Wired for business in Muskoka

Potter Eric Lindgren has unexpectedly found himself transformed from squeaky wheel to spokesperson for high speed in Muskoka.

“Almost like the fax machine 20 years ago, high speed presence is a necessity,” says Lindgren, a prominent member of the Muskoka arts scene who, untrue to type, also happens to be fond of technology.

Lindgren had been watching with interest as the not-for-profit group Muskoka Community Network spearheaded the spread of high speed to the region, pushing broadband coverage from just 15% to approximately 80% in the last five years. This is no small feat given the challenging terrain offered by the region’s ubiquitous granite cliffs and forested valleys.

“Being in a rural area doesn’t mean you’re limited to dial-up,” says MCN Executive Director Rob McPhee.

By 2008, however, Lindgren’s patience was wearing thin, as, despite his perception of being surrounded by broadband towers, his studio and showroom, located in the woods off Highway 11 south of Huntsville, remained in a stubborn high speed “shadow.”

The Squeaky Wheel

He proceeded to lobby Muskoka Community Network, through their interactive website, and then by taking the trouble to collect the names of neighbours who would benefit from high speed. Voilà. Up went a 100-foot tower, and by January 2009 he could upload and download with the best of them.

McPhee is pleased to see MCN’s responsiveness to the needs of the community paying off. “We have overcome these obstacles in Muskoka,” he says, noting, “there are places that don’t have geographic challenges like we have that are not as advanced as Muskoka is in terms of rural broadband connectivity.”

Lindgren is just happy to have high speed, and he doesn’t mind paying for it, in more ways than one. “They’re not paying me, they’re getting back at me,” he quips of the MCN advertisements on Moose FM radio and poster campaign in which he stars. He appreciates the advantages that high speed brings to his business while having the privilege of living and working in the countryside, something he did not foresee 30 years ago when he moved here.

“Moving up here is less of an evasion of urbanization than it was then, but in relative terms it probably still is the same shift,” he says. “For people that live in the city this still is really getting back to the land, but there’s much more to offer now. A lot of the entertainments and the nourishments, they are all available here now. We made a very good move.”

Courtesy of Muskoka Tourism

By Tamsen Tillson                                                           

Bracebridge, ON                                              

Published on  May 28, 2010

Updated May 28, 2010

Go to our Lifestyle Sources & Resources