Are You in an Internet "Blackout-Zone?"

Many households in the nation just kilometres away from urban areas are still struggling to acquire a reliable high-speed connection the the internet. These areas have been dubbed 'blackout zones' by those affected by them, showing that there is still a large digital divide in Canada. 

What's going on?

The LeGris family in Ottawa Valley has resorted to using a hockey stick to hike up the altitude of their Yagi antenna on their chimney. While this is already a DIY solution, if the weather calls for higher velocities of rain, the hockey stick needs to be readjusted. 

Living only 14 kilometres away from Renfrew, Ontario, the LeGris family has been fiddling with their internet connection in their 10 years of residency. 

Some service providers do not allow certain addresses to apply for a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), which is one of the most used methods to get internet. 

The LeGris family pays $140 a month for their 100GB of data plan, but with only a download speed of three megabits per second. The price of this service for the speed provided is almost unfounded. The family also invested in a used cell signal booster for another $250 to improve their internet connection to no avail. 

This hugely expensive plan contrasts with the $40 per month 15Mbps download speed that many residents in the city use, for 300 GB of data. Aside from the high prices, the lack of connectivity also affects other aspects of the family's life in such a technologically driven society. For instance, The children of the LeGris family have to complete assignments for school online on Google Docs, but struggle to because they are affected by this digital divide. 

Rural areas in Canada have broadband internet access, but still there is a small percentage of homes who are unable to connect efficiently to the internet. In this day and age, is the internet a utility or a need? 

Read more about this topic and the LeGris family's struggle here.