Reprinted from The Bird’s Eye, Quadra Island
Connected Coast website launched
A new website has been set up to keep the public up-to-date with the mammoth
Connected Coast internet project. The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) and CityWest have launched the website at
www.connectedcoast.caThe Connected Coast project will see the placement of over 3,400 km of subsea, high-speed fibre-optic cable from north of Prince Rupert, to Haida Gwaii, south along the coast to the Vancouver terminal, then around Vancouver Island. It will provide the ability for up to 154 communities, including Quadra Island
[editor's note: & Cortes Island] and 56 First Nations communities, to connect to high-speed internet.
Through the website it will be possible for people to access current information and maps, as well as links to the project funding partners. It is also possible to sign up for instant project updates.
“We officially launched the website at the BC Broadband conference and we are excited to be able to start sharing more project information,” said Victoria Smith, manager of Strategic Initiatives at the SRD. “The Connected Coast project is an amazing opportunity for coastal BC residents and will change the way rural and remote communities are able to live and communicate with the world.” This website will now serve as an important tool to share information about the project.”
The SRD is working on this project together with CityWest, which has been providing internet services to rural and remote communities in northern BC and has years of experience in providing reliable, high-speed access to the internet. “We are excited to partner with the SRD on this project which has two key benefits for us.”
The first is providing additional routing opportunities should service on one line be disrupted. The second is that it allows us to provide service to more communities who currently have no access,” said Donovan Dias, Vice President of Sales and Project management at CityWest.“We hope that area residents visit the new website, get engaged and let us know your thoughts.”
Funding for the project was announced in January, with a timeline for completion set at two to three years.
- with files from SRD