APAS introduces Internet speed test

Nov 13, 2020

APAS reps ask Saskatchewan residents to complete the test to help the organization gather insights

Staff Writer

Farms.com

Representatives from the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan’s (APAS) Rural Connectivity Task Force encourage residents in the province to complete an Internet speed test.

Through the test, users can learn about their upload and download speeds.

“The more often (people) take the test, the more accurate of a picture we can get of the variabilities in services. The speed test you do at 1:30 or 2:00 pm will be different from the speed test at midnight,” said Jeremy Welter, the chair of the task force.

APAS and the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) partnered to bring the test to Saskatchewan residents. The CIRA works to improve the safety and accessibility of the Internet for people across Canada.

“A lot of the speed tests that providers offer on their websites are done through their portals offering a best-case look at what your speed test should or could actually look like. But it's not a real-world scenario in the same way that the CIRA speed test is on the on the APAS website,” Welter told Farms.com.

The task force hopes to have as many people as possible take the test so the group can gather information on what connectivity looks like across Saskatchewan.

“In order to come up with some really good policy recommendations, we need to have good data – which includes current and up-to-date speed tests by people across the province,” said Welter.

Connectivity is a high priority for the task force and an important part of our lives, said Welter.

“We need to start treating our ability to connect to the Internet in the very same way we would treat our ability to connect to electricity, water or the natural gas network. The Internet is an essential service and a lot more opportunities exist with it than without it. We've seen some of that throughout the pandemic, as we try and ask more and more people to work remotely from home or we ask students to train and study from home,” he said.

Saskatchewan residents can access the test here and view what areas of the province are meeting the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s service standards for Canadian Internet.

Oleksandr Hruts/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo

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