‘Shameful and unacceptable’
Time to address ‘sorry state’ of telecommunications infrastructure in rural Cape Breton
Alison Steele’s recent opinion piece (‘Cape Breton’s cellular deficiencies deter development,’ Cape Breton Post, Sept. 23) presents a cogent argument regarding the sorry state of telecommunications infrastructure in Cape Breton.
If the suggestions she proposes were to become part of a broader public conversation, it would make the work of generating appropriate public policies that much easier for elected and appointed officials as they grapple with the many difficulties and challenges that confront Cape Breton and pose potential long-term existential threats to the residents of this beautiful island.
While attending to bringing Cape Breton’s telecommunications into the 21st century, we should not neglect the fact that some people in our neighbouring communities such as Framboise and Forchu do not have dependable landline service. This is shameful and unacceptable. The telephone is, after all, a 19th century invention.
The fact that anyone in the modern era should be without reliable landline access needs to be rectified as soon as possible. This is especially true since some of those lacking dependable phone service are likely to be elderly and may need to use the telephone to call on emergency services in the event of an accident, illness or a fire.
Ironically, as I understand it, Aliant has fibre optic lines running past Gabarus at the so-called ‘crossroads’ as it heads south to St. Peters and the Causeway. It’s further my understanding that this line runs in a circumferential manner around much of Cape Breton.
Several years ago, a workman was seen walking along Gabarus Highway measuring distances from utility poles to each of the homes in Gabarus village. I engaged the gentleman who told me that it was being done so that Aliant could estimate the cost of bringing a fibre-optic line into the village.
If his depiction of the situation was correct, it would indicate to me that such a survey has likely been performed in other areas where a ‘tap’ of the trunk line could provide the best broadband service available even to small communities like Gabarus and Gabarus Lake.
It seems like a common sense proposition that there would be significant benefits that would accrue to Cape Breton and the Province of Nova Scotia if such broadband access enabled people like Ms. Steele to relocate here, or to seasonally telecommute from here using the network to connect with clients anywhere in the world.
The immense financial boon connected with making such infrastructure more widely available could, in fact, make Cape Breton a hub for entrepreneurs of all sorts who rely on optimal connectivity in order to conduct business.
In that regard, the documentary filmmaker from Toronto who has spent four years of commuting between his Ontario home and Gabarus recording the recent history of accomplishments in our tiny village has said that if Gabarus had sufficient capacity for both High Speed Internet and 4G LTE Cell Phone connectivity, he would seriously consider buying property here and becoming a seasonal resident with his family as he continued with his work, much of which can be done remotely.
With what is at stake, (like the entire future of Cape Breton as a viable political and social entity), it would seem past time to engage in the policy discussions necessary to address the concerns raised by Ms. Steele and others.
Deliberations rooted in and reflecting real-life, common sense concerns would go a long way toward influencing decision makers. It would encourage them in realizing that the returns on such investments of public funds and government resources coupled with those of private industry will almost certainly prove to be economically and socially beneficial.
Imagine for a moment Aliant and other providers planning for a growing, rather than a shrinking customer base. While success in implementing the variety of steps necessary to make this a reality could take considerable time and complex negotiations to achieve, collective efforts could result in public-private investments and joint commitments so significant that their acceptance would be seen as not just palatable, but worthwhile and lucrative.
Just consider what a different place Cape Breton would be in coming years if enlightened policies like these took root and were put into practice. I think it is safe to say that making the right choices in these regards right now will make the difference between two possible alternative futures: community viability and sustainability or inexorable decline.
It is my opinion that the outcomes, positive and negative, associated with these alternative futures apply almost equally to both our rural residents and those who live in our urban centres as well.
“Just consider what a different place Cape Breton would be in coming years if enlightened policies like these took root and were put into practice.”