Sask. Internet providers, customers talk connectivity during COVID-19 isolation

With many around the world — including here in Saskatchewan — working or studying from home, people are relying on their Internet connections now more than ever.

People in isolation are counting on those services for doing their work from home, entertaining themselves or their family with streaming services, or communicating with loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But what if that internet isn’t reliable, or shuts down completely?

That’s a reality some may face as this unprecedented crisis continues to unfold.

On Wednesday, 650 CKOM decided to reach out to listeners and readers about their concerns with internet providers, and if they are having issues with connectivity.

As we lean more and more on our internet at home, I want to hear if ANYONE in Saskatchewan has had issues with their internet connection during the past few days.

Either drop a reply ⬇️ or email me at blang@rawlco.com. #Sask #yxe #yqr

— brady lang (@BradyLangSK) March 18, 2020

Among responses, issues with connectivity did come up, including reduced access to the Internet.

One Saskatoon listener who reached out via email said their connectivity to SaskTel has struggled since 10 p.m. Tuesday.

“I noticed my phone wasn’t connecting to WiFi,” they said. “I work from home (on) a travel ban.”

The listener said they made several calls Wednesday morning, with calls going through on Skype for “around a minute.”

“Then it would disconnect,” they said. They ended up calling shortly thereafter and the Internet worked for around an hour before more issues.

“After that, disconnected.”

They said after restarting their computer and router, nothing worked. After being on hold with their provider for half an hour, the service was restored.

“(It was) like they flipped a switch.”

Others said businesses, as well as residential customers, complained of intermittent service over the past 24 to 72 hours.

650 CKOM reached out to some of Saskatchewan’s main Internet providers to get their response to the current and potential future issues with their service.

“We continue to see increased usage of our network and our customers continue to enjoy strong connectivity and broadband service,” a Shaw spokesperson said.

“We’ve made significant enhancements and investments to our network over the last few years to increase our network upstream and downstream capacity, and — notwithstanding any unforeseen circumstances — we are confident that we are in an excellent position to manage significant network usage increases, especially within our major markets where we expect the largest increases to occur.”

SaskTel’s communications department directed us to the support page on the company website.

Under the company’s “maintaining network reliability” subhead, it says it’s closely monitoring the pandemic and are “taking the appropriate steps to ensure our network continues to perform well.”

“We realize that some customers may have increased needs to work from home and remotely, and we’re taking steps to make sure data capacity is adequate to handle any increased demands. While no one can be certain of the extent and effects of an event or pandemic, we feel we’re in a strong position for preparedness,” the statement reads.

“We continuously monitor bandwidth usage with tools that analyze network statistics, which reveal network trends, and provide us with performance and capacity reports that help us manage our network.”

Meanwhile, Access Communications does not deliver service to Saskatoon but does for the Warman and Martensville areas. They also deliver service to other areas in Saskatchewan, including Regina.

“Access does not have data limits in place for our Internet services and we are fully prepared to service the increasing demands of our customers who are staying at home in response to the COVID-19 virus,” Fran Moran, communications manager for the company, stated via email.

“Access has recently completed backhaul upgrades to grow with our ever-increasing customer demand.”