In the aftermath of last weekend's storm, many residents in Eastern Ontario lost internet access. They believe such events highlight the shortcomings of the digital age. Read on to know more about how internet outages after a storm frustrated residents in Eastern Ontario.
Amber
McCoy, one of the residents of Richmond, Rural South Ottawa, said, "Everything
has been downloaded to the internet. 'Go to the internet. Go to the internet.
Go to the internet.' And when it's not there, where do you go anymore?"
After the
storm was over, McCoy didn't have any running water at home. When she went
online for essential information but couldn't find any. She even found it hard
to connect to the 3-1-1 phone line. Expressing her frustration, she said, "There
still needs to be some backup, bare-bones basic methods of communication to
deal with this kind of scenario."
Mayor's
Solution
Amid the
internet issues, Ottawa
Mayor Jim Watson pointed residents to free Wi-Fi at public libraries,
community centers, and city hall. He said, "I've heard from a number of
people who obviously are concerned and upset that their internet service is off.
But they would have to really contact their supplier. As I mentioned, we've got
options available for people to come. I know it's not perfect."
The
deadline to restore power is Friday, and the province will cover the cleanup
costs. Most calls of service issues were reported from postal codes starting
with K1A, K4C, K1H, and K0A. Even the internet access issues were more
prevalent in K1A, K0A, and K4C.
Work
From Home Became Troublesome
Many
residents were disappointed by the internet issues as their work from home
schedule was interrupted. One of the Orléans residents, Nancy Lebrun, stated "I
work partially at home, and I need my internet, and my husband works at home every
day, and he's been without internet. So, it's been quite disruptive."
Though Nancy
Lebrun's power has been restored, she still doesn't have internet access. She stated
that the lack of communication has been frustrating.
A Bells
Corners resident David Gilbert also stated that the lack of internet access affects
his livelihood. He has to connect with clients virtually but can't do it
without the internet. He is also disappointed by the "deafening
silence" regarding when he may have the internet again. His frustration
was evident too when he said, "Is it a day more? Is it a week more? And
for those who rely on the internet for all kinds of reasons, that's a
challenge."
Need for
Simplicity
McCoy said
her internet woes were primarily compounded by the number of people using data
on their devices. It clogged up cell towers and made accessing and downloading
web pages difficult. Though her power and internet were back, she mentioned the
need for simpler web pages without graphics. She believes they might have made
it easier to access critical information.
She said, "As
awesome and amazing as it is, during something like this, it definitely has
some shortcomings. And we can't lose sight of the importance of other routes of
communication."
Sources:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/internet-issue-ottawa-storm-aftermath-1.6466099
https://novonite.com/internet-outages-after-storm-frustrate-residents-in-eastern-ontario/