CONNECTING
DOTS
the
ALBERTA RURAL BROADBAND COVERAGE STUDY
FINAL PUBLIC REPORT (November 2011)
Connecting the Dots: Public Version
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study (2011)
Written by Allan Bly, ViTel Consulting Inc.
In partnership with the Alberta Association
of Municipal Districts & Counties
and the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association
Funding support provided by the Government of Alberta
Published by the Alberta Association
of Municipal Districts & Counties
2/ INTRODUCTION ... 5
3/ DEFINITIONS ... 6
4/ WIRELESS SERVICES ... 8
5/ OUT-OF-SCOPE ... 11
6/ PROJECT PHASES ... 13
7/ METHODOLOGY ... 15
8/ RESULTS ... 22
9/ DISCUSSION ... 29
10/ LESSONS LEARNED ... 33
11/ SUMMARY ... 35
APPENDIX ... 36
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
1/ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ... 4
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 3
1/
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
This broadband
coverage study is
the first step in
solving a
complex problem.
4 | Connecting the Dots
Enabling broadband access is a long-term investment in rural
Alberta’s and its ability to build community capacity and initiate economic
development.
Communications and business applications are merging. Vendors such as IBM and
Microsoft are now developing software that integrates communications with
business applications, with the expectation that the end user has access to
reliable broadband coverage.
All levels of the Government of Alberta are beginning to implement these
communication integrated applications to support education, health and
community-based programs. Delivering these programs to rural communities
implies that the community has access to broadband services. Reliable broadband
is no longer a nice to have, but a must have for all rural communities.
This broadband coverage study is the first step in solving a complex problem. When
there is already a well-established community of Wireless Internet Service
Providers (WISPs) that provide broadband services to rural residents and
businesses, how can broadband access be built that will be able to support a rural
community’s coverage and capacity requirements today and in the future?
The objective of this study was to estimate the remaining unserved areas in
Alberta. The areas studied included:
ƒƒ Towns
ƒƒ Townships
ƒƒ Villages
ƒƒ Municipal Districts
ƒƒ Summer Villages
ƒƒ Specialized Municipalities
ƒƒ Hamlets
ƒƒ Special Areas
ƒƒ First Nations
ƒƒ Improvement Districts
ƒƒ Métis Settlements
ƒƒ Cities
The study excluded the seven large municipalities of Calgary, Edmonton, Fort
McMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Red Deer as they were
deemed to be served by one or more Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
During the study, a broadband coverage analysis was completed for each
township, town, village, summer village, hamlet, First Nations and Métis
settlements in the province. The primary objective of the analysis was to estimate
if an area is either “Served” or “Unserved”. Fixed wireless broadband services are
available in served areas and not available in unserved areas. In order to reduce
the complexity of the study the province was divided into five project districts. The
study was completed in four phases for each project district. The phases included:
1. Data Collection
2. Site Verification and Discovery
3. Coverage Maps
4. Coverage Analysis
The outcome of the study was a comprehensive coverage map for each project
district. The project district coverage maps may be used as a reference for any
future broadband initiatives. The uniqueness of each project district must be
considered prior to creating and implementing a solution to provide broadband
coverage in the unserved areas. (Appendix A: District 1 Project District
Coverage)
In the data collection phase, the WISPs were asked to provide detailed technical
data and the GPS coordinates for each of their sites. A site can be a tower,
building, or pole and used to connect the residents and businesses in the area to
the Internet. A total of 1,848 sites were identified during the study.
The majority of the WISPs consider this technical data confidential and as a result
did not provide the data required. To compensate for the lack of technical data,
a 2.4 GHz template was created and used to estimate the broadband coverage
for each site. This template introduced an estimated 15% error rate in the coverage estimate which will result in areas that are currently served to be classified as
unserved.
This study is only the first step to ensuring that all rural residents and businesses
have access to reliable broadband services today and in the future. Moving
forward, it is important to engage the Municipal Districts, Towns, Villages, Summer
Villages, Hamlets, First Nations, Métis Settlements, Wireless Internet Service
Providers and rural residents and businesses in any future broadband initiatives. The
results of this study are a snap shot of the broadband coverage in Alberta. As time
goes by, new initiatives, technologies and towers will make these maps become
less accurate with age.
The AAMDC conducted a Rural Broadband Gap Analysis survey in
2009. The results of this survey were used to create rural broadband maps
indicating the areas where broadband services are available (served) and
where broadband services are not available (unserved). (Appendix B: AAMDC
Sample Coverage Map (2009))
Recent federal, provincial, municipal and private sector projects have and will
continue to result in, improved broadband access in a number of unserved areas.
These programs include:
The Rural Connections: Community Broadband Infrastructure Pilot
Program has funded broadband infrastructure, testing, feasibility and
outreach and extension programs. The program allocated $10.4 million for 34
projects. A complete list of projects approved for funding is available at:
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/csi12826
The Broadband Canada-Connecting Rural Canadians Program approved
funding for projects in Alberta and elsewhere in Canada. Canada’s Economic
Action Plan provided $225 million for the development and implementation
of a strategy to extend broadband coverage. By far the biggest component
of this strategy is Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians, an
initiative that targets Canadians living in unserved and underserved areas.
Additional information is available at: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/719.nsf/
eng/00050.html (Appendix C: Broadband Canada Fund Projects –
Proposed Coverage Footprint)
In August 2010 the Canadian Radio-Television Commission (CRTC) directed telecom
firms to use a portion of deferral account funds to improve broadband infrastructure
in rural communities in Alberta and elsewhere. TELUS had $163 million in its
deferral account. TELUS initially proposed spending the fund on the delivery of
broadband to 334 rural communities in BC, Alberta and Quebec. Additional
information is available at http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2008/dt2008-1.htm
(Appendix D: Alberta Deferral Communities)
While these and other funding initiatives will help to close the rural broadband gap,
areas remain in Alberta where broadband services continue to be unavailable.
2/INTRODUCTION
The results show that coverage in the municipal districts, improvement districts
and special areas range from 0% coverage in the Municipal District of Ranchland to
greater than 90% coverage in municipal districts such as Grande Prairie and
Parkland County. All of 108 towns and 95 villages were classified as served, 7 out
of 44 summer villages and 55 hamlets were classified as unserved. Metis and First
Nations communicates were also studied during this analysis to determine their
level of service.
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 5
1/ ACCESS POINT (AP)
Access Points are installed on towers, buildings and poles. An AP is used to
establish a fixed wireless network to a rural subscriber’s residence or business. An
access point connects wirelessly with a subscriber module to provide a broadband
service.
3/DEFINITIONS
2/ AGGREGATION RATIO
6 | Connecting the Dots
Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) purchase backhaul bandwidth to the
Public Internet from wholesale providers such as TELUS, Bell, Shaw and Axia.
The purchased bandwidth is backhauled to the geographical area where the WISP
wishes to provide broadband services. The subscribers that connect to the WISP’s
network share the backhaul bandwidth. Prior to providing any broadband services
the WISP will decide how many subscribers will share the bandwidth. This is called
the aggregation ratio. The ratio is dependent upon the WISP’s management
practices and can vary from 5 to 1 (five subscribers share the bandwidth) to as high
as 100 to 1. Generally, as the aggregation ratio increases, subscriber bandwidth
decreases and connection speeds are slower.
3/ BACKHAUL NETWORK
A broadband network is comprised of three components: (1) Access network to
the rural subscriber’s residence or business, (2) Backhaul network from the access
network to the closest SuperNet Point-of-Presence (PoP), (3) Backbone network
from the Point-of-Presence (PoP) to the Public Internet.
4/ BROADBAND
Today the term broadband refers to the amount of bandwidth available to a
subscriber. At one time broadband referred to bandwidth speeds of greater than
1.5 Mbps and narrowband referred to speeds of less than 1.5 Mbps.
Example: A subscriber has broadband speeds of 5 Mbps download and 1 Mbps
upload. Broadband speeds are measured by the number of bits of data that are
transferred over a network over a period of time (for example, one second). A bit is
a “binary digit” and is basic unit of information in a computer or
telecommunications system. Bits per second (bps) is normally measured in
multiples of a thousand bits per second (kbps), million bits per second (Mbps), or
billion (Gbps).
5/ dBm
dBm is an abbreviation for the power ratio in decibels (dB) of the measured power
between an access point and a subscriber module. The lower the value, the lower
the power between the access point and subscriber module. The typical maximum
received signal power of a fixed wireless network is between -60 dBm and
-90 dBm.
6/ DIGITAL SUBSCRIBERS LINE (DSL)
DSL refers to a family of technologies that is used to provide broadband services
over the twisted copper wire that connects a residence or business to the
service provider’s network. TELUS owns and operates the copper access network
in Alberta. Third-Party Internet Service Providers are allowed to lease the copper
wire from TELUS to provide broadband services to subscribers. This is called Dry
DSL or Unbundled DSL.
7/ FIXED WIRELESS ACCESS (FWA)
There are three types of wireless technologies that can be used to provide
broadband services to a rural area: (1) Fixed Wireless Access, (2) Satellite Access,
(3) Mobility Access. Fixed Wireless Access networks are comprised of fixed access
points and subscriber modules.
8/ SERVED AREA
Broadband services are available in a served area. A resident or business in a
served area is able to purchase broadband services from an Internet Service
Provider.
9/ SUBSCRIBER MODULE (SM)
A subscriber module is installed on a subscriber’s residence or business and used
to establish a wireless connection to an access point. A subscriber module
connects wirelessly with an access point to provide a broadband service.
10/ UNDERSERVED AREA
Broadband services are available in an underserved area. A resident or business in
an underserved area is able to purchase broadband services from an Internet
Service Provider, but the area is deemed to be underserved because the
download and upload speeds do not meet Industry Canada’s minimum
requirements of 1.5 Mbps (download) and 384 kbps (upload).
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC),
Canada’s telecommunications regulator, has set targets for all Canadians to have
access to broadband speeds of at least 5 Mbps for download and 1 Mbps for
upload by 2015. (http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/com100/2011/r110503.htm)
11/ UNSERVED AREA
Broadband services are not available in an unserved area. A resident or business in
an unserved area is not able to purchase broadband services from a Wireless
Internet Service Provider using Fixed Wireless Access (FWA). Residents or
businesses in an unserved area may still be able to purchase broadband services
from a satellite provider.
12/ WIRELESS INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER
A Wireless Internet Service Provider provides broadband services to rural
subscribers using wireless technologies such as Fixed Wireless Access, Satellite
and Mobility.
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 7
There are three types of wireless services that can be used to provide
broadband coverage to rural areas:
1. Fixed Wireless
2. Mobility
3. Satellite
Fixed wireless services are provided by Wireless Internet Service Providers
(WISPs). The WISPs deploy different fixed wireless technologies such as Wi-FI and
WI-Max to provide broadband services to rural areas. The WISPs install access
points on sites that are typically placed on a high point of ground near the
geographical area they wish to serve. Sites can be built on towers, buildings, or
poles. There can be one or more access points installed at each site. There were a
total of 1848 sites identified in the study.
Subscriber Modules are installed at the subscriber’s premises. The WISP then
implements a radio frequency between access point and the subscriber module
creating a wireless connection.
Figure 1: Fixed Wireless Services
4/
WIRELESS
SERVICES
4.1/ FIXED WIRELESS
Access Point
Cluster
Subscriber Module
Household Dwelling
Business Dwelling
Household Dwelling
Household Dwelling
INTERNET
Backbone
Network
Common
Equipment
Industry Canada governs the use of radio frequencies and carves frequencies into
bands and specifies how the bands can be used. These bands can be ‘Licensed’,
‘Unlicensed’, or ‘Lightly Licensed’.
UNLICENSED\ Anyone is allowed to operate equipment in the unlicensed
frequency bands as long as that equipment meets Industry Canada’s power
and antenna specifications for the band. Systems in the unlicensed bands
are quick to deploy and generally cost less. The primary disadvantage to using
unlicensed frequencies is interference between the WISPs. The following is a
list of the unlicensed frequencies deployed by WISPs in Alberta:
902 – 928 MHz, 2.4 – 2.483.5 GHz and 5.15 – 5.825 GHz.
LICENSED\ With licensed frequency bands, a WISP pays an annual fee to
Industry Canada in exchange for an exclusive right to use a frequency in a
specified area. Licensed radio systems are more expensive, but have higher
throughput rates and are easier to guarantee reliability. The primary benefit to
using licensed frequencies is no interference between service providers.
Licensed frequencies held by WISPs in Alberta are 512 – 698 MHz, 2.3 GHz,
2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz.
8 | Connecting the Dots
LIGHTLY LICENSED\ Lightly licensed frequency bands are a hybrid of the
other two types. A WISP must register with Industry Canada and pay a
nominal fee before using any equipment operating in the band. Although
registration is required, this does not grant an exclusive right to use that
frequency in any particular location. WISPs must still work with each other to
mitigate any potential interference issues. Industry Canada is currently
issuing lightly licensed spectrum in the 3650 — 3700 MHz bands
An Industry Canada search was completed to estimate the WISPs that have
implemented either licensed, unlicensed, or lightly licensed frequencies.
The web site is available at: http://sd.ic.gc.ca/pls/engdoc_anon/web_search.licensee_name_input
Table 1: WISP Frequencies
Licensed
Unlicensed
Lightly Licensed
WISPs
8
43
2
4.2/ MOBILITY
Mobile networks are designed to provide both voice and data services to mobile
subscribers. Examples of mobile providers are Bell, TELUS and Rogers. These
providers are currently upgrading their current networks to Long Term Evolution
(LTE). The LTE standard supports theoretical rates up to 56 Mbps on the downlink
and 22 Mbps on the uplink. The actual bandwidth provided to the mobile subscriber
will depend on the distance from the subscriber to the tower, tower height and
terrain type. All mobile service providers have been actively improving their
coverage in rural areas for the past three years.
All mobile service
providers have
been actively
improving their
coverage in rural
areas for the past
three years.
4.3/ SATELLITE
Satellite services are provided between a geostationary satellite and a subscriber’s
premises. The bandwidth per subscriber is dependent on the total number of
subscribers accessing the network at one time, terrain type and weather
conditions. The primary providers of satellite services in Alberta are XplorNet and
Galaxy Broadband. Figure 2: Satellite Services provides an illustration of a typical
satellite network.
Figure 2: Satellite Services
SATELLITE
DISH
(66 — 72 CM)
VARIOUS
CUSTOMERS WITHIN
DIFFERENT BEAMS
GATEWAY
SM
REMOTE
TERMINAL
(USER)
INTERNET
DISH
(66 — 72 CM)
GATEWAY
ROUTER
SM
REMOTE
TERMINAL
(USER)
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 9
The primary providers of satellite
services in Alberta are XplorNet and
Galaxy Broadband.
Satellite technologies are continually being improved and fourth generation satellite
services promise to deliver bandwidths near or better than fixed wireless services
in the future.
Table 2: Satellite Service Generations
First & Second Generation
Capability
Unidirectional
Third
Generation
Bidirectional (Two Way)
Fourth
Generation
Bidirectional (Two Way)
System Capacity
<1 — 2 Gbps
3 — 10 Gbps 70 — 130 Gbps
Typical Bandwidth/Subscriber
56 — 256 kbps
128 — 500 kbps
5 — 10 Mbps
Third and fourth generation satellite services use regional spot beam
technologies to provide coverage in the province. Satellite coverage is dependent
upon the selected geographic location of the spot beams.
Satellite coverage is dependent upon
the selected geographic location of the
spot beams.
10 | Connecting the Dots
ƒƒ
ƒƒ
ƒƒ
ƒƒ
Mobility Coverage
Satellite Coverage
Underserved Areas
Quality of the User Experience
5.1/ MOBILITY COVERAGE
There are three primary mobility providers in the province including TELUS, Bell and
Rogers. Each of the providers has constructed an unknown number of tower sites
in the province. The following site provides a listing of all the mobility towers in
Canada: http://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/cancellsites.html
In order to complete a mobility coverage analysis the following would have to be
provided by each of the mobility providers:
ƒƒ Tower Coordinates and Height
ƒƒ Radio Equipment Specifications
The above information is considered confidential by the mobility providers and not
available.
5.2/ SATELLITE COVERAGE
Satellite services and coverage in Alberta is provided by XplorNet and Galaxy
Broadband. Both providers currently use a number of satellite companies
including Wildblue, Telesat and Spaceway. In the near future they will be providing
fourth generation services using KA-SAT, ViaSat-1 and Jupiter satellite companies.
The actual coverage footprint that each of these satellite providers has
implemented in Alberta is considered to be confidential and not available.
5.3/ UNDERSERVED AREAS
Identifying underserved areas that have less than minimum bandwidth speeds is
difficult to estimate because many factors can impact the download and upload
speeds. These include:
ƒƒ
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Wireless Technology
Wireless Frequency
Access Point Height
Total Number of Subscribers
Available Backhaul Bandwidth
Aggregation Ratios
Service Packages
Fair Access Policies
Time-of-Day
Underserved areas are typically identified by having the subscribers within an area
conduct a series of broadband speed tests over a predefined period of time. The
average of the speed tests could be used to estimate if the area is underserved.
5/OUT-OF-SCOPE
The study excluded the seven large municipalities of Calgary,
Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and
Red Deer as they were deemed to be served by one or more Internet Service
Providers (ISPs). Due to limited time and available budget the following were
also classified as out-of-scope:
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 11
Download and upload speeds are
typically used to describe service quality.
As an example, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is currently
conducting a national consumer broadband test to estimate the underserved areas
in the United States. The test is available at: http://www.broadband.gov/
5.4/ QUALITY-OF-THE-USER
EXPERIENCE
Download and upload speeds are typically used to describe service quality. Other
aspects of service quality are also important and are unrelated to bandwidth rates.
Examples are: monthly rates, network outages, customer support and
time-to-repair. The ability to measure the Quality-of-the-User Experience will
become important in the near future. The Quality-of-the-User Experience is
impacted by each of the service provider’s internal management practices. The
Quality-of-the-User Experience is measured by conducting an applicable survey of
the subscribers within a specific area.
The Quality-of-the-User Experience is
impacted by each of the service
provider’s internal management practices.
12 | Connecting the Dots
There are four project phases:
1. Data Collection
2. Site Verification and Discovery
3. Coverage Maps
4. Coverage Analysis
The province was divided into five geographical project districts based on the
AAMDC District Map. Each district is comprised of multiple municipal districts and
rural municipalities. (Appendix H: Project Districts)
6.1/ PHASE I: DATA COLLECTION
During this phase both Wireless Internet Service Providers and Wired Service
Providers were contacted and asked to provide current and future network data for
each of the districts.
6.1.1 WIRELESS INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS (WISP)
Fifty-three (53) Wireless Internet Service Providers were contacted and asked
to provide detailed data about their network including site coordinates and access point/subscriber module information. Most WISPs consider this
information to be proprietary, however agreed to provide this information
under a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) between the participating WISP
and the project contractor, ViTel Consulting.
The data collected was separated into four categories:
1. Data – Provided
Data was provided by the WISP.
2.Data – Web Site
Data was not provided by the WISP, but obtained from the WISP’s web site.
3.Data – Industry Canada
Data not provided by the WISP, but obtained from the Industry Canada web site.
4.Data – Not Available
Data not provided by the WISP and not available from either at the WISP’s web site or Industry Canada.
6.1.2 WIRED SERVICE PROVIDERS
Wired Service Providers were contacted and asked to identify the
municipalities where they provide wired broadband coverage. The following
wired providers were contacted:
ƒƒ
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TELUS Communications
Shaw Communications
Unbundled DSL Providers (E.g. Internet Centre)
East Link
Milk River Cable
Rainbow Lake Cable
All of the wired service providers responded to the study except: Milk River
Cable, Rainbow Lake Cable and TELUS Communications.
6/PROJECT PHASES
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 13
6.2/ PHASE II: SITE VERIFICATION &
DISCOVERY
This phase included the verification of the network data obtained in Phase I.
Westcan Wireless was contracted to discover and verify the sites in Districts 1, 2
and 5. ViTel Consulting completed the discovery and verification in Districts 3 and 4.
6.2.1 SITE VERIFICATION
The accuracy of the coverage study is dependent upon the accuracy of the
network data provided by the WISPs. For that reason, it was imperative that
the network data be verified. Using the “Data-Provided” data set, the
following was verified at each site:
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53 WISPs were
contacted and
asked to provide
detailed data
about their
network
Site GPS coordinates
Height
Total Number of Access Points
Access Point Models
6.2.2 SITE DISCOVERY
Using the “Data – Web Site” and the “Data – Not Available” data sets
Westcan Wireless and ViTel Consulting were contracted to discover and verify
the sites. Of the total number of sites categorized as either Data – Web Site
and Data – Not Available, approximately 50% of the sites were discovered.
The remaining sites that were not discovered had little or no impact on the
study as all the areas were already included in the “Data – Provided” data set.
6.3/ PHASE III: COVERAGE MAPS
TaylorWarwick Consulting was contracted to create coverage maps based on the
network data collected. Sophisticated propagation software was used to measure
the maximum signal strength that can be expected at any geographical location.
The propagation software required the manual entry of all sites within and near
each area. The result was a best signal coverage map for each municipal district.
Additional detail of the process and an example of a coverage map is available in
Section 7: Methodology.
6.4/ PHASE IV: COVERAGE ANALYSIS
The best signal coverage maps produced in Phase III were used to estimate if a
township or municipality is either served or unserved. Additional detail and an
example of the coverage analysis is available in Section 8: Methodology.
14 | Connecting the Dots
Table 3: Stages and Phases
StageDescriptionPhases
Stage 1
Data Collection
1&2
Stage 2
Coverage Maps
Stage 3
Coverage Analysis
3
4
7.1/ WORKFLOW DIAGRAM
Figure 3: WorkFlow diagram provides an illustration of the three stages.
First
Nations
Municipal
Affairs
CRTC Deferral
List
Wired Providers
Coverage
WISP Network
Data
WISP Web
Sites
STAGE 1
Municipality
Workbook (.xls)
STAGE 2
Alberta Township
Data (.shp)
WISP
Workbook (.xls)
Vector
Data (.dat)
Project District
Workbook (.xls)
Alberta Clutter
Data
Mentum Planet
V5.3 (.tab)
MapInfo
Professional
V11.0 (.wor)
STAGE 3
7/METHODOLOGY
A three-stage methodology was developed and completed in different
phases of the study. (See Table 3: Stages and Phases)
Industry
Canada
AP/SM
Data
ARCGIS
ASCII
Service
Alberta
Alberta
Agriculture
Municipality
Coverage Analysis
Workbook
District Coverage
Analysis
Workbook
7.2/ STAGE 1: DATA COLLECTION
The study data was collected from multiple sources including: Municipal Affairs,
CRTC Deferral List, Wired Providers Coverage Data, WISP Network Data, WISP
Web Sites and Industry Canada. Details are as follows:
Statistical
Analysis
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 15
7.2.1 DATA SOURCES
1. First Nations
Three web sites were used to collect location and coverage information for
the Alberta First Nations:
http://www.aboriginal.alberta.ca/documents/2011_MetisSettlementProfile.pdf
http://www.aboriginal.alberta.ca/818.cfm
http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ai/scr/ab/index-eng.asp
2. Alberta Municipal Affairs
The Government of Alberta Municipal Affairs web site was used to identify
the location and contact information for all the municipal districts, cities,
towns, villages, summer villages. Hamlet information is not available on the
Municipal Affairs site. Hamlets are included as part of a municipal district.
www.municipalaffairs.gov.ab.ca/mc_municipal_profiles.cfm
3.CRTC Deferral List
List of municipalities that are on the CRTC deferral list.
Appendix D: Alberta Deferral Communities
Industry Canada
provides access
to an on-line
database that
allows users to
search for
broadband sites
that use
licensed
frequencies.
4.WIRED Providers
Shaw Communications Inc. and TELUS Communications Inc. were contacted
and asked to provide a list of the areas they serve.
Shaw responded and provided a list of their service areas.
TELUS Communications Inc. did not respond to the study. In order to
determine which municipalities had DSL services, a Loop Quality Test was
conducted for one or more addresses in each city and town. A Loop
Quality Test is used to determine if the local loop to a subscriber’s premises
can support DSL services. The Loop Quality Test is available at: https://www.
telus.com/order/loopqual/
5.Wireless Internet Service Providers
Network data provided by WISPs included GPS coordinates, access points
and subscriber module information. The WISP network data is used to create
the best signal maps in Stage 2.
6. WISP Web Sites
WISPs provide network coverage information on their web sites. This
coverage information was used in the verification and discovery phase of the
study.
7. Industry Canada
Industry Canada provides access to an on-line database that allows users to
search for broadband sites that use licensed frequencies. This information was
used in the verification and discovery phase of the study. This data is available
at: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/sd-sd.nsf/eng/Home
7.2.2 MUNICIPALITY WORKBOOK
An Excel workbook was used as a data container for the following data
sources:
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16 | Connecting the Dots
Municipal Districts (Including Hamlets)
Cities, Towns, Villages, Summer Villages
CRTC Deferral List
First Nations
Métis Settlements
7.2.3 WISP WORKBOOK
An Excel workbook was used as a data container for the following data
sources:
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WISP Contacts
WISP Network Data
WISP Service Packages
7.3/ STAGE 2: BEST SIGNAL STRENGTH
MAPS
The data collected in Stage 1 and additional datasets were inputted into a software
program, Mentum Planet v5.3. Mentum Planet was used to create the best signal
coverage maps for the project districts, municipal districts, municipalities, First
Nations and Métis settlements.
7.3.1 PROJECT DISTRICT WORKBOOK
The WISP network data collected in Stage 1 was for the entire province. This
data was recompiled into a project district workbook. The WISP network sites
were sorted first by project district and then municipal district. The WISP sites
for each municipal district were inputted into the Mentum Planet software
program.
7.3.2 ALBERTA TOWNSHIP DATA
Dataset (Shapefile) provided by Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.
There are a total of 7165 townships in the province. Appendix J: Alberta
Township System (ATS)
7.3.3 VECTOR DATA
Vector data for cities, towns, villages, summer villages, hamlets, highways
and water purchased from DMTI Spatial Inc. Vector data is used create a map
of a geographical area such as a municipal district.
7.3.4 CLUTTER DATA
Clutter Data provides a digital representation of the land cover. The type of
land cover within an area will impact the overall broadband coverage for that
area. Clutter data would include: water, rural/open land, forest, residential,
urban and open urban. Clutter data at a 90 meter resolution was purchased
from DMTI Spatial Inc.
A 2.4 GHz
template was
used as a
common basis for
estimating
coverage
throughout
the province.
The clutter data was not available for the whole of District 4, as it was for the
other districts. Only three towers were situated within the areas where clutter
data was unavailable – and of them, two were just off the boundary. This did
not impact the estimated broadband coverage of the three towers. (Appendix
K : Alberta Clutter Data)
7.3.5 ACCESS POINT/SUBSCRIBER MODULE DATA
WISPs were asked to provide the technical specifications for their access
points and subscriber modules installed on their networks. The Mentum
Planet v5.3 software uses this information to estimate the broadband
coverage provided by a site. As an example, a 900 MHz access point will
provide more broadband coverage than a 5.5 GHz access point.
The majority of the WISPs consider this information to be confidential and
refused to provide this data, as a result a 2.4 GHz template was selected and
used as a common basis for estimating coverage throughout the province.
The 2.4 GHz template was based on Motorola Canopy equipment transmitting
in the 2.4 GHz band from a six-sector 8 dBi access point mounted 30 m up
the tower. Rx sensitivity was assumed to be -87 dBm.
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 17
In as much as a 2.4 GHz plot understates coverage relative to equipment
operating in the UHF and 900 MHz bands and overstates coverage relative to
the 3.5 GHz and 5.5 GHz bands, it was thought to provide a consistent and
representative view on which provincial coverage could be estimated.
Mentum Planet
is a wireless
network
planning and
optimization
software that
offers the
ability to design
better networks
through quality
engineering
solutions.
Due to the requirement of the 2.4 GHz template there will be an error rate of
approximately 15% in the coverage analysis. Most of the WISPs use 900 MHz
to broadband services to rural areas. A 900 MHz access point will provide
approximately 15% more coverage than a 2.4 GHz access point. As a result
15% of the townships that are categorized as unserved may be served.
7.3.6 MENTUM PLANET V5.3
Mentum Planet is a wireless network planning and optimization software that
offers the ability to design better networks through quality engineering
solutions. Mentum Planet is a simulation-based planning tool with the ability
to emulate real-world conditions. The default output for best signal strength
maps is a .tab Mapinfo file format. It also supports an ASCII Grid format which
can be exported into the ARCGIS platform.
Propagation analyses were completed for 1,848 sites using the TDMA/FDMA
Predict 4.0 model in Mentum Planet. Once the propagation charts for all
towers in a municipal district, including those with 5 km of its perimeter, were
complete, a composite signal strength chart for the municipal district was
created. The analysis provides the maximum received signal strength that can
be expected at any point in the municipal district considering all of the sites in
the area.
7.3.7 BEST SIGNAL STRENGTH MAPS
The Mentum Planet propagation software measures the potential signal
strength of all the sites in and within 5Km of a municipal district. Each level of
signal strength, based on dBm value, is identified as a different colour on the
map and if the area is either served or unserved:
ƒƒ
ƒƒ
ƒƒ
ƒƒ
Red
Strongest Signal
Served Area
Yellow
Medium Signal
Served or Unserved Area
GreenWeak SignalUnserved Area
White
No Signal Unserved Area
Figure 4: Best Signal Strength Map – Municipal District of Taber
Level (-dBm) Colour
-60.1925Red
-75.0000Pink
-75.0100Orange
-85.0000Yellow
-85.0100Green
-87.0000Blue
-87.0100White
18 | Connecting the Dots
The best signal strength maps were imported
into MapInfo and used to classify a township,
municipal district, municipality, First Nations
and Métis settlements as either served or
unserved.
7.4/ STAGE 3: COVERAGE ANALYSIS
7.4.1 COVERAGE ANALYSIS PROCEDURE
The best signal strength maps created in Mentum Planet were imported in
MapInfo Professional. The MapInfo Professional platform provides built-in
support to access and view a variety of data formats directly such as .tab, .dat
and .shp files. This feature allowed the different data sets to be
combined into a single MapInfo workspace (.wor) for each municipal district.
The best signal strength maps were imported into MapInfo and used to
classify a township, municipal district, municipality, First Nations and Métis
settlements as either served or unserved. The following criteria was used to
classify each of the townships as either served or unserved:
1. Estimate signal strength colour for each township.
ƒƒ
100% red the township is classified as served
ƒƒ
50% red and 50% yellow the township is classified as served
ƒƒ
>50% yellow the township is classified as served
ƒƒ
<50% yellow the township is classified as unserved
ƒƒ
Green, blue, or white the township is classified as unserved
2. Estimate the proximity of any WISP sites to the township
If a WISP site is within an estimated distance of 4Km of a township it is
classified as served. This may override the signal strength colour analysis.
3. Towns, villages, summer villages, hamlets, First Nations and Métis
settlements within a township inherited its classification.
7.4.2 PROJECT DISTRICT COVERAGE ANALYSIS
An Excel district coverage analysis workbook was created for each of the
project districts. The workbook contains a coverage analysis for each
municipal district.
The Municipal District of Taber has 47 townships. Twenty-Four (24) townships
are served by one or more Wireless Internet Service Providers. Twenty-Three
(23) townships are classified as unserved.
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 19
7.4.3 MUNICIPAL COVERAGE ANALYSIS
An Excel municipality coverage analysis workbook was created for all the
municipalities except the seven major cities. The municipality analysis was
completed in two steps:
Figure 5: Municipal District of Taber Coverage Map
= Unserved Township
20 | Connecting the Dots
A coverage analysis was completed for all the
cities, towns, villages and summer villages.
1. Determine if the municipality is served by a Wireless Internet Service
Provider
2.Determine if the municipality is served by a Wired Provider or listed on the CRTC Deferral list. Municipalities on the deferral list were classified as served.
A coverage analysis was completed for all the cities, towns, villages and summer
villages.
7.4.4 FIRST NATIONS COVERAGE ANALYSIS
There are currently 45 First Nations Communities and a combined 140 reserves
spread over 821,771 hectares of land. According to how data is compiled, there
may be some variation in the number of First Nations communities, reserves and
land area. For the purpose of this study, coverage data was collected on 44 First
Nations as listed on Table 13: First Nations Coverage. (http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/
ai/scr/ab/fn/index-eng.asp)
Each First Nations reserve was classified as either served or unserved.
7.4.5 ARCGIS
The best signal strength maps were exported as ASCII Grid files and provided to
the project steering committee.
There are currently 45 First Nations
Communities and a combined 140
reserves spread over 821,771
hectares of land.
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 21
8.1/ MUNICIPAL DISTRICT COVERAGE
The results of this study are a snap shot of the broadband coverage in
Alberta. As time goes by, new initiatives, technologies and towers will make
these maps become less accurate with age.
Alberta has 73 municipal districts, improvement districts and special areas with a
cumulative population of 447,474. A summary of broadband coverage for each of
the project districts is provided in Tables 7 to 11.
Table 7: Project District 1 Coverage
Municipal
District
Population
Townships Served
(2010)
%
Unserved
%
Hamlets Served
%
Unserved
%
1
Cardston
4,266
55
31
56.36%
24
43.64%
11
10
90.91%
1
10.00%
2
Cypress
6,729
148
45
30.41%
103
69.59%
10
10
100.00%
0
0.00%
3
Foothills
19,736
48
34
70.83%
14
29.17%
8
8
100.00%
0
0.00%
4
Forty Mile
3,414
80
54
67.50%
26
32.50%
5
5
100.00%
0
0.00%
5
Lethbridge
10,302
34
26
76.47%
8
23.53%
7
7
100.00%
0
0.00%
6
Newell
6,862
66
47
71.21%
19
28.79%
6
6
100.00%
0
0.00%
20.00%
7
Pincher Creek
3,309
47
30
63.83%
17
36.17%
6
5
83.33%
1
8
Ranchland
86
33
0
0.00%
33
100.00%
0
0
0.00%
0
0.00%
9
Taber
6,280
47
24
51.06%
23
48.94%
5
5
100.00%
0
0.00%
50.00%
10
Vulcan
3,718
60
42
70.00%
18
30.00%
6
4
66.67%
2
11
Warner
3,776
51
36
70.59%
15
29.41%
2
2
100.00%
0
0.00%
12
Willowcreek
5,337
57
41
71.93%
16
28.07%
4
4
100.00%
0
0.00%
13
Crowsnest
5749
5
4
80.00%
1
20.00%
5
5
100.00%
0
14
Waterton
160
7
4
57.14%
3
42.86%
1
1
100.00%
0
79724
738
418
320
56.64%
43.36%
76
72
4
94.74%
5.26%
The two municipal districts that have the least amount of broadband coverage in
District 1 are the MD of Ranchland (100%) and Cypress county (69.59%).
Four hamlets out of 76 are classified as unserved in District 1.
Table 8: Project District 2 Coverage
Municipal
Districts
Population
Townships Served
(2010)
%
Unserved
%
Hamlets Served
%
Unserved
1
Acadia
545
12
5
41.67%
7
58.33%
1
1
100.00%
0
2
Bighorn
1454
40
6
15.00%
34
85.00%
5
4
80.00%
1
3
Clearwater
11,826
200
45
22.50%
155
77.50%
5
5
100.00%
0
4
Kneehill
5,218
38
20
52.63%
18
47.37%
7
3
42.86%
4
5
Lacombe
10,507
34
30
88.24%
4
11.76%
5
3
60.00%
2
6
Mountain View
12,570
57
40
70.18%
17
29.82%
0
0
0.00%
0
7
Paintearth
2,126
40
18
45.00%
22
55.00%
2
2
100.00%
0
8
Ponoka
8,640
35
26
74.29%
9
25.71%
3
2
66.67%
1
9
Red Deer
19,108
50
30
60.00%
20
40.00%
8
6
75.00%
2
10
Rocky View
34,597
48
36
75.00%
12
25.00%
14
14
100.00%
0
11
Special Areas
4,729
230
79
34.35%
151
65.65%
18
7
38.89%
11
12
Starland
2,371
31
15
48.39%
16
51.61%
4
3
75.00%
1
13
Stettler
5,216
49
28
57.14%
21
42.86%
5
4
80.00%
1
14
Wheatland
8,164
60
40
66.67%
20
33.33%
9
8
88.89%
1
15
Banff
938
83
5
6.02%
78
93.98%
1
1
100.00%
0
16
Kananaskis
429
50
5
10.00%
44
88.00%
1
1
100.00%
0
128438
1057
428
628
88
64
24
40.49%
59.41%
72.73%
27.27%
Total:
Percentage:
The two municipal districts that have the least amount of broadband coverage in
District 2 are the Banff National Park (93.98%) and the Improvement District of
Kananaskis (88.00%).
Twenty-Four hamlets of 88 are classified as unserved in District 2.
22 | Connecting the Dots
8/RESULTS
Total:
Percentage:
0.00%
0.00%
%
0.00%
20.00%
0.00%
57.14%
40.00%
0.00%
0.00%
33.33%
25.00%
0.00%
61.11%
25.00%
20.00%
11.11%
0.00%
0.00%
Table 9: Project District 3 Coverage
Municipal
District
Population
Townships Served
(2010)
%
Unserved
%
Hamlets Served
%
Unserved
%
1
Athabasca
7,592
69
45
65.22%
24
34.78%
12
12
100.00%
0
0.00%
2
Barrhead
5,845
28
19
67.86%
9
32.14%
4
4
100.00%
0
0.00%
14.29%
3
Brazeau
7,040
36
18
50.00%
18
50.00%
7
6
85.71%
1
4
Leduc
13,260
36
31
86.11%
5
13.89%
8
8
100.00%
0
0.00%
5
Slave River
2,442
119
19
15.97%
100
84.03%
7
5
71.43%
2
28.57%
6
Thorhild
3,547
21
15
71.43%
6
28.57%
7
7
100.00%
0
0.00%
7
Lac Ste. Anne
10,220
34
16
47.06%
18
52.94%
8
5
62.50%
3
37.50%
8
Parkland
30,089
37
37
100.00%
0
0.00%
7
6
85.71%
1
14.29%
9
Sturgeon
19,165
29
23
79.31%
6
20.69%
11
10
90.91%
1
9.09%
10
Westlock
6,910
40
25
62.50%
15
37.50%
9
8
88.89%
1
11.11%
25.00%
11
Wetaskiwin
10,535
44
17
38.64%
27
61.36%
8
6
75.00%
2
12
Woodlands
4,158
84
8
9.52%
76
90.48%
3
2
66.67%
1
33.33%
13
Yellowhead
10,045
247
37
14.98%
210
85.02%
10
6
60.00%
4
40.00%
14
Jasper
24
125
9
7.20%
116
92.80%
1
1
100.00%
0
0.00%
130872
949
319
630
102
86
16
33.61%
66.39%
84.31%
15.69%
Total:
Percentage:
The two municipal districts that have the least amount of broadband coverage in
District 3 are Woodlands County (90.48%) and Yellowhead County (85.02%).
Sixteen hamlets out of 86 are classified as unserved in District 3.
Table 10: Project District 4 Coverage
Municipal
District
Population
Townships Served
(2010)
%
Unserved
%
Hamlets Served
%
Unserved
%
1
Big Lakes
4,030
161
44
27.33%
116
72.05%
5
4
80.00%
1
20.00%
2
Birch Hills
1,610
33
15
45.45%
18
54.55%
5
4
80.00%
1
20.00%
3
Clear Hills
3,293
166
18
10.84%
148
89.16%
3
2
66.67%
1
33.33%
4
Fairview
1,856
17
7
41.18%
10
58.82%
2
2
100.00%
0
0.00%
5
Grande Prairie
17,989
77
63
81.82%
14
18.18%
11
11
100.00%
0
0.00%
6
Greenview
5,464
376
53
14.10%
323
85.90%
5
4
80.00%
1
20.00%
7
Mackenzie
10,002
887
31
3.49%
856
96.51%
3
3
100.00%
0
0.00%
8
Northern Lights
3,556
243
21
8.64%
222
91.36%
5
4
80.00%
1
20.00%
9
Northern Sunrise
2,880
232
23
9.91%
209
90.09%
5
4
80.00%
1
20.00%
10
Opportunity
3,259
332
15
4.52%
317
95.48%
5
3
60.00%
2
40.00%
11
Peace
1,487
13
9
69.23%
4
30.77%
1
1
100.00%
0
0.00%
12
Saddle Hills
2,478
72
25
34.72%
47
65.28%
1
1
100.00%
0
0.00%
13
Smoky River
2,442
32
21
65.63%
11
34.38%
3
2
66.67%
1
33.33%
14
Spirit River
662
8
5
62.50%
3
37.50%
0
0
0.00%
0
0.00%
15
Wood Buffalo
91,612
1122
20
1.78%
1102
98.22%
8
7
87.50%
1
12.50%
152620
3771
Total:
Percentage:
370
3400
9.81%
90.16%
62
52
10
83.87%
16.13%
The two municipal districts that have the least amount of broadband coverage in
District 4 are Mackenzie County (96.51%) and the MD of Opportunity (95.48%).
Ten hamlets out of 62 are classified as unserved in District 4.
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 23
Alberta has 73 municipal districts, improvement
districts and special areas with a cumulative
population of 447,474.
Table 11: Project District 5 Coverage
Municipal
District
Population
Townships Served
(2010)
%
Unserved
%
Hamlets Served
%
Unserved
%
1
Beaver
5,676
41
32
78.05%
9
21.95%
2
2
100.00%
0
0.00%
2
Camrose
7,577
38
27
71.05%
11
28.95%
9
7
77.78%
2
22.22%
3
Bonnyville
9,047
79
47
59.49%
32
40.51%
7
6
85.71%
1
14.29%
4
Flagstaff
3,506
44
23
52.27%
21
47.73%
0
0
0.00%
0
0.00%
5
Lac La Biche
9,123
191
31
16.23%
161
84.29%
6
6
100.00%
0
0.00%
6
Lamont
3,925
28
24
85.71%
4
14.29%
5
4
80.00%
1
20.00%
7
Minburn
3,319
32
18
56.25%
14
43.75%
2
2
100.00%
0
0.00%
25.00%
8
Smoky Lake
2,716
41
29
70.73%
12
29.27%
4
3
75.00%
1
9
St Paul
5,925
46
31
67.39%
15
32.61%
10
10
100.00%
0
0.00%
10
Provost
2,547
43
15
34.88%
28
65.12%
4
2
50.00%
2
50.00%
11
Strathcona
87,998
17
15
88.24%
2
11.76%
9
9
100.00%
0
0.00%
12
Two Hills
2,926
33
21
63.64%
12
36.36%
7
5
71.43%
2
28.57%
13
Vermilion River
7,900
63
40
63.49%
23
36.51%
7
5
71.43%
2
28.57%
14
Wainwright
4,113
52
22
42.31%
30
57.69%
3
2
66.67%
1
33.33%
156298
748
Total:
Percentage:
375
374
50.13%
50.00%
75
63
12
84.00%
16.00%
The two municipal districts that have the least amount of broadband coverage in
district #5 are Lac La Biche County (84.29%) and the MD of Provost (66.12%).
Twelve hamlets out of 75 are classified as unserved in District 5.
24 | Connecting the Dots
8.2/ HAMLET COVERAGE
Hamlets are unincorporated communities administered by and within the
boundaries of, municipal districts, specialized municipalities, improvement districts
or special areas. Fifty-Five Hamlets were classified as “Unserved”.
Table 12: Hamlets Coverage
Hamlet
Del Bonita
Brocket
Shouldice
Travers
Benchlands
Hesketh
Huxley
Swalwell
Wimborne
Haynes
Joffre
Leedale
Ardley
Lousana
Craigmyle
Red Willow
Chancellor
Lodgepole
Chisholm
Marten Beach
Darwell
Cherhill
Green Court
Carvel
Pine Sands
Newstow
Alder Flats
Buck Lake
Blue Ridge
Cadomin
MacKay
Robb
Wildwood
Enlida
Peoria
Bear Canyon
Little Smoky
North Star
Reno
Sandy Lake
Peerless Lake
Guy
Fort MacKay
Kelsey
Armena
Beaverdam
Wostok
Edwand
Bodo
Metiskow
Beauvallon
Morecambe
Rivercourse
Streamstown
Ribstone
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
4
13
16
10
12
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 25
All 108 towns have broadband access.
8.3/ OTHER MUNICIPAL COVERAGE
8.3.1 TOWNS
A town is a municipality with a population of at least 1,000 people. Alberta
has 108 towns with a cumulative population of 441,647.
All of the 108 towns have broadband access. Town residents and businesses
will typically have a choice between different providers including: TELUS,
Shaw, Unbundled DSL Providers, East Link and WISPs.
8.3.2 VILLAGES
A village is a municipality with a population of at least 300 people. Alberta has
95 villages with a cumulative population of 39,956.
All of the 95 villages have broadband access. The majority of villages will
typically have a choice between multiple WISPs. In addition, TELUS, Shaw and
East Link provide wired broadband services to some villages.
8.3.3 SUMMER VILLAGES
Summer villages are incorporated communities that have permanent
populations, as well as seasonal (non-permanent) residents. Alberta has a
total of 51 summer villages with a cumulative population of 6,154. Forty-four
of the summer villages have a choice between multiple Wireless Internet
Service Providers (WISPs).
The following summer villages were classified as “unserved”:
ƒƒ
ƒƒ
ƒƒ
ƒƒ
ƒƒ
ƒƒ
Birch Cove
Burnstick Lake
Castle Island
Silver Sands
South View
Waipaousand West Cove
All 95 villages have broadband access
26 | Connecting the Dots
8.4/ FIRST NATIONS COVERAGE
First Nations /Metis Settlements (as appropriate) come in a variety of sizes from
a few townships to large tracts of land. The areas marked by an asterisk are composed of multiple townships where some, but not all, are designated as served.
Alberta has 44 First Nation bands. There are eleven bands that were classified as
“unserved”.
The First Nations bands are generally provided broadband services by WISPs that
provide broadband services to the reserve and the surrounding area.
Table 13: First Nations Coverage
First Nation
Alexander First Nation*
Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation
Beaver First Nation
Beaver Lake Cree Nation
Bigstone Cree Nation
Blood Tribe*
Chipewyan Prairie First Nation
Cold Lake First Nations
Dene Tha’ First Nation*
Driftpile First Nation
Duncan’s First Nation
Enoch Cree Nation #440
Ermineskin Tribe*
Fort Mckay First Nation
Fort McMurray #468 First Nation
Frog Lake First Nation
Heart Lake First Nation
Horse Lake First Nation
Kapawe’no First Nation
Kehewin Cree Nation
Little Red River Cree Nation
Loon River First Nation
Louis Bull Tribe*
Lubicon Lake Band
Mikisew Cree First Nation
Montana First Nation*
O’Chiese First Nation
Paul First Nation
Piikani Nation
Saddle Lake First Nation (Note 1)
Samson Cree Nation
Sawridge Band
Siksika Nation
Smith’s Landing First Nation
Stoney Nakoda Nation (Note 2)
Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation
Sucker Creek First Nation
Sunchild First Nation
Swan River First Nation
Tallcree First Nation
Tsuu T’ina Nation
Whitefish Lake First Nation*
Woodland Cree First Nation
The First Nations
bands are generally
provided broadband
services by WISPs
that provide
broadband services
to the reserve and
the surrounding
area.
*—
Served
Unserved
11
33
Part Unserved (According to Vitel Served/Unserved Township Reports)
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 27
8.5/ MÉTIS SETTLEMENT COVERAGE
First Nations /Metis Settlements (as appropriate) come in a variety of sizes from a
few townships to large tracts of land. The areas marked by an asterisk are
composed of multiple townships where some, but not all, are designated as
served.
Alberta has 8 Métis Settlements. All 8 settlements are classified as “served”.
The Métis Settlements are provided broadband services by Wireless Internet
Service Providers that provide broadband services to the settlement and
surrounding area.
Table 14: Métis Settlements Coverage
Metis Settlement
Served Unserved
Buffalo Lake*
East Prairie*
Elizabeth*
Fishing Lake
Gift Lake*
Kikino*
Paddle Prairie*
Peavine*
*—
28 | Connecting the Dots
Part Unserved (According to Vitel Served/Unserved Township Reports)
9/DISCUSSION
9.1/ ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TERRAIN &
POPULATION DENSITIES
An area’s terrain type and population density can significantly impact
the capital cost to build and operate a fixed wireless network. The capital and
operating costs to build and operate a fixed wireless network in an area with
a high tree density, hilly topography and low population will be considerably
higher than in a township that has a low tree density, flat terrain and high
population. Areas can be classified as different terrain and economic types.
9.1.1 TERRAIN TYPES
An area can be classified as one of three terrain types:
Type A:
Hilly and moderate-to-heavy tree density. Most difficult to provide wireless broadband services
Type B:
Neither Type A nor Type C. Medium difficulty to provide wire
less broadband services
Type C:
Flat and light tree density. Least difficult to provide wireless
broadband services
As the terrain variable significantly influences the effective range of wireless
signal transmission, it directly impacts the coverage area. Wireless networks
are easier to design and deploy in Type C areas as fewer towers are required
and obstructions/shadow areas are minimal. Covering Type A and B areas is
more difficult and costly as it typically requires a combination of more and
possibly higher towers as well as strategically placed reflectors.
9.1.2 ECONOMIC TYPE
Areas can be classified as an economic type. The economic type is based on
the area’s ability to generate a positive cash flow based on subscriptions. The
three types of economic areas are:
Type 1:
Areas that can be, or are, served by market forces.
Type 1 areas will be cash flow positive over a period of time.
Capital Costs + Operating Costs ≤ Total Revenues
Type 2:
Areas that will need assistance with initial funding to become self-sustaining.
Type 2 areas require funding to cover the initially negative cash
flow resulting from high capital expenditures due to network deployment.
Capital Costs + Operating Costs ≤ Total Revenues + Initial
Funding
Type 3:
Areas that cannot become self-sustaining and will require
initial and ongoing funding. Type 3 areas will remain cash flow negative unless subsidized by either alternative revenues or government funding on an ongoing basis.
Capital Costs + Operating Costs ≤ Total Revenues + Ongoing/
Initial funding
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 29
9.2/ WISP TYPES
Throughout the study there were opportunities to meet and discuss rural
broadband business and issues with most of the fifty-three (53) Wireless Internet
Service Providers in the province. Each WISP has different views on technologies,
business models, and the future role of the different levels of government
including rural municipalities, Government of Alberta (GOA) and the Federal
Government. There are four different types of WISPs:
9.2.1 LOCAL WISP
A local WISP is an individual(s) that live and work in a single area. They
recognized the need for broadband services in their area and decided to take
on the risk of providing broadband services. The subscriber base will be less
than 500 subscribers. A local WISP is willing to lose capital and operating
funds to provide broadband services to their community, but recognize that in
order to remain in business they must subsidize the costs of the network.
Local WISPs tend to provide broadband services to terrain type C and
economic type 3 areas. Twenty-two (22) out of the fifty-three (53) WISPs can
be categorized as local WISPs.
9.2.2 REGIONAL WISP
A regional WISP builds a network to provide broadband services to multiple
communities. The subscriber base can be anywhere between 500 to 10,000
subscribers. A regional WISP is willing to lose capital and operating funds on
a per site basis, but with an understanding that profitable sites will subsidize
non profitable sites. A site located near a town is more likely to make a profit
than a site that provides broadband services to four remote homes.
Twenty-four (24) of the fifty-three (53) WISPs can be categorized as regional
WISPs. Regional WISPs will provide broadband services to all three terrain
and economic types.
9.2.3 PROVINCIAL WISP
A provincial WISP builds a network to provide broadband services to multiple
districts in the province. Provincial WISPs are most likely to be publicly traded
companies. Their network is generally located in A and B terrain areas, and
type 1 and 2 economic areas. Six (6) of the fifty-three (53) WISPs can be categorized as provincial WISPs.
9.2.4 NATIONAL WISP
A national WISP builds a network to provide broadband services to multiple
provinces in the country. National WISPs are most likely to be publicly traded
companies. Their network is generally located in A and B terrain areas, and
type 1 and 2 economic areas. One (1) of the fifty-three (53) WISPs can be
categorized as a national WISP.
Each of these WISPs has a different business model. All four business models
will be required to fulfill the objective of providing broadband services to 98%
of the population.
30 | Connecting the Dots
Each WISP has
different views
on technologies,
business
models and the
future role of the
different levels
of government
including rural
municipalities,
Government of
Alberta and
the Federal
Government.
9.3/ WISP SERVICE PACKAGES
An analysis was completed of each of the fifty-three (53) WISP’s service packages
using information provided on their WISP web sites.
Nineteen (19) out of fifty-three (53) WISPs do not provide their services packages
on their web sites.
The remaining thirty-four (34) WISPs provide either complete or partial information
on their service packages.
Most WISP provide up to three or more service packages. For the purposes of the
study we classified these as Packages A, B and C. Table 15 provides a summary of
the WISP service packages.
Table 15: WISP Service Packages
Package A
Cost
$27.95 — $65.00
Installation
Package B
$30.00 — $149.00
Package C
$45 — $349
$50.00 — $499.95
Download
750 kbps — 5.0 Mbps
1.0 Mbps — 6.0 Mbps
1.5 Mbps — 8.0 Mbps
Upload
250 kbps — 1.5 Mbps
1512 kbps — 3.0 Mbps
512 bps — 5.0 Mbps
10 GB — Unlimited
25GB — Unlimited
Usage / Month
10 — 110 GB
Usage / GB
$2.00 — $10.00
Service Alberta’s Final Mile Broadband Initiative (FMBI) requires that providers offer,
at a minimum, the following service packages for those Alberta homes/businesses
that currently do not have access to high-speed Internet service:
1. 1.5 Mbps download, 384 kbps upload
2. 3.0 Mbps download, 768 kbps upload
3. 5.0 Mbps download, 1.0 Mbps upload
Many consider
the 700 MHz
band to be
invaluable for
providing
wireless
coverage in
rural areas.
The ability to provide download and upload rates to a specific area is based on a
number of factors including: Wireless Technology, Access Point Height, Distance
between the Subscriber and Access Point, Terrain, Total Number of Subscribers,
Available Backhaul Bandwidth and WISP Aggregation Rations.
The download/upload rates provided by the WISP’s in their service packages should
be considered as minimum or average rates.
9.4/ 700 MHz SPECTRUM
The 700 MHz spectrum was previously used to transmit over-the-air analog
television channels. Many consider the 700 MHz band to be invaluable for providing
wireless coverage in rural areas.
The conversion from analog to digital broadband casting will make this spectrum
available for Internet service. In June 2006, Industry Canada established a policy
for the use of 700 MHz systems for Public Safety and subscriber based broadband
applications. The purposes of the policy was designate spectrum in the bands of
764 — 770 MHz and 794 — 800 MHz (Formally TV channels 63 and 68) for public
safety applications and refined the criteria for channels 2 to 59.
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 31
By the spring of 2011, Industry Canada had
issued a total of 555 licences in Canada with
450 of the licenses being issued in Alberta
Timeline:
ƒƒ
August 2011 is scheduled to mark the transition from analog
television to digital, freeing up spectrum for potential use
ƒƒ
November 2010 – Industry Canada (IC) Minister announces
Spectrum Auction for late 2012
ƒƒ
Many private and public agencies are vying for the additional spectrum
ƒƒ
Industry Canada opened consultations on the 700 MHz broad
band allocations on November 30th, 2010
ƒƒ
Industry Canada consultations closed on February 28th, 2011
Industry Canada is allowing the use of the RRBS bands (512 — 698 MHz) in
remote rural communities. By the spring of 2011, Industry Canada had
issued a total of 555 licences in Canada with 450 of the licenses being issued
in Alberta. The following Wireless Internet Service Providers have deployed or
going to deploy RRBS based systems in Alberta:
ƒƒ
ƒƒ
ƒƒ
ƒƒ
ƒƒ
ƒƒ
Advanced Interactive
CCI Wireless
XplorNet
XpanServe
Hakai Networks
MachLink
The allocation of the 700 MHz spectrum will significant impact both the
wireless coverage and capacity in rural areas.
32 | Connecting the Dots
The uniqueness of each project district must
be considered prior to creating a solution to
provide broadband coverage in a district.
10/
LESSONS
LEARNED
10.1/ PROJECT DISTRICTS UNIQUE
To make the project more manageable and reduce the complexity, the
province was divided into five project districts. Each of these project districts
is unique in terms of:
ƒƒ
ƒƒ
ƒƒ
ƒƒ
Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISP)
Economic Base
Population Densities
Topography
The uniqueness of each project district must be considered prior to creating a
solution to provide broadband coverage in a district.
10.2/ RADIO FREQUENCY (RF)
EXPERIENCE
The majority of the Wireless Internet Service Providers did not have any radio
frequency experience prior to starting their business. Because of the lack of RF
experience, WISPs have had to spend hundreds of hours experimenting with
different technologies and vendor’s equipment. The result is that there are many
different philosophies as to what will or will not work and an ad-hoc approach to
network design and implementation.
10.3/ SITE DATA NOT AVAILABLE
During the data collection phase of the study it became apparent that most of the
Wireless Internet Service Providers do not maintain a site database containing
information such as GPS coordinates, site height and access point model numbers.
As a result the only site data that was available were the site’s GPS coordinates.
10.4/ LOCAL WISPS SUBSIDIZE
BROADBAND COVERAGE
Some local WISPs will provide broadband coverage to low populated areas and
subsidize the capital and operating costs with revenue generated from higher
density areas or another line of business. Their primary objective is to provide
adequate broadband coverage to their community and they understand that there
is no economic reason to build and operate a broadband network in low populated
areas.
10.5/ 900 MHz SIGNAL
Unofficial feedback from several WISPs indicates that the error rate may be higher
in a Type C terrain area and lower in a Type A terrain area. This is due in part because
most WISPs use 900 MHz access points to provide broadband coverage in both
areas. A 900 MHz signal will propagate further in a Type C area increasing the
possible error rate.
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 33
10.6/ SUBSCRIBER TOWERS
Wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi and Wi-Max cannot provide adequate
broadband coverage to Type A terrain areas which are hilly and have a
moderate-to-heavy tree density. To resolve this issue Grande Prairie County
provides capital funding for subscriber towers to rural residents located in Type A
areas. A subscriber tower can be as high as 50’ and be positioned to provide a
direct line-of-sight to the nearest tower.
10.7/ 700 MHz BAND
700 MHz band may be a viable technical and economic solution for providing
broadband coverage in low density Type A areas. A Red Deer based company called
Technalogix LTD is the only Industry Canada certified provider of RRBS radio
equipment in Canada (http://www.technalogix.ca/)
10.8/ PROJECT OUT-OF-SCOPE
Section 5.0 Project Out-of-Scope provided a list of items that were identified as
out-of-scope of this study. The following should be included in any future broadband
coverage initiatives:
10.8.1 UNDERSERVED AREAS
A township is deemed to be underserved because the download and upload
speeds do not meet Industry Canada’s minimum requirements of 1.5 Mbps
(download) and 384 kbps (upload). The CRTC has set a target for all
Canadians to have access to broadband speeds of at least 5 Mbps for
download and 1 Mbps for upload by 2015. Subscriber’s bandwidth
requirements are increasing at a rate of 40% to 50% year. This will have a
significant impact on all wireless networks included fixed, mobility and
satellite.
Underserved areas are typically identified by having the subscribers within an
area conduct a series of broadband speed tests over a predefined period of
time. The average of the speed tests could be used to estimate if the area is
underserved.
10.8.2 QUALITY OF THE USER’S EXPERIENCE
The download and upload speeds are typically used to describe service
quality. Other aspects of service quality are also important and are unrelated
to bandwidth rates. Examples are: monthly rates, network outages, customer
support and time-to-repair.
The ability to measure the Quality-of-the-User Experience will become
important in the near future. The Quality-of-the-User Experience is impacted
by each of the service provider’s internal management practices.
34 | Connecting the Dots
Other aspects
of service
quality are also
important and
are unrelated to
bandwidth rates.
Examples are:
monthly rates,
network
outages,
customer
support and
time-to-repair.
Every attempt was made in the development of the study methodology to ensure that
the coverage estimate was as accurate as possible. However, having to use the
2.4 GHz template to create the best signal strength maps, it is estimated that there is
approximately a 15% error rate. Maps that cover the entirety of the province have been
developed, identifying all areas as served or unserved and a greater understanding of
broadband coverage in the province was achieved.
The data and maps are intended to be a starting point. From this data, it is possible for
any stakeholder to put forward potential solutions to serve Albertans, whether that be
across a region or for a single township. As stakeholders interpret the data,
population distribution will be an important aspect to take into consideration. This study
did not begin the process to define what remaining unserved areas have residents and
businesses that require service. However, as outlined in section 9.0, population plays
greatly into determining a successful business case.
The AAMDC encourages the Government of Canada, the Province of Alberta,
municipalities, ISPs and individual stakeholders to develop further solutions to
complete the final mile. Working together to find cooperative solutions that address
local and provincial Internet needs will be an important piece of the puzzle to enable
thriving and sustainable rural communities in Alberta.
11/SUMMARY
This study is a ‘snap shot’ and provides an estimate of the current
broadband coverage in the province.
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 35
36 | Connecting the Dots
APPENDIX A
DISTRICT 1 COVERAGE
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 37
508046
520040 519040 518040 517040
502033
509024 508024 507024 506024
505025
510025 509025 508025 507025
510025
505026
509026 508026 507026
511027 510027 509027 508027 507027
511028 510028 509028 508028 507028 506028
504027
502028
503023 502023
M.D. of Rocky
View
429029
M.D. of Bighorn
511029 510029 509029 508029 507029 506029
429031
429032
429033
429034
428034
427024
427027
427028
427029
427033
427035
422043
425035 424035
425036
425037
County of
Stettler
418040
418038
418039
417041
422035 421035
423036 422036
418035 417035
418036 417036
422037 421037 420037 419037 418037 417037
425038 424038 423038 422038
425039 424039
424043
426026 425026
424022
421024
416030
416031
420022
417026 416026
418024
418025 417025
409039
408038
407032
407033
414026 413026 412026
405027
Special Areas 3
M.D. of
Acadia
401025
401026
401027
401028
401030
411024 410024 409024 408024 407024 406024 405024 404024 403024 402024 401024
411025 410025 409025 408025 407025 406025
408026 407026 406026 405026 404026 403026
408027 407027
401033
402031 401031
405029 404029 403029 402029
410020
411021 410021
404021 403021
401021
406022 405022 404022 403022 402022 401022
408020 407020 406020 405020 404020 403020 402020
408021 407021
413022 412022 411022 410022 409022 408022
414023 413023 412023 411023 410023 409023 408023 407023 406023 405023 404023 403023
414024 413024
415025 414025 413025
404033 403033
404032 403032 402032 401032
408030 407030 406030 405030 404030 403030
408029 407029
411028 410028 409028 408028
412029 411029 410029
413030 412030 411030 410030
402036
403035 402035 401035
403037
405034 404034 403034
Special Areas 4
413031 412031 411031 410031 409031 408031 407031 406031 405031
414027 413027 412027 411027 410027
Special
Areas 2
410033 409033
413032 412032 411032 410032 409032
413033
415034 414034 413034 412034 411034 410034 409034 408034
419028
418028 417028 416028 415028
419028
418028
Starland
County
419030
419031
420027 419027 418027 417027 416027
420028
417033 416033
419032 418032 417032 416032
419033
423021 422021 421021 420021
423024
Wheatland County
425027 424027 423027
424028 423028
422029 421029
422030 421030
422031 421031
Kneehill
County
424030
422032
422033
425032
425033
411037 410037
412038 411038
412039 411039
414035 413035 412035 411035 410035 409035
415036 414036
County of
Paintearth
416039 415039 414039
416040 415040 414040
426034 425034 424034 423034 422034 421034 420034 419034 418034 417034
Lacombe County
429030
Mountain View
County
501036
501035
426044
Ponoka County
Red Deer County
501044
511030 510030 509030 508030 507030
511031 510031 509031 508031 507031
513032 512032 511032 510032 509032 508032 507032
502045
504032 503032 502032
506034 505034 504034 503034
518034 517034 516034 515034 514034 513034 512034 511034 510034 509034 508034
514033 513033 512033 511033 510033 509033 508033
504036
505035 504035
503037
519035 518035 517035 516035 515035 514035 513035 512035 511035 510035 509035 508035 507035
Clearwater
County
520036 519036 518036 517036 516036 515036 514036 513036 512036 511036 510036 509036 508036 507036
521037 520037 519037 518037 517037 516037 515037 514037 513037 512037 511037 510037 509037
521038 520038 519038 518038 517038 516038 515038 514038 513038 512038 511038 510038
514039 513039 512039 511039 510039 509039
514040 513040 512040 511040 510040 509040
513041 512041 511041 510041 509041 508041
520041 519041 518041 517041
521039 520039 519039 518039
504045
508042 507042 506042 505042 504042 503042
508043 507043 506043
513042 512042 511042 510042
520042 519042 518042 517042
519043 518043 517043 516043 515043 514043 513043 512043 511043
518044 517044 516044 515044 514044 513044 512044 511044 510044 509044 508044 507044 506044 505044
508045
DISTRICT 2 COVERAGE
38 | Connecting the Dots
517060 516060 515060 514060 513060
528054
528052
601052 527052
514053
511058 510058 509058 508058 507058 506058
504057
511053
509049
526049 525049 524049 523049 522049 521049 520049 519049 518049 517049 516049 515049 514049 513049 512049 511049
502055
521043 520043
522044 521044 520044 519044
506045 505045 504045 503045 502045
523045 522045 521045520045 519045 518045 517045 516045 515045514045 513045 512045 511045 510045509045
505047 504047 503047 502047
504049
504050
Parkland County
505054 504054
425061
506046 505046 504046 503046 502046
506055
Lac Ste. Anne County
425062
501062
501061
425064
422062
422061
423058
425047
423046
421056
423044
427045
501045
426045425045 424045 423045 422045
428045
425046
County of426046
Wetaskiwin
423047
Sturgeon County
427048 426048
420063
420065
420057
418064
418062
418063
417066
417068
419069 418069 417069
County of Thorhild
424059 423059
424056
420067
420069
Athabasca County
422067
424060 423060 422060
Leduc County
427055
501056 427056
501057
501060
Westlock County
524046 523046 522046 521046 520046 519046 518046 517046 516046 515046 514046 513046512046 511046 510046 509046
525047 524047 523047 522047 521047 520047 519047 518047 517047 516047 515047 514047 513047512047 511047 510047 509047 508047
525048 524048 523048 522048 521048 520048 519048518048 517048 516048 515048 514048 513048 512048 511048 510048 509048
Brazeau County
509050
524050 523050 522050 521050 520050 519050 518050 517050 516050 515050 514050 513050 512050 511050
524051 523051 522051 521051 520051 519051 518051 517051 516051 515051 514051 513051 512051 511051 510051 509051
509052 508052
509053 508053
511054 510054 509054
512055 511055 510055 509055
512056 511056 510056 509056 508056 507056 506056 505056 504056
517052 516052 515052 514052 513052 512052 511052
Yellowhead County
526052525052 524052 523052 522052 521052 520052
520053
526054 525054 524054 523054 522054521054 520054 519054 518054
601053 527053
526053 525053 524053523053
528053
601051 527051
602051
528051
602052
603054 602054
601054 527054
606055 605055 604055 603055 602055 601055 527055 526055 525055 524055 523055 522055 521055 520055 519055 518055 517055 516055
601056527056 526056 525056 524056 523056 522056 521056 520056 519056 518056 517056 516056 515056
504060
County of Barrhead
509059 508059 507059 506059
511060 510060 509060 508060 507060
513057 512057 511057 510057
519058 518058 517058 516058 515058 514058 513058
518059 517059 516059 515059 514059 513059
504062
426063
426065 425065
507065 506065 505065 504065 503065 502065
507064 506064 505064 504064 503064 502064
426066
425066
427066
501067 426067
425067
427067
507066 506066 505066 504066 503066 502066
507067 506067 505067 504067 503067 502067
426068
425068
507068 506068 505068 504068 503068 502068 501068
427068
514062 513062 512062 511062 510062 509062 508062 507062
Woodlands County
425070 424070
425071 424071
501069 426069 425069
507069 506069 505069 504069 503069 502069
424069423069
427069
507070 506070 505070 504070 503070 502070
515061 514061 513061 512061 511061 510061 509061 508061 507061 506061
527057 526057 525057 524057 523057 522057 521057 520057 519057 518057 517057 516057 515057
525058 524058 523058
503072
424072
504073 503073 502073 501073 426073 425073 424073
M.D. of Lesser
Slave River
502072
426072 425072
507071 506071 505071 504071 503071 502071
507072
513063 512063 511063 510063 509063 508063 507063 506063 505063 504063 503063 502063
508073
508074 507074 506074 505074 504074 503074 502074 501074 426074 425074 424074
426075 425075 424075
506076 505076 504076 503076 502076 501076426076 425076 424076
508075 507075 506075 505075 504075 503075
508076
504078 503078
506077 505077 504077 503077
506078505078
DISTRICT 3 COVERAGE
DISTRICT 4 COVERAGE
612126
610126 609126 608126 607126 606126 605126 604126 603126 602126 601126 523126 522126 521126 520126 519126 518126 517126 516126 515126 514126 513126 512126 511126 510126
414126 413126 412126 411126 410126 409126 408126 407126 406126 405126 404126 403126 402126 401126
612125
610125 609125 608125 607125 606125 605125 604125 603125 602125 601125 523125 522125 521125 520125 519125 518125 517125 516125 515125 514125 513125 512125 511125 510125
412125 411125 410125 409125 408125 407125 406125 405125 404125 403125 402125 401125
611124 610124 609124 608124 607124 606124 605124 604124 603124 602124 601124 523124 522124 521124 520124 519124 518124 517124 516124 515124 514124 513124 512124 511124 510124
409124 408124 407124 406124 405124 404124 403124 402124 401124
610123 609123 608123 607123 606123 605123 604123 603123 602123 601123 523123 522123 521123 520123 519123 518123 517123 516123 515123 514123 513123 512123 511123 510123
409123 408123 407123 406123 405123 404123 403123 402123 401123
612123
612122
610122 609122 608122 607122 606122 605122 604122 603122 602122 601122
523122 522122 521122 520122 519122 518122 517122 516122 515122 514122 513122 512122 511122 510122
409122 408122 407122 406122 405122 404122 403122 402122 401122
612121
610121 609121 608121 607121 606121 605121 604121 603121 602121 601121
523121 522121 521121 520121 519121 518121 517121 516121 515121 514121 513121 512121 511121 510121
409121 408121 407121 406121 405121 404121 403121 402121 401121
612120
610120 609120 608120 607120 606120 605120 604120 603120 602120 601120
523120 522120 521120 520120 519120 518120 517120 516120 515120 514120 513120 512120 511120 510120 509120 508120 507120 506120 505120 504120 503120 502120 501120
409120 408120 407120 406120 405120 404120 403120 402120 401120
612119
610119 609119 608119 607119 606119 605119 604119 603119 602119
522119 521119 520119 519119 518119 517119 516119 515119 514119 513119 512119 511119 510119 509119 508119 507119 506119 505119 504119 503119 502119 501119
409119 408119 407119 406119 405119 404119 403119 402119 401119
612118 611118 610118 609118 608118 607118 606118 605118 604118 603118 602118 601118
523118 522118 521118 520118 519118 518118 517118 516118 515118 514118 513118 512118 511118 510118 509118 508118 507118 506118 505118 504118 503118 502118 501118
409118 408118 407118 406118 405118 404118 403118 402118 401118
612117 611117 610117 609117 608117 607117 606117
523117 522117 521117 520117 519117 518117 517117 516117 515117 514117 513117 512117 511117 510117 509117 508117 507117 506117 505117 504117 503117 502117 501117
409117 408117 407117 406117 405117 404117 403117 402117 401117
521116 520116 519116 518116 517116 516116 515116 514116 513116 512116 511116 510116 509116 508116 507116 506116 505116 504116 503116 502116 501116
409116 408116 407116 406116 405116 404116 403116 402116 401116
524119
603117 602117 601117
612116 611116 610116 609116 608116 607116
523116
604116 603116 602116 601116
612115 611115 610115 609115 608115 607115 606115 605115 604115 603115 602115
521115 520115 519115 518115 517115 516115 515115 514115 513115 512115 511115 510115 509115 508115 507115 506115 505115 504115 503115 502115 424115
524115
408115 407115 406115 405115 404115 403115 402115 401115
612114 611114 610114 609114 608114 607114 606114 605114 604114 603114 602114 601114
523114 522114 521114 520114 519114 518114 517114 516114 515114 514114 513114 512114 511114 510114 509114 508114 507114 506114 505114 504114 503114 502114 501114
408114 407114 406114 405114 404114 403114 402114 401114
612113 611113 610113 609113 608113 607113 606113 605113 604113 603113 602113 601113
523113 522113 521113 520113 519113 518113 517113 516113 515113 514113 513113 512113 511113 510113 509113 508113 507113 506113 505113 504113 503113 502113 501113
408113 407113 406113 405113 404113 403113 402113 401113
612112 611112 610112 609112 608112 607112 606112
603112 602112 601112
523112 522112
612111 611111 610111 609111 608111 607111 606111
602111
Mackenzie County
522111
524111
514112 513112 512112 511112 510112 509112 508112 507112 506112 505112 504112 503112 502112 501112
406112 405112 404112 403112 402112 401112
514111 513111 512111 511111 510111 509111 508111 507111 506111 505111 504111 503111 502111 501111
407111 406111 405111 404111 403111 402111 401111
506110 505110 504110 503110 502110 501110
408110 407110 406110 405110 404110 403110 402110 401110
518110 517110 516110 515110 514110 513110 512110 511110 510110 509110 508110
612110 611110 610110 609110 608110 607110 606110 605110 604110 603110 602110 601110 524110 523110 522110 521110 520110
503109 502109 501109
409109 408109 407109 406109 405109 404109 403109 402109 401109
511108 510108 509108 508108 507108 506108 505108 504108 503108 502108 501108
409108 408108 407108 406108 405108 404108 403108 402108 401108
612107 611107 610107 609107 608107 607107 606107 605107 604107 603107 602107 601107 524107 523107 522107 521107 520107 519107 518107 517107 516107 515107 514107 513107 512107 511107 510107 509107 508107 507107 506107 505107 504107 503107 502107 501107
409107 408107 407107 406107 405107 404107 403107 402107 401107
512109 511109 510109 509109 508109
519109 518109 517109
612109 611109 610109 609109 608109 607109 606109 605109 604109 603109 602109 601109 524109 523109 522109 521109
612108 611108 610108 609108 608108 607108 606108 605108 604108 603108 602108 601108 524108 523108 522108 521108 520108 519108 518108 517108 516108 515108 514108
506109 505109
513106 512106 511106 510106 509106 508106 507106 506106 505106 504106 503106 502106 501106
612106 611106 610106 609106 608106 607106 606106 605106 604106 603106 602106 601106
524106 523106 522106 521106 520106 519106 518106 517106 516106
612105 611105 610105 609105 608105 607105 606105 605105 604105 603105 602105 601105
524105 523105 522105 521105 520105 519105 518105 517105 516105 515105 514105 513105 512105 511105 510105 509105 508105 507105 506105
612104 611104 610104 609104 608104 607104 606104 605104 604104 603104 602104 601104
524104 523104 522104 521104 520104 519104 518104 517104 516104 515104 514104 513104 512104 511104
611103 610103 609103 608103 607103 606103 605103 604103 603103 602103
613103
525103
613102
611102 610102 609102 608102 607102 606102 605102 604102 603102 602102 601102
613101
611101 610101 609101
613100
611100 610100 609100 608100 607100 606100 605100 604100 603100 602100 601100
613099
611099 610099 609099 608099 607099 606099 605099 604099 603099 602099
408105 407105 406105 405105 404105 403105 402105 401105
424104 423104 422104 421104 420104 419104 418104 417104 416104 415104 414104 413104 412104 411104 410104 409104 408104 407104 406104 405104 404104 403104 402104 401104
516103 515103 514103 513103 512103 511103 510103
520103 519103
523103
524102 523102 522102 521102 520102 519102 518102 517102 516102 515102 514102 513102 512102 511102 510102
M.D. of Northern Lights
409106 408106 407106 406106 405106 404106 403106 402106 401106
504105 503105 502105 501105
509104 508104 507104 506104 505104 504104 503104 502104 501104
508103 507103 506103 505103 504103 503103 502103
423103 422103 421103 420103 419103 418103 417103 416103 415103 414103 413103 412103 411103 410103 409103 408103 407103 406103 405103 404103 403103 402103 401103
425103
508102 507102 506102 505102 504102 503102 502102 501102
424102 423102 422102 421102 420102 419102 418102 417102 416102 415102 414102 413102 412102 411102 410102 409102 408102 407102 406102 405102 404102 403102 402102 401102
524101
522101 521101 520101 519101 518101 517101 516101 515101 514101 513101 512101 511101 510101 509101 508101 507101 506101 505101 504101 503101 502101 501101
424101 423101 422101 421101 420101 419101 418101 417101 416101 415101 414101 413101 412101 411101 410101 409101 408101 407101 406101 405101 404101 403101 402101 401101
524100
522100 521100 520100 519100 518100 517100 516100 515100 514100 513100 512100 511100 510100 509100 508100 507100 506100 505100 504100 503100 502100 501100
424100 423100 422100 421100 420100 419100 418100 417100 416100 415100 414100 413100 412100 411100 410100 409100 408100 407100 406100 405100 404100 403100 402100 401100
523099 522099 521099 520099 519099 518099 517099 516099 515099 514099 513099 512099 511099 510099 509099 508099 507099 506099 505099 504099 503099 502099
525099
425099
423099 422099 421099 420099 419099 418099 417099 416099 415099 414099 413099 412099 411099 410099 409099 408099 407099 406099 405099 404099 403099 402099 401099
613098
611098 610098 609098 608098 607098 606098 605098 604098 603098 602098 601098
524098 523098 522098 521098 520098 519098 518098 517098 516098 515098 514098 513098 512098 511098 510098 509098 508098 507098 506098 505098 504098 503098 502098 501098
424098 423098 422098 421098 420098 419098 418098 417098 416098 415098 414098 413098 412098 411098 410098 409098 408098 407098 406098 405098 404098 403098 402098 401098
613097
611097 610097 609097 608097 607097 606097 605097 604097 603097 602097 601097
524097 523097 522097 521097 520097 519097 518097 517097 516097 515097 514097 513097 512097 511097 510097 509097 508097 507097 506097 505097 504097 503097 502097 501097
424097 423097 422097 421097 420097 419097 418097 417097 416097 415097 414097
520096 519096 518096 517096 516096 515096 514096 513096 512096 511096 510096 509096 508096 507096 506096 505096 504096 503096 502096 501096
424096 423096 422096 421096 420096 419096 418096 417096 416096 415096 414096
612096 611096 610096 609096 608096 607096 606096 605096 604096 603096 602096 601096
613095
611095 610095 609095 608095 607095 606095 605095 604095 603095 602095
524096 523096 522096
525095
520095 519095 518095 517095 516095 515095 514095 513095 512095 511095 510095 509095 508095 507095 506095 505095 504095 503095 502095
523095 522095
425095
R.M. of Wood Buffalo
405097 404097 403097 402097 401097
405096 404096 403096 402096 401096
423095 422095 421095 420095 419095 418095 417095 416095 415095 414095 413095 412095 411095 410095 409095 408095 407095 406095 405095 404095 403095 402095 401095
611094 610094 609094 608094 607094 606094 605094 604094 603094 602094 601094 525094 524094 523094 522094 521094 520094 519094 518094 517094 516094 515094 514094 513094 512094 511094 510094 509094 508094 507094 506094 505094 504094 503094 502094 501094 425094 424094 423094 422094 421094 420094 419094 418094 417094 416094 415094 414094 413094 412094 411094 410094 409094 408094 407094 406094 405094 404094 403094 402094 401094
613094
612093 611093 610093 609093 608093 607093 606093 605093 604093 603093 602093 601093 525093 524093 523093 522093 521093 520093 519093 518093 517093 516093 515093 514093 513093 512093 511093 510093 509093 508093 507093 506093 505093 504093 503093 502093 501093 425093 424093 423093 422093 421093 420093 419093 418093 417093 416093 415093 414093 413093 412093 411093 410093 409093 408093 407093 406093 405093 404093 403093 402093 401093
612092 611092 610092 609092 608092 607092 606092 605092 604092 603092 602092 601092 525092 524092
521092 520092 519092
612089 611089
Clear Hills County
603089 602089 601089 525089 524089
604087 603087 602087 601087 525087
612087 611087 610087 609087
604086 603086 602086 601086
612086 611086 610086 609086
613085
609085 608085 607085 606085 605085
603085 602085 601085
609084 608084 607084 606084
603084 602084
611083 610083 609083 608083 607083 606083
603083 602083
611085
612084
613083
613082
608082 607082 606082 605082
613081
608081 607081 606081
Saddle Hills
County
525086
526084
607078
613077 612077 611077 610077
607077
613076 612076 611076 610076
607076
613075 612075 611075 610075
607075
M.D. of
Spirit
River
603079
507088 506088 505088 504088 503088 502088 501088 425088 424088 423088 422088 421088 420088 419088 418088 417088 416088 415088 414088 413088 412088 411088 410088 409088 408088 407088 406088 405088 404088 403088 402088 401088
522087 521087 520087 519087 518087
507087 506087 505087 504087 503087 502087 501087 425087 424087 423087 422087 421087 420087 419087 418087 417087 416087 415087 414087 413087 412087 411087 410087
520085
524084
522082
524077
525076 524076
526075
County of Grande Prairie
515085
513085 512085 511085 510085 509085 508085 507085 506085 505085 504085 503085 502085 501085
512084 511084 510084 509084 508084 507084 506084 505084 504084 503084 502084 501084
518085 517085
513083 512083 511083 510083 509083 508083 507083 506083 505083 504083 503083 502083
518078
510079 509079 508079 507079 506079 505079 504079 503079 502079
526069 525069 524069
526068 525068 524068
525067 524067
M.D. of Greenview
513077 512077 511077 510077 509077 508077 507077
502077 501077
425077 424077 423077 422077 421077 420077 419077 418077
409075 408075 407075 406075 405075 404075 403075 402075 401075
519073 518073
515074
423074 422074 421074 420074 419074
M.D. of Big Lakes
423073
420073 419073 418073
508072
423072 422072
420072 419072
508071
423071
420071 419071
518069 517069 516069 515069 514069 513069 512069 511069 510069 509069 508069
520064 519064 518064 517064 516064 515064 514064 513064 512064 511064 510064 509064 508064
612059 611059 610059 609059 608059 607059 606059 605059 604059 603059 602059
613057 612057
419069
525063 524063 523063 522063 521063 520063 519063 518063 517063 516063 515063 514063
527063
612060 611060 610060 609060 608060 607060 606060 605060 604060 603060 602060 601060
421070 420070
508066
526064 525064 524064 523064 522064
526062 525062 524062 523062 522062 521062 520062 519062 518062 517062 516062 515062
526061 525061 524061 523061 522061 521061 520061 519061 518061 517061 516061
526060 525060 524060 523060 522060 521060 520060 519060 518060 517060
527059
613058 612058 611058 610058 609058 608058 607058 606058 605058 604058 603058 602058 601058
408073 407073 406073 405073 404073 403073 402073 401073
519067 518067 517067 516067 515067 514067 513067 512067 511067 510067 509067 508067
522066 521066 520066 519066 518066 517066 516066 515066 514066 513066 512066 511066
613064 612064 611064 610064 609064 608064 607064 606064 605064 604064 603064 602064 601064
614059
423070
409074 408074 407074 406074 405074 404074 403074 402074 401074
518068 517068 516068 515068 514068 513068 512068 511068 510068 509068 508068
521068
520065 519065 518065 517065 516065 515065 514065 513065 512065 511065 510065 509065 508065
614060
406077 405077 404077 403077 402077 401077
409076 408076 407076 406076 405076 404076 403076 402076 401076
423075 422075 421075 420075 419075
526065 525065 524065 523065 522065
612062 611062 610062 609062 608062 607062 606062 605062 604062 603062 602062 601062
409077
423076 422076 421076 420076 419076
612065 611065 610065 609065 608065 607065 606065 605065 604065 603065 602065 601065
612063 611063 610063 609063 608063 607063 606063 605063 604063 603063 602063
409078 408078 407078 406078 405078 404078 403078 402078 401078
513075 512075 511075 510075 509075
612066 611066 610066 609066 608066 607066 606066 605066
613061 612061 611061 610061 609061 608061 607061 606061 605061 604061 603061 602061 601061
403080 402080 401080
409079 408079 407079 406079 405079 404079 403079 402079 401079
513076 512076 511076 510076 509076
614065
614062
409080 408080 407080 406080
517076 516076
614066
614063
423080 422080 421080 420080 419080 418080
424079 423079 422079 421079 420079 419079 418079
425078 424078 423078 422078 421078 420078 419078 418078
518075 517075 516075
520074 519074 518074
521067
426079
502078 501078
518070 517070 516070 515070 514070 513070 512070 511070 510070 509070 508070
605069 604069 603069 602069 601069
527067
405083 404083 403083 402083 401083
515078 514078 513078 512078 511078 510078 509078 508078 507078
518077 517077
525072 524072
612067 611067 610067 609067 608067 607067 606067 605067 604067 603067 602067
405084 404084 403084 402084 401084
424083 423083 422083 421083 420083 419083 418083 417083 416083 415083 414083 413083 412083 411083 410083 409083 408083 407083
426083
423081 422081 421081 420081 419081 418081 417081 416081 415081 414081 413081 412081 411081 410081 409081 408081 407081 406081 405081 404081 403081 402081 401081
524075 523075 522075
611068 610068 609068 608068 607068 606068 605068 604068 603068 602068 601068
406085 405085 404085 403085 402085 401085
425084 424084 423084 422084 421084 420084 419084 418084 417084 416084 415084 414084 413084 412084 411084 410084 409084 408084 407084
425082 424082 423082 422082 421082 420082 419082 418082 417082 416082 415082 414082 413082 412082 411082 410082 409082 408082 407082 406082 405082 404082 403082 402082 401082
605070 604070 603070 602070 601070
613068
406086 405086 404086 403086 402086 401086
425085 424085 423085 422085 421085 420085 419085 418085 417085 416085 415085 414085 413085 412085 411085 410085 409085
519081 518081 517081 516081 515081 514081 513081 512081 511081 510081 509081 508081 507081 506081 505081 504081 503081 502081 501081
514071 513071 512071 511071 510071
614069
407087 406087 405087 404087 403087 402087 401087
420086 419086 418086 417086 416086 415086 414086 413086 412086 411086
519082 518082 517082 516082 515082 514082 513082 512082 511082 510082 509082 508082 507082 506082 505082 504082 503082 502082 501082
M.D. of
Smoky River
525073 524073 523073 522073
604073
M.D. of Opportunity
519084 518084 517084 516084 515084
520079 519079 518079 517079 516079 515079 514079 513079
601074 526074 525074 524074 523074
607073
508086 507086 506086 505086 504086
519080 518080 517080 516080 515080 514080 513080 512080 511080 510080 509080 508080 507080 506080 505080 504080 503080 502080 501080
525080
Birch Hills
County
526077
513086 512086 511086
519083 518083 517083 516083 515083
525081 524081 523081
604076 603076 602076 601076
516087 515087 514087 513087 512087 511087
523086 522086 521086 520086 519086 518086 517086
M.D. of
Peace
M.D. of
Fairview
408089 407089 406089 405089 404089 403089 402089 401089
522088 521088 520088 519088 518088 517088 516088 515088 514088 513088 512088 511088 510088
525085 524085
606080 605080 604080 603080 602080 601080
607079
613078 612078 611078
614067
408092 407092 406092 405092 404092 403092 402092 401092
521089 520089 519089 518089 517089 516089 515089 514089 513089 512089 511089 510089 509089 508089 507089 506089 505089 504089 503089 502089 501089 425089 424089 423089 422089 421089 420089 419089 418089 417089 416089 415089 414089 413089 412089 411089 410089
612088 611088 610088 609088 608088 607088 606088 605088 604088 603088 602088 601088 525088
613079
508092 507092 506092 505092 504092 503092 502092 501092 425092 424092 423092 422092 421092 420092 419092 418092 417092 416092 415092 414092 413092 412092 411092 410092
611090 610090 609090 608090 607090 606090 605090 604090 603090 602090 601090 525090 524090 523090 522090 521090 520090 519090 518090 517090 516090 515090 514090 513090 512090 511090 510090 509090 508090 507090 506090 505090 504090 503090 502090 501090 425090 424090 423090 422090 421090 420090 419090 418090 417090 416090 415090 414090 413090 412090 411090 410090 409090 408090 407090 406090 405090 404090 403090 402090 401090
613090
613080
Northern Sunrise County
522091 521091 520091 519091 518091 517091 516091 515091 514091 513091 512091 511091 510091 509091 508091 507091 506091 505091 504091 503091 502091 501091 425091 424091 423091 422091 421091 420091 419091 418091 417091 416091 415091 414091 413091 412091 411091 410091 409091 408091 407091 406091 405091 404091 403091 402091 401091
611091 610091 609091 608091 607091 606091 605091 604091 603091 602091 601091 525091 524091
613091
525059 524059 523059 522059 521059 520059 519059
526058 525058 524058 523058 522058 521058 520058
610057 609057 608057 607057 606057 605057 604057 603057 602057 601057
607056 606056 605056 604056 603056 602056
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 39
DISTRICT 5 COVERAGE
417080 416080 415080 414080 413080 412080 411080 410080
417079 416079 415079 414079 413079 412079 411079 410079
417078 416078 415078 414078 413078 412078 411078 410078
418077 417077 416077 415077 414077 413077 412077 411077 410077
418076 417076 416076 415076 414076 413076 412076 411076 410076
418075 417075 416075 415075 414075 413075 412075 411075 410075
415074 414074 413074 412074 411074 410074 409074
416073 415073 414073 413073 412073 411073 410073 409073 408073 407073 406073 405073 404073 403073 402073 401073
415072 414072 413072 412072 411072 410072 409072 408072 407072 406072 405072 404072 403072 402072 401072
415071 414071 413071 412071 411071 410071 409071 408071 407071 406071 405071 404071 403071 402071 401071
410070 409070 408070 407070 406070 405070 404070 403070 402070 401070
415070 414070 413070
413069 412069 411069 410069 409069 408069 407069 406069 405069 404069 403069 402069 401069
412068 411068 410068 409068 408068 407068 406068 405068 404068 403068 402068 401068
Lac La Biche
County
411067 410067 409067 408067 407067 406067 405067 404067 403067 402067 401067
416066
412066 411066 410066 409066 408066 407066 406066 405066 404066 403066 402066 401066
416064 415064
412064
409064 408064
404064
417063 416063 415063
412063
409063 408063
404063
410065 409065 408065 407065 406065 405065
402065
412062 411062 410062
417062
415062
417060
415060 414060
M.D. of Bonnyville
415061 414061
404059 403059 402059
Smoky Lake County
405058 404058 403058 402058
County of St. Paul
417057
405057 404057
417056
410056
407056
410055 409055 408055
Lamont County
420053
401057
404056
406055 405055 404055
County of Two Hills
420054
405054
401054
413053
Strathcona
County
417052
401053
412052
418051 417051
418045
405048 404048
411047 410047 409047 408047
405047 404047
413046
410046
405046
416044
417043
Flagstaff County
414043 413043
417042
410044 409044 408044
410043
413042
411042
416041 415041
M.D. of Wainwright
408043 407043 406043
409042
401045
402044 401044
403043 402043
406042 405042 404042 403042 402042 401042
410041 409041
412040 411040 410040 409040 408040 407040
412039
401046
405045 404045 403045
415045 414045 413045 412045 411045 410045
419044 418044
County of
Vermilion River
408048
410048
415047 414047
406050 405050
402052
406049 405049 404049
411049 410049
418046 417046 416046
Camrose County
405051
County of Minburn
417048
419047 418047
408052 407052 406052 405052 404052
410051 409051
414050 413050 412050
Beaver County
420048
410052
414051 413051
416050
421041
402061
403060 402060 401060
419058
421047
401064
406041 405041 404041
402041 401041
404040
402040 401040
407039 406039 405039 404039 403039
408038 407038 406038 405038 404038
M.D. of
Provost
403037 402037 401037
40 | Connecting the Dots
APPENDIX B
AAMDC SAMPLE COVERAGE MAP (2009)
Source: http://aamdc.com/docman/doc_download/546-woodlands-county
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 41
APPENDIX C
BROADBAND CANADA FUND PROJECTS
Source: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/720.nsf/eng/h_50010.html
42 | Connecting the Dots
Alder Flats
Bear Canyon
Blue Ridge
Brocket
Buck Lake
Donalda
Donnelly
East Coulee
Etzikom
Faust
Ferintosh
Foremost
Girouxville
Grassy Lake
Hilda
Holden
Hussar
Irma
Keephills
Keg River
Manyberries
Marlboro
Mulhurst
New Dayton
Nordegg
Peerless Lake
Peers
Robb
Rolling Hills
Rosalind
Rosebud
Schuler
Smith
Walsh
Warner
Waterton Park
Wide Water
Wildwood
Worsley
Wrentham
Supplemental Communities (8)
Bruce
Calling Lake
Chipewyan Lake
Enchant
Hays
Heinsburg
Heisler
Iron Springs
SuperNet ISP Serving
Community Community
Yes
1
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
1
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
3
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
1
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
3
Yes
No
Yes
2
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
1
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
2
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
1
Yes
1
1
1
1
1
APPENDIX D
ALBERTA DEFERRAL COMMUNITIES
Main Communities (40)
Approved as of September 2009.
Source: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2010/2010-639.htm
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 43
APPENDIX H
PROJECT DISTRICTS
Each district is comprised of multiple municipalities.
44 | Connecting the Dots
APPENDIX J
ALBERTA TOWNSHIP SYSTEM (ATS)
http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/gis/map_converters/map_conversion_explanation.html
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 45
APPENDIX K
ALBERTA CLUTTER DATA
Map provided by DMTI Spatial Inc.
46 | Connecting the Dots
Connecting the Dots
The AAMDC and AUMA encourages the
Government of Canada, the Province of
Alberta, municipalities, ISPs and individual
stakeholders to develop further solutions to
complete the final mile. Working together
to find cooperative solutions that address
local and provincial Internet needs will be
an important piece of the puzzle to enable
thriving and sustainable rural communities
in Alberta.
Alberta Rural Broadband Coverage Study | 47