The county administration, finance and personnel committee had some good News for councillors at their meeting on May 26.
Acting committee chairman Joanne Ross Zuj announced the high speed internet network is finally getting moving, and it is scheduled to be operating by September. The report to the committee stated the first two towers, near Fergus, have been fully operational since May 4.
“We finally have this moving,” said Ross Zuj.
Wellington County received a grant of $1-million to help get high speed internet into rural areas, but then ran into problems. The company that was supposed to handle the task had financial difficulties, including a tower that was knocked down by vandals, and it eventually was taken over by Barrett Xplornet (now known as Xplornet Communications Inc. or XCI) and is now back on track.
The Waterloo Wellington Community Futures Development Corporation has scheduled an outreach session in each municipality to explain what is being offered. The first sessions will be in Mapleton on June 8, in Guelph-Eramosa on June 9 and Centre Wellington on June 14; the remaining four sessions will be scheduled in September.
Residents looking for more information from the company on service availability and pricing can visit a dedicated website for the Wellington County project at www.wellingtonhighspeed.com.
Councillor Lou Maieron pointed out there are places shown on the report’s map that indicate there will be gaps in the service in Centre Wellington, Minto and Erin. He asked if XCI intends eventually to fill in those gaps.
Ross-Zuj replied there is “no question there are gaps” but the company is working to supply high speed internet to as many people as possible on this project. “What you see [on the map] are areas we are addressing,” she said.
Warden Chris White agreed there will be gaps in the system, and he said in particular, “people in valleys” might not be able to access the signals. He reminded Maieron the project is not a county program; the county is simply handling the money that came in a grant from the provincial government.
Maieron said there are 4,000 to 5,000 people in Erin and Hillsburgh, and he is surprised they are not being included.
Councillor George Bridge asked about the Drew tower, and said he had heard it is being moved farther west so it can “pick up some dead air.”
County Treasurer Craig Dyer explained there is additional infrastructure in the county being provided by other companies other than XCI.
Councillor Gord Tosh added XCI is “trying to attack areas with no service. If there is high speed in Erin and Hillsburgh, they’re going to serve other areas.”
Other towers and relays are now scheduled for Ospringe in Erin, as well as in all other parts of Wellington County. Those are in various stages of completion but are on schedule to be ready by September.
Council accepted the committee report.
In related News, Xplornet announced a $230-million financing last week.
The money will be going into rural broadband infrastructure – like the kind coming to Wellington County. The money will fund network and satellites for broadband, and will allow the New Brunswick company to reach 100% of Canadians by 2012.
The company hopes to reach 2.4 million households across Canada that do not have access to high speed internet service. A start-up just six years ago, Xplornet is now one of Canada’s largest telecommunications companies.
“This is an investment in rural Canada that will be nothing less than transformative,” said Xplornet’s Chief Executive Officer John Maduri.
“This will allow us to complete a job we started six years ago – bringing affordable broadband to every Canadian who wants it, no matter where they live. That is a monumental accomplishment in the telecom industry.”
The funding comes on the heels of Xplornet’s recent announcement that it had successfully started activating its new national 4G network. The company, which by the end of 2012 will have a total of approximately 1,000 towers, is deploying a 4G WiMAX network and two next-generation 4G satellites.
That network will allow it to reach 100% of Canadians with fast, affordable broadband by the end of 2012.
“Wireless is the future of digital telecommunications, and only Xplornet has invested this significantly in a hybrid satellite and fixed wireless network for Canada,” said Maduri.
“The fact that we can reach anyone on the second largest country on Earth, despite all the geographic and topographic difficulties, at an affordable price to customers proves that wireless is the answer to Canada’s rural broadband challenge.”
