Research Findings

Individual MCEs:

MCE 1: Wireless Broadband

MCE 2: Copper Broadband

MCE 3: Fiber Broadband

Final Maps:

The MCE process resulted in the production of a singular map outlining the top five locations which best suit the specified criteria, with a total of fifteen finalized locations. These locations are all well distributed throughout Canada.

The majority of the census districts chosen for broadband improvement lay between densely populated areas, and as a result of the weighted population density, tend to form parallel to major roadways. This benefits the implementation of any broadband improvements as access to major roadways allows for easier upgradability. The chosen districts are also slightly smaller than average in size compared to other regions, averaging around 1,724.1km² in size. This would make it potentially easy to improve these areas, as there will be less work required to cover the entire populated area. The populations of these regions average to be around 3,072 people per sq km, which is considerably larger than the provincial average of 5.82 people per sq km. This places emphasis on larger remote communities which will have a greater need for improved broadband connectivity than those closer to cities.

Map of Final 15 Locations for Potential Broadband Improvement

Figure 18: Top 15 subdivisions in need of broadband improvement

The list of suitable sites for improved broadband connectivity is dominated by western census districts as a result of the relative lack of copper and fibre infrastructure. The list of locations produced was chosen based on the highest suitability scores attained by each MCE. The list of locations produced is as follows:

Table 4: List of top five areas of potential fibre optic improvement including accompanying statistics
Census District Name	Province	Area (km²)	Population (2016)	Broadband Connectivity Scale (0-2048) Higher = Needs Improvement
Enfield	Saskatchewan	1,030.9	226	1,671.26
Upper Miramichi	New Brunswick	1,880.0	2,218	899.96
Paintearth County	Alberta	3,390.4	2,102	1,202.70
Spiritwood	Saskatchewan	2,869.1	786	1,589.10
Piney	Manitoba	2,460.2	1,726	989.03

Table 5: List of top five areas of potential cellular broadband improvement including accompanying statistics
Census District Name	Province	Area (Km²)	Population (2016)	Broadband Connectivity Scale (0-2048) Higher = Needs Improvement
Fertile Valley	Saskatchewan	1,030.6	539	1,884.61
Reford	Saskatchewan	735.5	257	1,616.98
Cariboo Area: G	British Columbia	2,740.0	5,156	1,700.04
Parry Sound (Central District)	Ontario	4,160.0	2,143	1,209.85
Carlow/Mayo	Ontario	420.1	864	960.40

Table 6: List of top five areas of potential copper broadband improvement including accompanying statistics
Census District Name	Province	Area (Km²)	Population (2016)	Broadband Connectivity Scale (0-2048) Higher = Needs Improvement
Wetaskiwin County	Alberta	3,240.1	11,181	1,510.90
Parkdale	Saskatchewan	1,450.7	621	1,635.85
Springfield	Manitoba	1,100.3	15,342	1,499.93
Frontenac	Ontario	1,370.2	1,898	1,202.22
Hudson's Hope	British Columbia	859.9	1,015	1,191.90

The final MCE output maps generated created were extremely precise and at the Canada-Wide scale, difficult to perceive the changes in cell values when comparing final suitability scores. Therefore, requiring the creation of inset maps which examine Western, Central and Eastern Canada, as well as an overall view of the extent of broadband coverage across all of Canada.

Cellular Broadband MCE Suitability Map