T23:19:42","modified_gmt":"2022-08-28T03:19:42","slug":"oc-magazine-high-speed-internet-price-just-too-steep-many-canadians","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/acorncanada.org\/news\/oc-magazine-high-speed-internet-price-just-too-steep-many-canadians\/","title":{"rendered":"OC Magazine: High-speed Internet: The price is just too steep for many Canadians"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted April 19, 2021<\/em><\/p>\n

\n\tPeople who live in big cities have easy access to high-speed Internet, right? Well, not necessarily. We look at the situation across the country.<\/div>\n
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\n\tIt\u2019s hard to imagine getting through a full-blown pandemic without having access to the Internet. But believe it or not, that\u2019s the fate of many Canadians who lack the means to pay for the service, even if they do live in a big city. \u201cThe price is a problem for many of our members,\u201d says Judy Duncan, head organizer at ACORN Canada, a community union with more than 130,000 members that focuses on direct action.<\/div>\n
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\n\tTo put together the Barriers to Digital Equity in Canada<\/a> research report, ACORN Institute Canada, which conducts research and gives training sessions, surveyed nearly 500 union members. They found that 20% of respondents with an annual income of $30,000 or less did not have home Internet, while only 4% of those with incomes over $60,000 were in the same situation.<\/div>\n
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\n\tMore telling still was the fact that 72% of respondents said they didn\u2019t have home Internet because the cost was too high. \u201cThat\u2019s a huge factor,\u201d says Duncan.  \u201cSome people said they had to go without other things, even food, to have [Internet] access.\u201d The findings came as a big disappointment to Th\u00e9odros Wolde, head of the ACORN Canada section in the Montreal borough of LaSalle. \u201cThe union has been campaigning for people living on low incomes to have Internet access for 10 years now,\u201d he points out.<\/div>\n
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\n\tParticipants stated that they mainly used the Internet to keep in touch with family and friends (sometimes via social media), for entertainment, and to stay informed. A previous study ACORN Canada conducted in British Columbia indicated that the Internet is particularly useful for finding health information. \u201cThis shows that the Internet really is an essential service,\u201d says Duncan. \u201cAnd that\u2019s more and more the case since the start of the pandemic.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\n\tInternet more important now than ever<\/strong><\/div>\n
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\n\tGrim as the situation looked before the pandemic, it\u2019s since grown worse. \u201cWith the closing of the libraries and the advent of distance learning, many households have been forced to get home Internet, even if they can\u2019t really afford it,\u201d says Duncan. \u201cThey have no choice now \u2013 everything is online. They need the Internet to fill in government forms, make medical appointments or take courses.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\n\tThose who can\u2019t afford home Internet also have trouble paying for a computer. This has become a real problem during the pandemic.<\/div>\n
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\n\t“A good proportion of the participants in our study had Internet access on a cell phone. But you need a computer to work at home or do home schooling. Sometimes you need more than one, because it\u2019s not easy when family members have to share a single computer.\u201d – Judy Duncan, head organizer at ACORN Canada<\/em><\/div>\n
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\n\tThe study also reveals various problems with Internet connection speed. Nearly two in three participants complained about this, in fact. As a result of poor connection speed, they went over the coverage in their basic package and found themselves facing extra charges. \u201cRight now, people who are working and doing home schooling need a high-speed Internet connection more than ever,\u201d notes Duncan.<\/div>\n
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\n\tSome gaps in the program<\/strong><\/div>\n
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\n\tYou might think the federal government\u2019s \u201cConnecting Families\u201d program, which gives people living on low incomes access to high-speed Internet service packages for $10 a month, would be helping to improve the situation. But Wolde feels it\u2019s not yielding the anticipated results, since the service offered by participating companies is generally too slow. \u201cAccording to the CRTC<\/a>, every household should have access to unlimited broadband speed of at least 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload,\u201d says Wolde. \u201cBut they don\u2019t get high-speed for $10 a month, so they have to spend more to get the speed they need.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\n\tDuncan points to other gaps in the \u201cConnecting Families<\/a>\u201d program. \u201cThe companies get to decide for themselves what they\u2019ll offer and set their own access criteria. As a result, we see enormous disparities. And the program may not be open to single people or seniors \u2013 a population that really needs it.\u201d Wolde also deplores the fact that the program only gives citizens access to services from big companies, which are generally the most expensive.<\/div>\n
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\n\tThe report concludes by making several recommendations. It suggests that the \u201cConnecting Families\u201d program be extended to meet the needs of all low-income families, and that Internet suppliers offer high-speed service to all Canadians living on low or modest incomes. \u201cThe world will continue to depend on technology,\u201d says Duncan. \u201cAnd if things don\u2019t improve, we\u2019ll keep on fighting to make sure that people on low or modest incomes have sufficient access to the Internet.\u201c<\/div>\n
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\n\tA troubling situation in Toronto<\/strong><\/div>\n
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\n\tThe findings of a recent study conducted in mid-pandemic, \u201cMapping Toronto\u2019s Digital Divide,\u201d were similar to ACORN\u2019s results. The report shows that of the 2% of Toronto households that are not connected to home Internet, half say it\u2019s because of the cost, and 61% say their ability to access critical services and information has been affected. In addition, 38% of Toronto households report speeds that fail to meet the CRTC criteria \u2013 a situation that affects about half of all low-income households and people in the 60-and-over age group.<\/div>\n
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\n\tThe study<\/strong><\/div>\n
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\n\tThe study, Barriers to Digital Equity in Canada<\/a> (ACORN Institute Canada, 2019), set out to identify major barriers to digital equity in order to give low-income Canadians a greater say in the debate on affordable Internet access. ACORN Canada members participated by completing a survey and asking 472 of their peers (mostly people living on low incomes) in 21 Canadian cities in five provinces to fill it in by phone or on the Internet. The leaders of different sections of the union then discussed the results. Bear in mind that ACORN Institute Canada is a charitable organization that uses research and training to address problems in low-income communities, while ACORN Canada is a community union that focuses on direct action and acts locally, organizing regular campaigns designed to defend the interests of low-income people and seniors on fixed incomes. ACORN Canada members, who are all volunteers, are assisted and supervised by association staff in carrying out their campaigns.<\/div>\n

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Article by Maryse Gu\u00e9nette for OC Magazine<\/a><\/p>\n

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