Report highlights obstacles to overcome to achieve rural prosperity.Ottawa—While it has been said many times before, the federal Rural Development Strategy (RDS) makes a strong case for bringing the level of internet access urban Canada enjoys to the country.Announced by Rural Development Minister Bernadette Jordan, the strategy said, “Access to reliable, high-speed internet is essential for success. It's needed for business growth, skills training, public safety, access to services, and participation in the democratic process.”Only 37 percent of rural households have access to the government's target speed of 50 megabits per second download (Mbps) and 10 Mbps upload compared to 97 percent of households in urban areas.“Cellular coverage is also an issue,” the FDS said. “As of 2017, 14 percent of major Canadian roads and highways still lacked mobile wireless coverage. This gap in coverage poses safety concerns for motorists and travellers in need of emergency services.”During consultations across the country, rural Canadians said “unreliable and slow Internet connectivity is their No. 1 challenge. We heard about kids doing their homework at local coffee shops so they could access Wi-Fi; businesses having to rely on cash or cheques because they can't rely on Interac machines; and people avoiding using the Internet at peak times, because of how slow it can become.”The federal government launched a $500-million Connect to Innovate program several years ago to extend high-speed Internet access to rural communities and households. In this year's budget, the government announced $1.7 billion Universal Broadband Fund.Rural residents “want their infrastructure to be modern, safe, and sustainable; they want to work at jobs they love that help them provide for their families; they want to be able to move around their communities safely and easily; and they want to protect their homes and families from floods, wildfires, and other extreme weather events,” the Strategy said.Trevin Stratton, Chief Economist of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the government's recommitment “to its previous promises to address the unique skills, infrastructure, and connectivity challenges facing Canada's rural communities. We are looking forward to receiving new details on this plan.“Rural communities face obstacles to attaining their economic potential that include their distance from markets as well as the skilled workforce and critical infrastructure essential to business operations,” he said. “With this report, the government outlines its existing initiatives to help rural communities access the skills needed to compete in the economy of today and tomorrow.“Canadian companies are also strong advocates for enhancing access to high-speed internet in rural areas and for building the necessary infrastructure to get our resources to market,” he said. “We eagerly await the details on the government's plan and timeline to roll out these initiatives.”Another important measure for rural communities is keeping public infrastructure up to date, the FDS said. “Together, population and economic growth are putting increasing pressure on Canada's public infrastructure. The need to upgrade and replace Canada's infrastructure is becoming urgent.”The challenge of maintaining rural infrastructure is aggravated by the terms of government funding programs, which “are often beyond a small community's capacity or financing ability.” Small communities frequently have “to delay or cancel business park expansions or housing development projects due to inadequate infrastructure.”The FDS said the government “will continue to work with rural communities to better design and promote access to federal infrastructure programs, and support the implementation of Smart Cities projects in rural areas.”Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.