Internet access is a necessity for business, education and personal use. Sturgeon County Council continues with its broadband strategy to improve internet access throughout the County. 97.7% of Sturgeon County residents and businesses say they are dissatisfied with their current internet access, and that they couldn’t live without it.
For more information, review the Resident Survey Results and Business Survey Results.
Sturgeon County, along with its private sector partner, Canadian Fiber Optics Corporation (CFOC), will proceed in phases, starting with a pilot project in the Villeneuve area.
The Broadband Network project will continue to move forward with Phase 1 of the broadband initiative. This includes fibre installation to residences and businesses along the fibre route in the southwest corner of the County. The route has been finalized and construction has begun.
Benefits of the new network include:
- Speed: Increased minimum speeds of 100 megabits per second (mbps), almost 10X faster than the existing avg. speed in the Core Area.
- Reliability: Fibre can consistently handle more users and more data at higher speeds and is more reliable than other broadband services.
- Security: Fibre optic networks are more secure. Optical fibre is immune to electrical interference and has zero electrical emissions.
Project Timeline
May 1, 2022
With all the planning activities complete, this phase will include the actual construction of the network, which includes:
- Fibre conduit burial along selected the rights-of-way and up to homes and businesses in the initial phase
- Connection and “lighting up” of the fibre
Status: In-Progress (May through August 2022)
June 30, 2022
The fibre will be activated when it is installed and made ready for use. As with the construction, final installation and activation will be rolled out across the initial phase as it becomes available:
- Internet service providers will begin marketing this new service to residents and businesses within the initial phase
- Residents and businesses in the initial phase will be able to sign up for internet through their selected Internet Service Provider
Status: Not-Started (June through September 2022)
September 1, 2022
Incorporating lessons learned during the first phase, the project will install and activate fibre throughout the rest of the County. This will involve a continual series of pre-construction, construction, and service activation steps as fibre deployment rolls out area by area.
Status: Not-Started (September 2022 through September 2024)
Fibre Installation
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Broadband Construction – Transport Crews
Transport teams are equipped to run the large fibre cables that connect subdivisions, hamlets and industrial parks together.
You’ll usually see them ploughing or drilling along county roads or provincial highways.
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Broadband Construction – Access Crews
Access teams run fibre within subdivisions, hamlets and industrial parks.
You’ll see them running fibre along the local roads right up near your property. They don’t go onto your property but can get close considering other utilities that are already buried in the area. Access teams will cross a lot of driveways but utilize horizontal drills to go under the driveway to minimize any possible damage.
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Broadband Construction – Drop Crews
Drop crews take single strands of fibre from the nearest splice point (usually a small pedestal nearby) and bring it onto your property to the outside edge of your home or business, usually near where other utilities enter your building.
They will use a combination of ploughing and horizontal drilling to install the drop fibre efficiently while protecting your property and minimizing damage.
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Broadband Construction – Installation Crews
Installation crews take the fibre from the Drop crews (ran to home/ business exterior on your property) and run it into the interior of your house and terminate the fibre at a small device called an Optical Network Terminal (ONT). The ONT will need to be plugged into a nearby outlet within your home.
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Broadband Construction – Activation
Once fibre is installed you have the opportunity to join the Broadband Fibre Network and utilize the benefits of the updated network, you are not obligated nor automatically connected after installation.
If you want to activate and subscribe to the fibre service you can contact one of the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to begin a subscription, if you are currently subscribed to a provider you will need to contact them to update your service to the new fibre network. They will make arrangements to activate the service and provide you with any hardware you need for your situation. New ISPs are being added, and the website will be updated accordingly.