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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

Figure 19: Final cellular connection MCE

Copper Wire Broadband MCE Suitability Map

Figure 20: Final copper connection MCE

Fibre Optic Broadband MCE Suitability Map

Figure 21: Final fibre connection MCE

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