SUNDRE — Xplornet Communications Inc., the company currently deploying high-speed fibre optic internet infrastructure in town, is among many recipients of a federal government grant.
The $2.75 billion Universal Broadband Fund is billed by the federal government as a program intended to facilitate the nation-wide rollout of broadband over the coming years, with the objective of ensuring 98 per cent of Canadians have access to high-speed internet by 2026 and the ultimate target of reaching 100 per cent by 2030.
High-speed internet is defined by the government as services providing a minimum of 50 megabits per second download and 10 megabits per second upload.
Last week, the federal government announced this year’s allotment of funding included $41 million in Alberta that will connect 2,676 households in 25 communities to high-speed internet, with residents of rural communities largely benefiting from the increased and improved connectivity.
Among them are Xplornet, which through the grant funding will receive $1.8 million toward the project currently underway in Sundre.
While the company did not disclose the Sundre project's cost for competitive reasons, it outlined its commitment to invest $500 million by 2025 to deploy state-of-the-art scalable fibre and 5G fixed wireless technology across the country to meet the needs of rural Canadians today and in the future.
Asked whether the project was on schedule and on budget, a spokesperson said, “We’ve been deploying high-speed internet in rural communities for over 15 years. While rural broadband projects come with their own unique sets of challenges, this is our expertise and we anticipate the first phase of the project to be completed in June 2022, with the remainder to follow over the course of 2022.”
Xplornet submitted its application for the grant funding last spring.
The spokesperson said the company looks forward to continue investing in Alberta and working alongside the federal government to ensure rural residents and businesses in towns like Sundre “can experience the benefits of fast internet connectivity. High-speed internet is critical for fostering economic growth and strong communities and we’re excited about the opportunities this network will unlock for homes and businesses.”
Future-ready
Jon Allan, the municipality's economic development officer, who over the past number of years has been a vocal advocate for deploying broadband, celebrated the federal government's grant as well as Xplornet's commitment to the community.
“This win has been a long-time coming,” Allan wrote by email in response to questions. “Fibre optics are hard-wired pipelines of information that carry data on waves of light through strands of glass. They are essential to making any place future-ready.”
Additionally, fibre optics have not only been shown to increase home values by as much as two to three per cent, through what he dubs the “broadband bump,” but they are also integral to providing the backbone necessary for municipalities to develop smart infrastructure in the future.
“Fibre optics also contribute to improved medical services, especially in rural areas like ours,” he said.
Additionally, the high-speed internet infrastructure provides “the necessary bandwidth for businesses to compete in an interconnected data-driven economy; and of course, fibre optics improve the quality of living of residents by allowing people to do the things they want to do online without lag time.”
Pandemic highlights importance of broadband
There are altogether 21 projects in Alberta earmarked to receive grant funding from the federal government, including numerous First Nations and Métis communities such as Sunchild First Nation, O’Chiese, Peavine Métis Settlement, Duncan’s First Nation, Driftpile Cree Nation, and Beaver Lake Cree Nation.
Some of the projects are getting a few hundred thousand dollars, with the largest sum reaching about $4.5 million for Yellowhead County for the rural areas in that municipality.
Other major funding boosts for broadband include more than $4.3 million for Peavine Métis Settlement, as well as $3.7 million for Sputinow and $3.5 million O’Chiese, all projects that are being done by the Arrow Technology Group Limited Partnership. Also, the Stoney Tribal Administration, operating as Stoney Nakoda Telecom, was awarded nearly $2.9 million to deliver services in Morley, Eden Valley, Benchlands, Ghost Lake Reserve and lands of the Stoney Nakoda.
While the federal government’s effort to invest in delivering high-speed internet throughout Canada’s rural and remote communities has been underway since 2015, along the way connecting 1.1 million households, the pandemic further underscored the importance of ramping up the effort to connect people to broadband.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed how we live, work, learn and do business,” reads a portion of the government’s press release. “And now more than ever, Canadians across the country need reliable high-speed internet to access services, supports and opportunities.”
Nation-wide investment
Last year, 131 projects received support through the Universal Broadband Fund — administered through the Government of Canada’s Innovation, Science and Economic Development department — which the government says is part of a range of federal investments to improve high-speed internet.
“Since 2015, the Government of Canada has committed $7.2 billion to connect rural Canadians to better, faster internet. We will continue making investments like these in rural and remote communities to help connect every single Canadian to high-speed internet,” Gudie Hutchings, minister of Rural Economic Development, was quoted as saying in a prepared statement.
Connecting more citizens to broadband will help create jobs, improve access to health care and online learning services, as well as keep people connected, said Hutchings.
“The pandemic has shown us how essential high-speed internet access has become,” said George Chahal, MP for Calgary Skyview, in a statement. “The Government of Canada understands that it is urgent and vital to connect rural and remote regions throughout Canada, including in Alberta.”
Prior to last week’s announcement, the federal government said it had already green-lit 48 projects, totalling more than $56 million, which will connect 36,000-plus households across the province.
Sundre project's first phase well underway
While fibre optic networks are always broadband, broadband does not necessarily always mean fibre optics infrastructure is involved, with high-speed internet also being delivered through wireless technology such as 5G networks.
Xplornet’s Sundre project is a physical combination of aerially mounted fibre optic cables as well as conduits in the ground, but the company is also working on other wireless broadband projects in Alberta.
In its own press release, the company said the project in Sundre will connect more than 1,300 homes and businesses “to a next generation fibre-to-the-premise network.”
The first phase is expected to be finished this June, and will enable more than 100 homes and businesses to connect to the new network, the company said, adding the remaining phases will be delivered over the course of the rest of the year. The project and others throughout Alberta are a part of the company’s ongoing effort to connect more remote and rural communities across the country.
Mayor welcomes development
Expressing gratitude to Jon Allan, the municipality’s economic development officer, for his effort to push the project forward, Mayor Richard Warnock called the announcement “great news for Sundre.”
The mayor told the Albertan that ensuring the town is offering the right services to increase appeal to potential businesses and residents is vital.
“Let’s face it, broadband I believe raises property values, it raises business interest” and improves residents’ quality of life, he said.
“So, I believe that broadband helps communities.”
Warnock said he looks forward to following up with local business owners next year to discuss how the new high-speed internet service benefited their operations.
“Medical, accounting, and legal professions are all here in Sundre and we want to keep them here in Sundre," he said.
