A business owner in Inverness Co. says she won’t be able to keep running a business in the area if Internet access issues aren’t resolved.
Sara Rankin wrote a widely-shared Facebook post Nov. 8; in it, she said her graphic design company needs good upload and download speeds, and she highlighted the challenges she’s faced getting what she needs to continue to run her business from her Mabou home.
Rankin tells The Hawk she’s had to use Internet from a nearby school library, and travel to the mainland when that wasn’t an option.
“I am in the process of looking for a house, and quite honestly, if nothing was going to change, I could not imagine doing this for the next number of years,” she says. “I do have to consider living elsewhere, and coming back and being one of the visitors, because it’s impossible to run a business like this.”
Rankin says she’s not happy to be considering leaving the area.
She says she’s heard from representatives with different groups trying to improve Internet access in the county since her post.
“This will open doors- it’s not just for me,” she says. “It’s to get more people on the island, it’s to help all the businesses run better, so hopefully- hopefully- something will be done.”
Rankin says officials with the Cape Breton Partnership are considering a community hub with fibre-op, and municipal officials plan to speak with Bell Aliant reps about Internet concerns.
She says she’s also gotten offers from Internet providers to work on her access issues.
Photo credit: Steve Rankin Photography
