Press Release: Internet Speeds Study

 

Opportunity for TNRD Residents to Participate in Internet Speeds Study

Press Release / June 16, 2021

Kamloops, BC—June 16, 2021— to help understand broadband needs throughout the region, particularly those in rural areas, TNRD residents, businesses and community stakeholders are encouraged to take part in an online internet speed test.

All TNRD residents can go to https://performance.cira.ca/bc to perform a quick and easy Canadian speed test. Community data collected will be used to analyze the speeds that residents in the region are actually experiencing, compared to the internet speed data published on the federal government’s National Broadband Internet Service Availability Map.

The speed test data will be collected and analyzed by TANEx Engineering, who has been engaged by the provincial Ministry of Citizens’ Services, Northern Development Initiative Trust, and the Union of BC Municipalities to collect the speed test data from all around BC.

Residents are urged to participate as soon as possible to ensure the Thompson-Nicola Regional District is adequately represented. The more tests that are completed, the more robust the data about internet speeds experienced throughout the region.

For more information, go to www.tnrd.ca/rural-broadband.

Media contact:
Ron Storie, Director of Community Services
Thompson-Nicola Regional District
Tel.: 250-377-7078
Email: rstorie@tnrd.ca

Improving Rural Internet Connectivity

Wilgengebroed on Flickr / CC BY

Residents will have received a letter in the mail from TNRD with a link to a survey regarding experiences with internet for personal or business use. Many of us work and study from home and are struggling to get the connectivity we need. Meanwhile, we continue to pay for services we're not receiving. 

Please complete the survey before October 5, 2020.

https://www.tnrd.ca/stay-connected/surveys/

Petition for High Speed Fibre Optic Network at Lac Le Jeune

Please sign this petition if you would like to have better home Internet services at Lac Le Jeune.

Mobile Library schedule

The 2019 schedule for the Mobile Library is available on the Thompson Regional Library website. You can download the full brochure (PDF) or pick it up next time you visit the bus. We're BLUE Fridays on the calendar.

I want pure fibre internet!

TELUS PureFibre™ network isn't available in the Lac Le Jeune area (obviously) but they are collecting data to see which communities are hoping for this service in the future.

Please complete the Telus I WANT PURE FIBRE INTERNET form!

Want better internet service?

UPDATE

Jackie Tegart initiated a conference call with Perry Wingenbach in response to a letter sent regarding our poor internet service. The next steps are Jackie Tegart's office will meet with Telus Wednesday, May 10th, and follow up with Perry. Stay tuned!

If we all continue to write letters and make phone calls to express our dissatisfaction with Lac Le Jeune internet service, we'll make some progress. 

Please contact MLA Jackie Tegart

(Jackie.Tegart.MLA@leg.bc.ca)

Photo by Marcelo Graciolli https://flic.kr/p/5h48hK

Members of our community have been inquiring about better internet service for some time now. However, service seems to continue to get worse. Many residents are frustrated with paying for high speed internet yet experiencing dial-up speeds.

Telus has stated:

There is no plan to make any upgrades at Lac Le Jeune area as there is no concentration of population.

Currently there are NO PORTS available for anyone wanting new internet service at Lac Le Jeune.

Steve Roy reported that he promptly heard back from the MLA's office and they are willing to bring up the fact that Telus isn't prepared to do anything for the residents of LLJ with the Ministry of Technology, Innovation and Citizens Services. Steve was also advised that the more people emailing their concerns to our MLA the better.

Internet Service in Lac Le Jeune

Dear Neighbours:

Recently I have lost my internet service with Telus due to a third party mix-up. I thought it would be a simple matter of just reconnecting through Telus but I was shocked at the answer to my request. They could only offer me a 1 Mps service, which for anyone not familiar that means twice as fast as a dialup connection and 1/5th the speed of most people in the neighbourhood now.

I cannot run my business with that speed of service. Upon digging a bit further I was told that whatever the level of service our sub-station can do it is basically maxed out and there is no plans to increase its capability using the old technology that is in the station now.

So what options do we have? As you probably have seen the ads and billboards in Kamloops, Telus is advertising 150 Mps service in Kamloops using their new technology Fibre Optic Lines. I have not been able to contact anyone in person to find out when and if they plan on servicing our community with this type of service other than talking to customer service reps that have told me to fill in the “I Want Fibre” form on the Telus Website.

I cannot promise that this will happen in the next 2-5 years although I still plan on speaking to someone at Telus that could answer that question. Until then, all that we can do as a community is to let Telus know that we want better service in our community.

Fibre has a maximum speed of 150 Mps and the cost of that speed is probably more than what you are paying now, but for what we might be paying for 3-5 Mps the comparable speed would be 15 Mps at about the same cost. There are other speeds available and the prices keep changing.

 What I am asking is that you go onto the Telus Website and fill in their form so this process will get started. I don’t know if they need a minimum number to plan to install the service or what. I just know this is what the people at Telus I have spoken to have told me to do.

Instructions 

1. Go to the Telus Bring the TELUS PureFibre network to my neighbourhood form
2. Fill out the form and submit it

You should receive a call from Telus about your request within a couple of weeks. Please ask your neighbours if they have made the request so that we get the maximum numbers for our community.

Let’s hope that with all the requests that we will get this service in our community.

Thanks,
Larry Bednarz