Many families in rural New Brunswick are calling on the provincial government to improve access to the internet.
As mandatory at-home learning becomes part of the high school curriculum in the fall, there is concern some students could be left behind due to slower connection speeds.
READ MORE: New Brunswick announces details of day-to-day structure of upcoming school year
Sitting at the kitchen table in her home in Chance Harbour west of Saint John, Leah Belding says she and her three children are often trying to use their electronic devices all at once.
It’s a good “speed” day, according to 14-year-old Owen Belding, who said the download speed was topping out at 6 Mbps. It’s usually just 1 Mbps or less, he said. It’s frustrating when average download speeds are 29-30 Mbps in more urban centres.
Owen said he struggled with online learning that came with school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When you’re sitting in front of a computer screen, you kind of debate it within your head, ‘Is anyone really doing this, too?'” he said.
Owen will start Grade 9 in the fall. Under the province’s Return to School 2020 plan, high school students are expected to be in class every second day, while learning from home on days they are not in school.
With slow internet speeds, he said he’s fearful he will lose marks on some assignments.
“I can finish something, and then try to upload it, like if we had to do a podcast or a video,” he began. “But when it won’t upload or it takes a long time, I may – or will – miss the deadline for it.”
The Beldings are not alone. Numerous families contacted Global News, through email and social media, with subject lines like, “Bad Internet” and “High Speed Internet Never.” Families say they’re concerned their high-school-aged students will be disadvantaged by slow connectivity.
READ MORE: New Brunswick purchases iPads, laptops to assists students learning at home
Lloyd Jardine and his wife are raising their 13-year-old grandson in Warwick Settlement, about 35 kilometres west of Miramichi.
He says he has no choice but to use a rural internet provider. He said larger providers have infrastructure “only three miles away” from his home, but they say they will not expand their networks because it’s not feasible.
Jardine said the provider claims tall trees are getting in the way of its tower in the area, but he’s not sure.
“Surely in today’s technological society, there exists the ability to boost that signal so it will burn right through the trees,” Jardine said. “It’s disgraceful in this day age.”
Jardine said he wants to see the government reach an agreement with telecom companies to fix the problem.
Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Dominic Cardy said meetings to that end are underway.
“We’re going to be working to try and make sure we partner with companies that will actually get that job done,” Cardy said.
“And if some aren’t interested, then that’s fine. They’ll lose out on a good market opportunity and the province will remember who stood up when we needed them and their help.”
Comments