Rural internet access remains a pressing topic in the province, but the pandemic has only made the access gap larger as more online meetings become the norm and schooling resorts to online delivery.

That is the reality for Adrienne Ivey, who lives on a farm near Ituna, Sask., with her husband and two teenage children. Her family uses Xplornet satellite service, which has a cap of 50 gigabytes, and all four of them have cell phone plans on Sasktel with the largest data packages.

“For a family of four, that goes very quickly,” says Ivey. “So, it’s a constant struggle to be budgeting and managing how much data we use in a month.”

Her family pays roughly $600 a month for all the services. But for Ivey, it’s the inconsistency of the service that is “extremely frustrating” because when Xplornet service is not working, they need to make sure they’ve saved enough cellular data through the month for backup.

“When we have run out of data, we can’t even do the basics like online banking or booking appointments online,” she said. “Which is so frustrating in today’s day and age when so much is available to you online.”

Sasktel announced on April 12 that data overage charges would be waved, and it “helped alleviate some of the stress,” but not the issue of quality. SaskTel also announced last fall plans to build 74 new cell towers in rural and remote areas of the province by early summer this year.

Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel is in a similar situation with her family of four, living on a farm outside of Mossbank, Sask. They are currently using Wood River Controls, a rural internet provider for southern Saskatchewan residents.

Even their farm operations use data collection software systems that rely on internet connection. Jolly-Nagel has issues with her internet and cell service dropping daily. Although her family has switched providers and equipment, they still face the same problem.

“We know that service is going to be more expensive where we live, that it’s not as available,” says Jolly-Nagel. “So, it isn’t an issue where you have to pay more, and you’ll get better service. I think we’ve paid all we can pay.”

Jolly-Nagel sits on a national organization and sometimes needs to drive into town and connect to wifi from her car just to have the speed required for Zoom meetings.

Starlink, the new broadband internet service provided through SpaceX satellites, has been a source of hope for rural Saskatchewan residents. Only a handful of Saskatchewan residents have been able to take part in beta testing of Starlink, including Daryl Fransoo, who has had the service for five weeks.

Fransoo lives with his girlfriend on an acreage near Meota, Sask. He has been happy with the service so far, although he does notice a lag in services every evening.

Before Starlink, Fransoo didn’t have an internet provider because none could reach his acreage as it’s located in a gully. But now, they can stream shows and work from home. He’s received several calls from neighbours asking about how they can also get the service.

“(Internet access) is just such a vital part of the world today,” says Fransoo. “We need to get rural connected better than we are.”