Assignment #1: Fast Internet Speeds in Canadian Small Towns

   1) How fast are some of the Internet connections in rural communities that are mentioned in the article?
     "Customers can get a 100 megabit per second (100 Mbps) plan for $76 a month, with unlimited usage — $9 less than Rogers charges for a comparable option in Toronto, or roughly the same price Bell charges for half the speed and a 250 gigabyte usage cap."

2)  How are these communities getting faster Internet speeds than what is even being offered by Canadian Telecom companies like Bell, Rogers or Shaw?
"installing their own high-speed fibre-optic cables, or are benefiting as local companies do it."

3) Why is the community of Harriston "fortunate" according to Hope Reidt?
"We're really fortunate, because our owners are very forward-thinking, so they're way ahead of the curve in terms of wanting to provide the best technology available,"

4) Why did the community of Olds decide to build their own fibre network? How did the community pay for it?
"some businesses were threatening to leave town because of the challenges posed by its once sluggish internet. The community came up with a plan to build its own fibre network, using government grants and loans connecting every home along the way."

5) What happened in Stratford when the community installed its own fibre optic network?
"now developing a reputation as an IT hub after it installed its own fibre-optic loop through the city and blanketed neighbourhoods with wifi access points. The University of Waterloo opened a campus there, and Royal Bank opened a $400-million data centre."    "they had the sense the big telecoms' priorities were elsewhere when it came to laying high-speed fibre-optic lines."

6) In what areas did Bell install fibre optics?
"Bell announced plans this summer to spend $1.1 billion to wire up 1.1 million Toronto homes and businesses with fibre, and Telus committed to spending $1 billion to connect 90 per cent of Edmonton, the economics aren't as lucrative for places like Listowel, Ont., or Olds. (That said, Bell's Aliant unit has brought fibre to more than a million premises in Atlantic Canada, and also to Northern Ontario).

7) Why do small towns and communities need high speed Internet more than ever?
"But as commerce continues to digitalize and globalize, small towns need high-speed internet more than ever to keep employers and residents from fleeing to hooked-up cities."

8) How much money has the Federal government supplied to increase Internet access in Canada?
"It's in part why hundreds of U.S. local governments saw years ago that they would be left out of the fibre-optic future and decided to develop their own networks. " ...  "unlimited gigabit internet has been on offer for $60 US — even cheaper than the gigabit internet Google is rolling out in select U.S. cities.  "