Playing catch-up: putting rural ICT in perspective

The more I explore and practice rural development, the more I am convinced that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is a core pillar of development for rural areas, not only creating new opportunities for rural communities but necessary in able to keep pace and participate in the increasingly Internet and knowledge-based economy. As I research ICT in rural Manitoba, I’m always trying to data sources that help put the quality of Internet access in perspective for rural areas. Recently, I came across a fantastic resource for benchmarking and comparing rural Internet access and speeds, Ookla’s Net Index.

The Net Index is a real time, comprehensive assessment of broadband speed and value. Populated by the popular Speedtest.net and Pingtest.net Internet testing sites, Net Index provides results for download speeds, upload speeds, broadband costs and even explores the difference between promised speeds and actual speeds. Understanding the different aspects and speed levels of Internet access creates a much more informed discussion around rural Internet

In addition to its detailed measures for Internet speed, Net Index also creates a comprehensive geographical profile as well with results available and comparable between city and province, and from national to international. While it does not let rural Manitobans identify their specific towns, villages or locations, it does provide detailed results for the province as a whole as well as the urban centres, allowing more specific and localized comparisons than most broadband metrics and repots. While it does not capture use or capacity and does not yet provide results for small, rural areas, Net Index establishes an important benchmarking and comparison tool for Internet speed and value.

Using Net Index then, we are able to create a detailed overview of Internet access in Manitoba and Canada. For a rural context, it is worth remembering that Canada has not established a new target for rural Internet access and that it currently sits at 1.5Mbps, well below global averages and comparable to many developing countries. The results below provide Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada Internet levels along with comparisons to global averages and leaders, creating clear targets and comparisons for rural communities and residents.

The results illustrate that Canada has average Internet access overall, but is well behind global leaders, especially in upload speeds. Additionally Manitoba is slightly below the Canadian average in every category. Finally, Winnipeg is above the provincial average in every category and above the national average in all but one category. 

Internet Download Speed

• Global average = 9.88 Mbps (Global Leader: Estonia = 55.61 Mbps
• Canada average = 12.29 Mbps (Global ranking = 33^rd)
• Manitoba average = 11.27 Mbps
• Winnipeg average = 13.61 Mbps 

Internet Upload Speed

• Global Average = 3.71 Mbps (Global Leader: South Korea = 27.65 Mbps)
• Canada Average = 1.82 Mbps (Global ranking = 65^th)
• Manitoba Average = 1.60 Mbps
• Winnipeg Average = 1.81 Mbps

Internet Cost/Mbps

• Global average = $9.74 USD/Mbps (Global Leader: Bulgaria = $.64 USD/Mbps)
• Canada average = $5.86 USD per Mbps (Global ranking = 33^rd)
• Manitoba average = $5.66 USD per Mbps
• Winnipeg average = $4.39 USD per Mbps

Internet Promise Index – comparison between the promised Internet speeds and the actual results (100% would meant that actual speeds are equal to promised speeds)

• Global average = 86.28% (Global Leader: Slovakia = 100.76%)
• Canada average = 88.32% (Global ranking = 33^rd)
• Manitoba = 87.71%
• Winnipeg average = 87.85%

All data was provided by www.netindex.com on January 1, 2012 and covered a data range from July 2, 2009 to December 31, 2011.