Many rural Islanders fed up with internet speeds: Your Comments

Rural P.E.I.'s internet has been a contentious issue on the Island for years, with many still complaining about the speed of their service.

In the government's last throne speech, the province announced it had earmarked $30 million over three years to build 1,450 kilometres of fibre cable to be an internet "backbone" across the Island.

• P.E.I. government scraps $30 million plan to build internet 'backbone' cable
• Why governments are spending more money to fix rural P.E.I.'s internet problem

However, the province said this week that it was scrapping that idea. Islanders responded, concerned that not enough is being done to improve internet service in rural areas.

Many of you weighed in on CBC Prince Edward Island's Facebook page in response to Monday's story.

(Please note that usernames are not necessarily the names of commenters. Some comments have been altered to correct spelling and to conform to CBC style.)

'Wouldn't want to deal with it year round'

"This is complete bull," says Bianca Gallant.

"The internet is a huge medium for my work and getting in touch with clients, and it's the same for a lot of people. It's not just a bunch of people sitting at home grumbling because they can't connect to the internet on their Candy Crush game, it could actually be ruining businesses."

Mike Arsenault said "internet in rural P.E.I. might as well not even exist it's so bad."

Ann Marie Gauthier says she vacations near Stanhope every year and her internet "sucks" and for some reason is "totally non-existent after 10 p.m."

"Obviously we deal for two to three weeks but sure wouldn't want to deal with it year round," she said.

'Fed up completely'

Kay Marie said she used to live in York, just north of Charlottetown, when she was doing her undergrad at UPEI and that her internet speed was 1 megabit per second (mbps) "on a good day."

"I often had to go into town to do my school work or watch videos for my classes. With how multimedia-heavy education is now, the lack of reliable high-speed internet service can be a significant hindrance to students of any level," she said. 

"As far as I'm aware, the service in York is still to this day no better than it was during the four years we lived there."

Shelley Hanson said "and the province wants people to move to rural areas. Nice move."

Tim Paynter said "under 1 mbps here in Freetown, it's a joke," and Ryan Donovan said "my internet sucks in Stratford, so I couldn't imagine being out in the country."

Viola Fogarty said "I never experienced such bad internet in my life, and the bill just keeps getting higher. Fed up completely. I think the government should have their own internet for the rural users."

A few commenters were happy with the quality of their service but questioned the cost.

"I have good internet, but it is now up to $106 a month, just for internet! Something has to be done about the prices," said Grant Kennedy.

"Our internet ... is pretty decent with speed, but it's pricey at $105 a month. That's [with] no cable," said Bonnie J. MacDonald.

Others debated over which service provider worked best for them.

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