Exploring improved internet service

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/10/2017 (3117 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Residents in the RM of Macdonald live within a short drive of Winnipeg but many don’t enjoy the same level of high-speed internet service as do city dwellers.

The RM of Macdonald council took the first steps towards providing what could be a faster, more reliable and possibly cheaper service by approving a feasibility study by Winnipeg’s EKB Consulting.

EKB’s chief information officer Don Reece, who previously worked as Pembina Trails School Division’s information technology director, is heading the study at a cost of up to $22,000. It is due at the end of 2017.

He spoke to council on Oct. 10 and outlined work that his company is doing for the RM and town of Morris that involves using Red River Valley School Division schools as hubs from which high-speed service can be distributed to homes and businesses through fibre optic cable networks within communities and system of relay towers for rural locations.

“It doesn’t matter how far away you are,” he said of fibre optic’s ability to transmit data quickly. “We know that fibre is good for 30 years.”

He urged the councillors to view internet service provision just as they do water and gas — as a public utility.

The Macdonald council can use the feasibility study to examine the idea of starting a municipal co-operative like the Park West Fibre Optics Co-operative that includes the municipalities of Hamiota, Prairie View and Yellowhead and is set to start serving residential and business subscribers this fall. Residential subscribers will pay about $60 and business subscribers will pay about $75 month for 1,000 megabytes with no monthly cap. Subscribers located in rural areas will receive fast wireless service of up to 300 megabytes with no monthly data cap.
The three municipalities paid for a feasibility study and obtained a $3.5-million loan to be paid back over 20 years through subscriber fees.

The EKB feasibility study will set out a business case outlining the costs, risks and rewards of the RM of Macdonald taking on the role of internet service provider.

Coun. Ed Rempel said the current internet service in Starbuck is terrible and he’d be happy with a more reliable alternative.

— Staff