Internet Speed Test

Covid has exacerbated the problems of internet reach/capacity and speed in major centres and most directly in rural Canada.   There has increased demand on internet connectivity to work or study from home, to run businesses virtually, to access telehealth services and to access information and entertainment to name just a few.

The CRTC has identified a “basic service” for all Canadians to enable an internet connection with access to broadband speeds of at least 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload and access to unlimited data - speeds most of us in Valley can only dream about.  

This will require a significant investment in infrastructure.  EORN ‘s (Eastern Ontario Regional Network) current $213 million initiative to improve services will be an important step forward, along with funds from the federal and provincial governments and the municipalities.

In order to facilitate this work, we need to document our Internet speeds with performance.cira.ca.   This will clearly show that we are not at the basic speed as recommended by the CRTC.  The test is being provided by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority.

To do the test

• From your internet service provider's bill or website, find what service you pay for (download/upload speeds), your monthly usage cap, and your monthly cost.  (If you do not have this information, you can still take the test, but this data will help to get a clearer picture of cost in our area as well as service levels.)  
• Go to HTTPS://performance.cira.ca
• Enter your postal code.  Then click the blue teardrop shape beside the postal code box.  This should open a map with an orange location marker, which you can move to your exact location.  (If you do not move the marker to your exact location, your results will not be properly logged.) 
• Fill in the boxes on the side of the map; there's also a box for you to comment.  Click OK to close the map screen.
• Fill in your Internet Service Provider in the box beside the Postal Code
• Click the orange “Start” button.  It will measure & register your upload/download speed into the database.  The whole process should only take a very few minutes. 

If you would like to do the test multiple times & provide richer data, please begin by clicking on “Sign In” at the top right-hand corner, then “Create Account” which will ask for your email & a password.  You can proceed with the test from there.

When you are ready to start the test, please go to this website:   HTTPS://performance.cira.ca