The Agriculture Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) has launched an internet speed test for residents anywhere in the province to test how their internet speeds match up with what their service contracts have promised.
The APAS test is a project organized in partnership with the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), which is committed to improving the safety and accessibility of internet services for Canadians.
APAS launched a Rural Connectivity Task Force back in September, to focus on addressing the problems with internet and cellular services in rural areas. The partnership is the first of its kind in the province.
The internet speed test takes less than a minute to complete, said a press release from APAS, and will provide the user information about the download and upload speeds of their internet connection.
Speeds that meet service standards for Canadian internet will be given a blue dot, while substandard speeds will have a red dot.
“Not only does it give us a really compelling picture of internet speed across the province,” said Jeremy Welter, chair of the APAS Rural Connectivity Task Force, “but it also gives people an exact picture of their own internet. They can compare their speed to what their contract promises and let their service provider know if they’re not getting the speeds they’re paying for.”
APAS is asking rural residents in towns, on farms, and on First Nations reserves to take the test so the project can collect data to gain insight into the reality of internet services across the province.
All information collected through the project will help APAS and other organizations ensure that the federal government is providing promised support through the Universal Broadband Fund to improve services to areas that need it most.
“The investment in the Universal Broadband Fund is an important step, and our Internet Speed Test is a great complement to it,” said Welter. “This Speed Test lets us put numbers to people’s experiences and see what internet service levels look like in specific areas around the province.”
The APAS internet speed test can be accessed by visiting apas.ca/speed-test on any internet browser.
At the time of publishing, more than 15,000 tests have been completed in Saskatchewan using the APAS speed test.
