66.5 per cent say they endure mobile
phone service disruptions at least once a
day, if not numerous times.
If rural citizens found their cell and
internet coverage subpar before COVID-
19, the pandemic only heightened
their discontent.
“People that weren’t affected as
much before are definitely being affected
now,” Verwey said.
Business impacts
Respondents say internet service dis-ruptions
upset their ability to conduct
regular business interactions – book-work,
email, payment processing, online
banking, and troubleshooting issues – as
well as lead to missed opportunities and
lost sales.
Farmers report internet service dis-ruptions
hamper business activities like
participating in online auctions, retriev-ing
field data, accessing grain markets
and trades, and monitoring calving
with cameras.
For Voogt, Bell MTS internet was
“by far the worst, and is intermittent
at best.”
Margins on agricultural goods are
already very narrow, and farmers need
reliable service to give them a competi-tive
edge, Verwey says.
“If markets are changing and you’re
not able to access those to make a sale or
purchase, then that’s limiting your abil-ity
to be as efficient as you can be as a
producer,” she said.
Some respondents also say they
have been unable to invest in new
technologies that would aid their busi-ness
due to the lack of a fast and reliable
internet connection.
Verwey hooked up to what was high
speed internet 20 years ago, but since
that time, she believes the speed has
fallen by at least 70 per cent.
For some farmers, there are no choic-es
to switch to a competitor, as many
survey respondents note that Xplornet
is the only internet provider available in
their area.
Cell phone deficiencies
Despite operating near Portage la
Prairie, Verwey criticizes the declining
reliability of her cell service explaining
she has experienced no phone access
on numerous fields, and dead spots
along highways.
Paul Gregory, who operates a honey
and seed export business approximately
100 miles north of Winnipeg, says he
puts up with spotty service whenever he
leaves his office to farm, run errands, or
travel to Winnipeg.
“That results in missed sales
calls, upset customers, and stress,”
Gregory said.
“Cell (service) is just terrible almost
anywhere we work,” said Voogt. “It is a
huge impact on our consulting services
to the farmers we work with.”
On numerous occasions, Voogt has
had incoming calls go straight to voice-mail,
or had conversations take four
times longer because calls were dropped
or connections were poor, requiring him
to find an area with a better signal.
His summer seasonal field scouts
have also described difficulty keeping
in touch as they or other members of the
firm found themselves situated in wire-less
dead zones.
“I’d like to see more towers and ser-vices
in our area, or cell boosters being
provided to us at no cost if it can’t be
improved,” Voogt said.
Other impacts
KAP’s survey reveals numerous safety
concerns, the most serious being respon-dents’
lack of faith in accessing emer-gency
services.
Gregory could think of at least two
deaths in his community that could be
attributed to poor cell service as the vic-tims
were trapped and could do no more
than try to phone for help.
He said, “911, good luck,” adding
that when possible, people in trouble are
better off flagging down motorists for a
ride to the hospital.
Participants also report difficul-ty
looking up highway conditions or
weather reports and note unreliability
in alarm systems and security cameras
that depend on internet service.
Gregory adds that he’s been forced
to spend a cold winter’s night sleeping in
a cabover truck mired in snow because
he couldn’t get a signal, and it was too
risky to trudge through a storm to the
nearest distant farmhouse.
KAP’s survey also reveals broad
effects for education as participants
report difficulty conducting research
for schoolwork, accessing online
Of the 1,557 respondents, 62.9
per cent report being either
somewhat or very dissatisfied
with their internet service, and
64.6 per cent report being either
somewhat or very dissatisfied
with their mobile phone service.
Kharom Klamphian/123RF
KAP CELL SURVEY
40 § Manitoba Farmers’ Voice § Summer 2020