SUNDRE — The second phase of construction that will connect remaining town residents and businesses to high-speed, fibre optic broadband internet is expected to be finished this fall.
The first phase, which was completed earlier this summer, effectively offered 127 homes and businesses within the municipality access to gigabit speeds on Xplornet Communications Inc. new fibre network.
“The remaining premises will be connected in November 2022,” a company spokesperson wrote by email on Aug. 30 in response to questions. “In total, more than 1,300 homes and businesses in Sundre will benefit from gigabit speed access to online work, schooling, virtual health care and more on a next-gen fibre network.”
The company reports the project has been progressing well, but citing competitive reasons, would not disclose what kind of uptake there has been to date among the 127 premises that can already sign up for the service, called Xplore Fibre.
“While we can’t comment on subscriber count due to competitive reasons, the feedback from our customers has been positive,” the spokesperson said.
The company also expressed gratitude not only for the municipality’s support, but also a collaboration with FortisAlberta, which has “helped keep the project on track so that we can deliver the immense benefits of fibre-powered connectivity to residents and businesses in Sundre.”
The project is a part of Xplornet’s commitment to invest $500 million by 2025 to deploy state-of-the-art scalable fibre and 5G fixed wireless technology in its facilities-based network to meet the needs of rural Canadians.
The company is also deploying fibre-to-the-premise infrastructure in Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Along with Xplornet’s private investment, the project in Sundre is partially funded through the Rapid Response Stream of the Universal Broadband Fund, a federal government initiative to connect Canadians to high-speed internet.
“We need to close the connectivity gap and ensure that every nook and cranny of Alberta has access to reliable high-speed internet,” Hon. Gudie Hutchings, minister of Rural Economic Development, was quoted as saying in a company press release issued in June.
“The Government of Canada will continue to make investments like these to help achieve our national target of connecting 98 per cent of Canadians by 2026 and 100 per cent by 2030.”
Feasibility and marketability studies paid for by the municipality also played a key part in paving the way forward to entice the private, for-profit company to proceed with the project.
“Residents, businesses, and the medical community in Sundre have waited years for a full fibre network to be deployed,” Sundre’s mayor, Richard Warnock, was quoted as saying in the presser.
“Sundre is delighted with Xplornet’s commitment to bring fibre technology to rural Alberta. We recognize the immense value that investments like this are for communities like ours, and we look forward to collaborating and growing with Xplornet into the future.”
