In an effort to bridge the ‘digital divide’ occurring in Saskatchewan, a local committee is hosting the Canadian Rural and Remote Broadband Community Conference.

CEO of the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association Jean-Marc Nadeau says the ‘divide’ exists because some areas of the province still haven’t reached target internet speeds of 50 Mbps (megabits per second) for downloads and 10 Mbps for uploads, or ‘50-10’. This standard was set by the CRTC with hope of achieving it by 2030.

With an aim of reaching that goal sooner, the Saskatchewan Broadband Action Committee is inviting municipal and provincial government officials to join the conversation at the CRRBC Conference on November 2 and 3.

He says there will be presentations, panels, and good conversation at the event, as both members of government and the CRTC will be present.

“Certain elected officials will be participating…especially our municipal leaders. We want them to come and listen to what the industry has to offer and some of the solutions they may be interested in considering.”

He says those opportunities could look like filling the void with fibre optics, satellites, or towers.

Nadeau says as of 2022, about 15 per cent of residents were without 50-10.

“If you drive to Creighton, so you drive north of Waskesui, at some point not far outside of Waskesiu you lose coverage, and you won’t regain it till very close to Creighton, and so you lose about three hours’ worth of coverage.”

However, he acknowledges that the province has been making significant investments since then.

“We still think there’s more work to be done, and the intent is to bring this conference together…to promote the opportunities that exist here in Saskatchewan.”

The Canadian Rural and Remote Broadband Community Conference is usually hosted in British Colombia, but SUMA worked with organizers to bring it here this year given the current shortcoming.