Tag Archives: internet

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As it was discussed earlier, limited access to high-speed internet and its proper infrastructure is one of the elements in the digital divide. Overcoming Digital Divides workshop series is looking at this issue to invite policymakers from the education and industry sectors to look more closely at these issues and how they would lead to digital inequities in Canada. According to their report, “the groups impacted and disadvantaged most by Canada’s digital divides include Indigenous peoples, people with lower incomes, older adults, people with disabilities, and rural and remote Canadians.”

 

Source: Overcoming Digital Divides Workshop Series

That impact was more obvious during the COVID-19 pandemic as many people (according to Statistics Canada, approximately 5.4 million Canadians) were working remotely, and those who did not have a reliable internet connection at home had lower chances of working from their homes safely. In addition, almost all k-12 and post-secondary classes were switched to an online or hybrid mode which again caused problems for students without or with limited interact connectivity.

“With the possibility that remote work and learning may play a larger role going forward and even past the pandemic, digital inclusion has become increasingly imperative — a necessity that a large number of working families cannot afford to forgo.”

Based on this report, many Indigenous communities feel digitally isolated and excluded. The report asks two important guiding questions:

  1. Are recent public investments and policies sufficient to achieve digital inclusion of Indigenous, rural and remote communities?
  2. What Indigenous-specific needs must be addressed to secure digital inclusion?

Federal and provincial governments must get in touch with Indigenous people to properly answer these questions. “Moreover, First Nations communities have cited barriers to building and independently owning their own digital infrastructure, including the federal government’s tendency to overlook Indigenous-specific concerns and self-determination during infrastructure development negotiations.Indigenous communities have also called for greater data sovereignty over information collected from internet infrastructure networks.”

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MediaSmarts, a Canadian non-profit organization focusing on digital and media literacy, named October 26 as the first-ever national Digital Citizen Day.

“Whether it’s checking the information we see online, thinking critically about the media we’re consuming or being aware on how we interact with others online, digital media literacy touches every aspect of our digital lives. Media Literacy Week and Digital Citizen Day are a chance for us to think about the role we each play in our online spaces and to focus on how we can all make those environments more positive for everyone.” – Kathryn Ann Hill, Executive Director at MediaSmarts

But, What is Digital Citizenship?

According to MediaSamrts, being a digital citizen refers to the safe and responsible use of digital tools and media. For me, that mostly means being respectful, following ethical rules, and being sensitive to others’ privacy and security.

Being a digital citizen, on the other hand, is meaningless if we don’t have the infrastructure for accessing the digital world. According to this report, in 2017, “only 24 percent of households in Indigenous communities have access to quality, high-speed internet.” And that’s the case when the UN has declared access to the internet as a human right.

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I found this website about an ongoing project for delivering high-speed internet to all 203 First Nations communities in BC.

What I really liked about this project was its domain and what they called the project lifecycle, which included:

  1. Identify Communities in Need
  2. Community Engagement
  3. Construct the Broadband Network
  4. Activation
  5. Capacity Building -> training services

The following infographic provides more information about the project’s scope:

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According to Wikipedia:

In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. The medium can be coaxial cable, optical fiber, wireless Internet (radio), twisted pair or satellite.

In the context of Internet access, broadband is used to mean any high-speed Internet access that is always on and faster than dial-up access over traditional analog or ISDN PSTN services

The following link has an interactive map in which you can check the broadband Internet coverage and its type. I suggest you would check it out since it easily allows you to check the Internet coverage in your region and compare it to other areas.

Here is another website which you can use to gain more information about your Internet speed.

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One of the fundamental requirements to achive digital equity is the access to reliable internet connection. According to this article, many Indigenous communities in remote areas do not have that connection and therefore their access to online services and resources is limited.

“Recent events, including the pandemic, fires and severe flooding in B.C., have highlighted the inequalities for Indigenous communities that don’t have access to these online services. Without connectivity and the ability to travel, relationships were challenged. Youth were unable to attend online academic and cultural teachings. Communities lost the ability to maintain their social and mental wellness and safety.”

“This lack of connectivity exacerbates socio-economic inequities, including business opportunities, employment, education, and physical and mental health.”

The current policy is for major telecommunications companies to participate in an auction and the job of providing internet with the proper licensing would go to the highest bidder. These companies are mostly focused on improving the internet services in urban areas rather than rural or remote areas. That results in disadvantaging Indigenous communities by leaving them digitally disconnected.

Indigenous leaders in Canada requested a change in the policy for providing internet to remote communities and demanding a seat at a table where decisions are made by sending a letter to François-Philippe Champagnein,  theMinister of Innovation, Science and Industry in December 2021.

“At an Assembly of First Nations meeting in December 2020, 98.5 per cent of First Nations Chiefs in attendance from across Canada passed a resolution requesting access to high-speed internet for remote Indigenous communities. The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs also passed a resolution in February 2022 in support of a spectrum policy change to urge Indigenous digital equity. The federal government has an opportunity to not only close the digital divide, but to take another meaningful step towards truth and reconciliation by updating its spectrum policy.”