Broadband

Background

In today's quickly evolving digital world, broadband is critical for vibrant, sustainable communities. A global pandemic has only reaffirmed our increasing reliance on staying connected virtually.

Unfortunately, a digital divide exists. In December 2016, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) set a universal service objective (USO) to ensure access speeds of at least 50 megabits per second (Mb/s) download and 10 Mb/s upload. We have spent the past year documenting the presence and availability of internet services throughout the County. The results to date have provided us with an understanding of internet services throughout the town, hamlets, villages and rural areas. As expected, the service levels are substantially higher in the more densely populated portions of the County and no rural areas within the County of Minburn meet the 50/10 Mb/s USO.

The Canadian and Provincial governments are now making a push to facilitate high speed internet to underserved parts of the country. There have been and continue to be grants for municipalities to expand internet service in their areas and a major requirement for grant funding is to have a “shovel ready” project ready to go. The level of service required to meet grant requirements is for end users to have 50 Mb download and 10 Mb upload. This speed can support high speed streaming.

Most municipalities have determined that it is up to the private sector to provide services, but it is possible for local government to ensure that facilities are put into place for all vendors to utilize. One example of this type of facility is communication towers that allow all vendors to access and share in the cost.

What can you do to help?

The County of Minburn has partnered with the CIRA to get a more detailed understanding of the internet speeds throughout the County region. Simply click on the following link to test your internet speeds while connected to your home modem (don't connect using your wireless network): https://performance.cira.ca/minburncounty

We encourage you to test your speeds on different days and at different times of the day in order to provide us with accurate data. The data from the speed test is 100% confidential and will be used to support applications for improved internet coverage throughout the County of Minburn.

As of January 20, 2025 their have been 351 tests run throughout the County.

What is the County of Minburn doing?

Timeline of Events
August 2021	County completed a Broadband Discovery document to confirm the existing state of broadband in the County of Minburn. This study confirmed that the majority of County residents and businesses are underserved by current internet services, with the rural area of the County not meeting CRTC basic standards for broadband internet (Figure 4). A further investigation of where 50/10 may be offered is shown in Figure 16. However, without sufficient backhaul, internet service will not be able to achieve these data speeds.
April 2022	County Council approved a Rural Broadband policy which will help shape the direction the County will pursue in acquiring high speed internet over the next several years.
June 2022	County created a Broadband Strategy which prioritizes grant funding and partnership opportunities while supporting Open Access Networks.
July 2022	MCSNet announced a project that includes the construction of buried fiber cable throughout the County of Minburn (from Mundare to Two Hills County) to connect their existing towers.
August 2022	County reached out to businesses along the proposed MCSNet fiber route to determine their desire for potentially connecting to the proposed fiber backbone.
October 2022	County Council agrees to enter into negotiations for a contribution agreement with MCSNet for the provision of funding an extension of fiber from the MCSNet backbone to the Hamlets of Lavoy, Ranfurly, and Minburn, the Villages of Innisfree and Mannville, the subdivisions of Warwick and Brookwood Estates, and to the West Industrial Park, Crossroads Industrial area, and East Industrial Park. Further that the County pursues all grants available for bringing broadband to residents and businesses with the County and that the County provides the use of municipal-owned towers for wireless Internet Service Provider distribution.
February 2023	County Council declined to enter into a contribution agreement with MCSNet for the provision of fiber internet connection from MCSNet's fiber line into the hamlets of Minburn, Lavoy, and Ranfurly.
March 2024	MCSNet was successful in their UBF application to receive matching funding through the Province's Alberta Broadband Fund. This funding will be used to interconnect MCSNet's fixed wireless towers to a fiberoptic network, improving broadband to approximately 20,000 homes and businesses in Northeastern Alberta. MCSNet GigAir internet is now available within the Village of Innisfree and Hamlet of Lavoy.