Broadband Resources for Northern Ontario
Understanding Northern Ontario Broadband Infrastructure In Your Area
The Blue Sky Net /connectednorth.ca team is committed to providing tools and resources for private and community stakeholders.
Use this website to learn about broadband services in Northern Ontario and feel free to make it a part of your plan for better
broadband advocacy in Northern Ontario.
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Understanding Broadband in Ontario
Ontario Broadband Resource Hub
Blue Sky Net has recently completed building the Ontario Broadband Resource Hub. This resource hub helps bring together information about Ontario broadband in one space. Here you will find access to open data related to broadband such as census data, shapefiles, GIS maps, broadband availability information sets, and more.
Northern Ontario Broadband Report 2024
Blue Sky Net has combined data from ISED’s National Broadband data portal, Census Canada community data, and broadband project data from Ontario Connects to perform an analysis of broadband availability in Northern Ontario. This report was released in April 2024.
Broadband Terminology
Broadband technology has a lot of terms which may at first seem daunting and confusing. We want to de-mystify this by
providing a thorough glossary of terms and their definitions that will help you to better understand broadband terminology.
Understanding Northern Ontario Broadband Infrastructure in your area using BAIMAP
The project known as Broadband and Associated Infrastructure Analysis Project (BAIMAP) was developed by Blue Sky Net and has identified gaps in existing service areas and led to the creation of OIAM. BAIMAP can provide the bandwidths available in serviced areas and clusters of demand for the service in these under and un-served areas. This has been done by mapping and analyzing the existing bandwidth capacity or gaps in all areas, and by mapping demand based on population data and ‘self-identified’ customers on a Geographic Information System (GIS)
We can provide more detailed community broadband maps. The maps combine population and dwelling statistics with known broadband coverage.
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission (CRTC) – Communications Market Reports
The CRTC regularly issues the Communications Market Reports that provide updates on the radio-television and
telecommunications industries in Canada. These reports provide insights into updates in access, affordability and usage trends.
ISED Broadband Data
The Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) provides publicly available broadband data for all of Canada. The National Broadband Data represents coverage information across Canada for existing broadband service providers with their associated technology types.
Ontario Connects Data
The Ontario Connects map shows where high-speed internet access is currently available in communities across Ontario (defined as 50Mbps download and 10Mbps upload speeds, or 50/10) and where the provincial government is funding new high-speed internet projects.
What Actions are Governments Taking in Broadband?
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada understands all Canadians need high-speed internet to connect with their families, places of work, education and access to essential medical services. Canada has
multiple programs that will help more Canadians connect and have access to high-speed internet.
Government of Ontario
The Government of Ontario is committed to assisting Ontarians with access to reliable internet and cellular access to help us stay in
touch with family and friends, have access to public services like health care and education, and to run our businesses and work from anywhere.
Universal Broadband Fund (UBF)
The $3.225 billion Universal Broadband Fund supports high-speed Internet projects across the country. These projects will bring Internet at speeds of 50/10 Megabits per second (Mbps) to
rural and remote communities.
Accelerated High-Speed Internet Program (AHSIP)
The Government of Ontario has committed nearly $4 billion to connect every region in Ontario to reliable, high-speed internet by the end of 2025. This is the largest single investment in high-speed
internet, in any province, by any government in Canadian history.
CENGN Residential Broadband Program
CENGN enabled innovative projects across Northern and Rural Ontario to provide solutions that improve connectivity and close the digital divide between remote communities and urban centres in Canada. The CENGN Residential Broadband Program resulted in flexible, lower-cost, higher-performance broadband access to residences within Rural Ontario communities.
CRTC Broadband FUND
The CRTC’s Broadband Fund will provide up to $750 million over its first 5 years. These funds will support projects to build or upgrade access and transport infrastructure to provide fixed and mobile wireless broadband Internet access services in eligible underserved areas across Canada.
What Actions Can You Take?
Rural Ontario Municipal Association – Resources for Municipalities
ROMA is the rural municipal voice of the Province of Ontario. It promotes, supports, and enhances strong and effective rural governments. ROMA members work closely with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). AMO is a non-partisan, non-profit association that advocates for Ontario’s 444 municipal governments. Together, these associations work together to achieve shared goals and meet common challenges, one of which is connectivity.
Broadband Connectivity – A municipal Primer
This Primer provides a foundational briefing for municipal elected officials and their staff on the regulatory and funding regimes for telecommunications in Canada. It describes how these regimes have resulted in a digital divide between communities that are connected and those that struggle to get online. Given this context, it outlines actions that local governments can take to bring connectivity to their communities.
Broadband Connectivity – A municipal Roadmap
The Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) has developed a Municipal Connectivity Roadmap for municipal elected officials and staff. It includes tangible steps and initiatives for councils to consider and implement to improve connectivity if they so choose.
Supporting Broadband Advocacy and Data Collection
If you are a Northern Ontario community stakeholder, economic developer, researcher or involved with an educational institution seeking to advocate for better broadband and require assistance in the form of informational resources or assistance in forming a data collection campaign, connectednorth.ca can help.
Testing Northern Ontario Internet
We use the information about speeds at your property to show not only the need and the impact improved Broadband Infrastructure
will have, but also track improvements. This helps in supporting applications to funding agencies, show potential business cases
for internet service providers to develop their networks and sometimes it can point out that there are networks issues that can be
repaired.