As N.W.T. residents spend more time online, advocates urge 'responsible' internet usage

As people across the Northwest Territories adapt to spending a lot more time at home, they may also have to adjust their internet habits. 

"There's a shock to the system right now," said Dean Proctor, chief development officer with Yellowknife-based internet company, SSI Micro. "We need to have responsible usage now, and we need to plan for network capacity expansion now."

With directions to stay home during the COVID-19 pandemic, many more people are working, learning and entertaining themselves online, putting new strain on already limited northern internet networks.

During these unprecedented times, Proctor is calling for "social solidarity" to help ensure the internet works for those who need it, when they need it.

This could mean refraining from sending large files and from streaming videos in high definition. 

"It causes congestion," he said. "That means that calls don't go through, voice calls. That means that data is very slow to download or to upload."

If this capacity-intensive activity can be avoided, he said, "it just leaves a little more space for everybody else."

Of course, the onus isn't solely on users. Some streaming services, such as Netflix and Bell Media's Crave, have taken their own steps to lower bandwidth usage during the pandemic by reducing video quality. 

Candace Ruben in Paulatuk, N.W.T., said her internet is usually sluggish, but right now it's slower at her home, where she's currently working, than at the office.

"It takes like two minutes to load a PDF form, and when I'm working at my work, it takes like a minute," said Ruben. Her home internet may be slower, she said, "because my child and husband are on the internet, and I'm on the internet on my work laptop, and my phone is on it."

We need to have responsible usage now, and we need to plan for network capacity expansion now.- Dean Proctor, chief development officer with SSI Micro

Paulatuk is one of eight communities in the territory that, because of its remoteness, gets its internet via satellite. This connection has less capacity than internet delivered by fibre optic cable or phone infrastructure, said Proctor. It means that in times of increased usage, such as during this pandemic, a satellite network can get jammed up more quickly.

Andrew Anderson, a spokesperson for Northwestel, a northern telecommunications and internet provider, said on Monday that "to date, there are no issues which should be impacting internet speeds into a community." 

Overage fees still a concern for some

It's not only upload and download speeds, however, that are irking some users. Though concessions have been made, overage fees still apply in communities that don't get their internet via fibre optic cable.

In Coville Lake, N.W.T., users will get a 50 per cent data top-up, but David Codzi, assistant band manager, said this may not be enough. He'd like the caps eliminated in his community, like they have been in those that get the internet via cable.

"We're using a lot more than we usually do," said Codzi, adding that any internet limits under the current circumstances "puts people in more stressful situations."

"People are asked to be at home, and spend more time at home, away from the entertainment that they usually get from being around one another, so there has to be accommodations," he said.

Anderson said Northwestel's temporary internet usage relief measures "are different for each network technology so as to protect against exceeding the total capacity in a community."

Proctor points out that waiving customer usage fees won't address potential congestion of the network. 

He likened the issue to road traffic: "you're taking people into a major city at rush hour, putting them onto the main freeway, which is blocked with cars, and telling them you can drive as fast as you want. That doesn't help," he said.

What is needed, he added, is more internet infrastructure to increase capacity. "You need to build more laneways, you need to expand the size of the road."

Until that happens, Proctor is urging responsible internet usage.

"If you've got the TV streaming Netflix and you're not even watching it, don't."