The evolution of communications technology has over the past century come a long way and brought all people closer together than ever before in our history.
From Morse code and telegrams to telephones and faxes, the way we communicate and connect with the world around us continues to change as technology advances.
The Internet alone has grown by leaps and bounds since its humble beginnings mere decades ago. Whereas the only way to get access to the web was once by a painfully slow dial-up connection, which at the time was of course revolutionary in itself, today's crème de la crème is unquestionably broadband, and nothing seems poised to replace it any time soon.
However, many small communities such as Sundre remain without the 21st century service.
High-speed Internet is obviously not the only — probably not even the first — consideration for a family, couple or individual considering setting roots down in a community. People generally scrutinize other crucial amenities such as schools and hospitals first.
But having broadband could be that extra incentive that convinces someone to settle in Sundre. In the day and age of online streaming and global connectivity, more and more Canadians are going to be looking for a community that offers lightning fast access to the web.
Someone comparing, for example, the towns of Sundre and Olds will find either community offers schools and a hospital. Both municipalities even offer an indoor pool. However, while Olds in recent years partnered with a company to provide broadband to its residents, Sundre remains in what amounts to a digital dark age of slow speeds. Even the newer parts of town can only get the slowest package offered by the local telecommunications giant.
There are developing countries with faster Internet speeds.
Of course such infrastructure doesn't come cheap. The idea is not to install broadband solely for the purpose of making it possible for people to stream movies and shows online or download music. Businesses would also undoubtedly benefit from having a better connection to the web, and could potentially find room for growth by extending their reach far beyond our municipal border.
Sundre undeniably has a lot of appeal already, but it only makes sense to make this community even more appealing in the digital age. That means taking steps to introduce fibre optic broadband Internet.
Not pursuing such a project would be akin to a council from yesteryear putting off looking at installing phone lines because telegrams and Morse code were still working just fine. But just because something works, that doesn't mean there isn't a far more suitable alternative available. A horse and buggy will move us from A to B, but we all prefer the speed and comfort of motorized transportation.
Town officials should be commended for investigating potential options and business plans that might be suitable for Sundre. Although residents can't expect high speed Internet any time soon, they should be glad to have a forward-thinking council that understands the importance of such a service.
