Q: What is CommunityNet ?
A: CommunityNet is a broadband, high-speed, province-wide telecommunications network that will connect:
 More than 800 schools and regional colleges, including those on First Nations reserves;
310 health facilities;
162 public libraries; and
256 government offices.
Q: How many communities are benefiting ?
A: CommunityNet has been connected to facilities in 366 different Saskatchewan communitie. Ways of expanding CommunityNet to even more Saskatchewan communities in the future are now being implemented.
Q: Which communities have been connected ?
A: Search our on-line database for a listing of CommunityNet communities and maps of the regions in which they're located.
Q: Are all individuals and businesses in each town eligible for connection to high-speed now that CommunityNet is connected to the school or health centre ?
A: No. There are significant additional costs associated with enhancing Saskatchewan's telecommunications network to be able to carry high-speed Internet services to all individuals. The delivery of basic telephone services to rural and northern communities are already subsidized by some $70 Million per year. While CommunityNet provides the anchor for SaskTel to explore the expansion of high-speed commercial offerings to an increasing number of communities, each expansion must be looked at on a case-by-case basis to ensure that the service can remain economically viable.
SaskTel remains committed to providing Saskatchewan residents with the most advanced services possible. While the infrastructure for CommunityNet is definitely assisting SaskTel in deploying its high-speed commercial service sooner than would otherwise be possible, there are many other factors that contribute to determining SaskTel's high-speed expansion plans. These factors include the cost to build and maintain the network to meet the delivery requirements of a commercial offering, coupled with the number of potential customers likely to subscribe to those services in an individual community. Communities continue to be evaluated by SaskTel to determine which areas are targeted for expansion. For example, since CommunityNet was launched, SaskTel has already expanded its commercial high-speed service from just eight communities to residents and businesses in 237 centres. SaskTel is also beginning to implement wireless solutions that will enable it to provide service to more communities, along with farmsteads and rural businesses.
Q: When will individuals and businesses be able to access high-speed Internet Services ?
A: SaskTel is committed to expanding high-speed service to the majority of the population over the next five years. SaskTel has been committed to expanding its high-speed service since being the first to offer a commercial high-speed service in North America in 1996. Through its expansion plans since that time, it has been able to expand high-speed service to more than 61 per cent of the population. With the CommunityNet infrastructure as an anchor, SaskTel is deploying the service quicker than it originally intended. SaskTel anticipates it will evaluate expansion plans on a yearly basis and continue to expand high-speed Internet in an economically feasible manner, ensuring that the majority of the Saskatchewan population can benefit from the service over the next five years. New wireless technologies are now being utilized to expand the SaskTel network to more communities, individuals and even farmsteads.
Q: How does this help my community ?
A: CommunityNet has a wide-ranging positive impact for Saskatchewan. It is facilitating better educational, health and government services in affected communities, and potentially, economic opportunities. Here are some practical examples.
- A person in a rural or remote northern community can receive training via a "virtual classroom", which allows them to ask questions, submit assignments and consult with instructors on-line. They can receive training in their home community, without the expense of traveling or moving to a larger centre.
- A physician in a rural community can consult directly with colleagues on challenging cases when appropriate, or receive information required to treat a patient. This insures that patient care is provided better and faster, without the need of sending a patient to a larger health facility.
- With the public sector agencies connected to CommunityNet acting as an anchor tenant, SaskTel is reassessing its high-speed network plans for smaller Saskatchewan communities on a business case-by-business case basis. Businesses located in any town where SaskTel can make the business case to serve with its high-speed network have a wide array of e-business options available to them. E-business initiatives are not dependent on distance or location, and have the potential to allow a community to better compete and thrive in the new economy.
Q: Why haven't all communities in the province been included in the initiative ?
A: All communities with schools, health facilities, libraries or government offices have been included in CommunityNet. The cost of connecting every village and hamlet to the network is too prohibitive at this time. New technological options are being considered for future expansion to even more communities. In the meantime, some communities not included in CommunityNet will continue to have access to the Internet through the federal Community Access Program (CAP) and SaskTel's toll-free dial-up access program.
Q: How much did the project cost ?
A: A total of $70.9 million will be spent over a six-year period. The provincial contribution includes some new funding and some reallocation of existing resources. The Government of Canada contributed $5 million through Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD).
Q: What is the cost to the education and health organizations involved ?
A: CommunityNet does not cost school divisions, schools, health districts or health facilities any additional funding over and above what they currently pay for Internet access service. In fact, schools and health care facilities no longer have to pay for Internet access from their local budgets and can reallocate those resources to other programs.
Q: Who is providing the infrastructure and service for CommunityNet ?
A: As part of the partnership of public-sector organizations behind the creation of CommunityNet, Crown-owned SaskTel and the Saskatchewan Communications Network (SCN) are providing both the infrastructure and telecommunications service for the initiative.
Q: Why were SaskTel and SCN chosen to provide the CommunityNet service and not a private Internet service provider ?
A: There are no private sector Internet service providers in the province large enough to connect all the communities involved into one network. And, because of the profit factor, it's unlikely that market forces would have resulted in high-speed service to small rural and remote communities, especially at an affordable cost. Only the combined partnership of SaskTel and SCN has the capacity, technology and expertise to provide the service that CommunityNet requires.
Q: What kinds of Internet speeds is CommunityNet providing ?
A: Most rural users access the Internet through telephone modems with an average capacity of 33 Kbps. At maximum those systems will transfer about three pages of information per second. CommunityNet enables rural and remote regions to access information via the Internet from seven to 100 times faster than what was previously possible. Access ranges from 384 kbps to 100 mbps. Most communities have access to speeds of 10 Mbps, which can transfer about 550 pages of information per second. Some have access to 100 Mbps, which can download information at a rate of about 5,500 pages per second.
Q: How was it decided what speeds would be provided to individual schools ?
A: In the fall of 2000 a staff member of Saskatchewan Education met with each school division to discuss specific circumstances and broadband needs. The results of these discussions were then brought to a team that examined technological limitations, feasibilities, costs and possible delivery schedules. These discussions resulted in the determination of CommunityNet speeds for each school.
Q: How are children in schools on CommunityNet being protected from objectionable content or material on the Internet ?
A: Internet site blocking is available as an optional service under CommunityNet. This service is available at the discretion of each school district. As well, each school district can choose the types or categories of sites they want blocked. |
