Brant Connects

In an increasingly connected world, access to reliable high-speed internet is necessary. Being connected helps us stay in touch with our communities, access public services, create jobs and enhance economic growth. Learn how you can get connected in the County of Brant. 

On this page:

• Connection Tools
• Internet Service Providers 
• Testing your connection
• Troubleshooting problems with your internet
• What to do when the issue is with your provider 

Internet Service Providers

You will need to contact an Internet Service Provider to get connected to the internet. Finding out who can help you is easier than you may think. View the National Broadband Internet Service Availability Map available on the Government of Canada website. 

Testing your connection

Once you are connected to the internet, you can test your connection speed online. There are several free online services to do this, such as speedtest.net and performance.cira.ca/brant  When measuring your upload and download speeds, a higher rate means faster service (for example, 25 Mbps is a faster download speed than 15 Mbps). Internet plans usually offer a download speed which is faster than your upload speed, since historically most houses downloaded more than they uploaded.

Troubleshooting problems with your internet

If your internet connection is slow or unreliable, try these steps:

• Do an online speed test to measure your connection speeds.
• If you find your measured speeds are below your subscribed package, try connecting your device directly into your Internet Service Provider’s modem using a network cable. If the poor speeds persist, the issue is likely with your internet provider.
• If the speeds coming directly from your provider are good, try wiring your device to your router using an Ethernet cable and disabling Wi-Fi. If that connection is slow, the issue is somewhere on your home network (other devices using up the connection, or potentially your router/Ethernet cable/device itself).
• If the speeds when cabled into your router are good, but your speeds are poor when connected via Wi-Fi, the problem lies within the wireless portion of your home network. Try bringing your device closer to your router/wireless access point or using a different device to see if the Wi-Fi performance is only an issue on your original device.

What to do when the issue is with your service provider 

If your testing indicates an issue with your internet connection itself, your provider will have a support line that you can call to report the problem.

If your internet provider is unable to provide you with a satisfactory resolution, you can submit a complaint with The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services. This an independent organization dedicated to resolving complaints fairly and free of charge. You can visit ccts-cprst.ca to make a submission. You will need to include details regarding your service issues, including the attempt(s) you made to contact your ISP in effort to achieve a resolution.

Nationally, roughly 87 percent of Canadian households are connected at a speed of 50/10 Mbps. When connectivity is broken down by urban and rural places, the differences are stark: nearly 99 percent of urban households have a 50/10 connection standard, relative to approximately 46 percent of rural households, with broadband availability at 35 percent of households on First Nations reserves.

Gaspard, H. (2021). Broadband—Improving Rural Connectivity. policymagazine.ca/broadband-improving-rural-connectivity