If the Rogers outage of 2022 taught us anything, it’s that internet access is viewed as an essential service. As a result, your condo board needs to ensure you provide a reliable, disruption-free internet connection. Here we explore internet access resilience as a viable way to reduce the risks of buggy connections.

What is Internet Access Resilience?

Internet access resilience maintains an acceptable level of internet service when an outage occurs. The Rogers outage saw over 13 million Canadians without connectivity, including access to 9-11 services. Resilient internet access ensures your residents maintain critical infrastructure and emergency services regardless of major service disruptions or outages. 

How Does Internet Access Resilience Work?

Users access the internet via internet service provider (ISP) transit networks that connect the end-users to the global internet and transport networks such as Rogers and Bell that connect two points of the network. For example, it might be a retail ISP connected to another internet exchange point. To achieve access resilience, the trick is to ensure diversity between your transit providers and ensure the transport networks your providers connect to are distinct.

Why is Resilience Better Than Access Redundancy?

Redundancy can help manage service disruptions using two separate internet connections from the same provider. However, should a provider outage occur, it will impact both connections. As a result, redundancy doesn’t provide quick recovery. Instead, you need access resilience to protect connectivity through diversity.

Why is Internet Access Resilience Important? 

Increasingly more developers and internet service providers (ISPs) are making exclusive deals that put reliance on a single provider. This leaves residents vulnerable to outages, as well as disruptions that interfere with their access to service. 

Condo corporations must adhere to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission’s policy (CRTC) preventing entities such as condo corporations from limiting consumer choices. As a result, your board must provide four sources for internet/cable services.

It’s up to the ISP to bear the cost of extending their wiring to the main terminal room at their customer’s request with the provider extending its infrastructure to the appropriate units/floors. Therefore, adhering to this policy does not cost your condo corporation money. 

If your condo corporation includes internet service as part of its amenities, you become the end user. Even if you’re unable to accommodate the minimum number of service providers due to infrastructure challenges you might find this leads to complications. For example, in some cases failure to offer four providers might mean your current provider is prohibited from offering certain services for new residents or change or upgrade services for existing customers in your condo.

How Does Access Resilience Impact Condo Residents?

Residents rely on internet connections for critical services and information including access to emergency services and remote work platforms. Loss of connectivity can impact a resident’s ability to earn a living, or in the worst-case scenario mean the difference between life and death.  Without access resilience or at least some form of redundancy, your residents are helpless against outages. As we face increasing risks related to demands on the system from a booming population in hand with weather catastrophes and property emergencies such as flooding, continuous connectivity is a must. 

The condo experts at CPO Management Inc, a full-service property management company in Toronto and the GTA, can introduce effective amenity management strategies including improving internet access with proven resilience strategies. Reach out to us today to learn more about our condo services.