December 2021 - Light Up, Wembley

Better Connected: A 2021 Year-End Review

Dec 30, 2021 | Construction, Our Communities

How The Year Began

Beginning our design and planning phase for building fiber infrastructure in Grande Cache represented a huge milestone for our business and a turning point in Grande Cache’s efforts to find better connection, both in business and in every day life. Although our industry told us that the project was not possible we were determined to find success where others could not. We began construction on our first official large scale project to completely connect a community to fiber. we began by connecting with community members, working with businesses and government to find solutions and the best paths forward. The excitement took off after finding a deep connection to the community spirit through our amazing Community Ambassador, Danielle. Throughout the project we discovered so much more about what makes this mission so valuable to us and those we’re serving. However, Grande Cache was just the beginning of our push to make 2021 the biggest year ever.

The Summer Rush

While construction raged on in Grande Cache we found real traction in other projects, specifically Wembley and Valleyview. These projects came about in rapid fashion, with intense efforts to put fiber in the ground as soon as we could – hopefully before the frost of winter. The summertime was an incredible season of momentum, building and connecting communities – with our new projects breaking ground in record time we saw both Wembley and Valleyview have their first official connections up and running well before fall came about. One of the chief successes we saw, was officially launching Valleyview as Canadas first 10G community with Canadas fastest residential internet! The summer was full of these rich experiences and so many lively events in each of our communities. From ice-cream tents, pancake breakfasts, and rodeos, to parades, clay shoots and coffee shop hangouts, we truly got to see some of the best that each of our communities has to offer.

Embracing Colder Seasons

As winter loomed over Alberta, we looked further into our plans for connecting our communities in the fastest possible timeline. We continued to host events, receiving more customer questions and their hopes of a connection early in the new year – a solution became clear. We committed to build throughout the winter, in the cold and snow. Winter construction will be key to our progress – we’ve already built the most rural residential fiber of any company this year, but our goals require us to build even more and even faster to meet the needs of our communties! We are building Canada’s fastest network the only way you can, with the hard work and determination of an incredible construction team, paired with the passion of our communities to see these projects completed.

Looking On To 2022

Work in 2021 may have come to an end, but 2022 holds so many new and exciting opportunities, with plenty more work to be done to connect our current communities to world-class, absolutely essential, fiber infrastructure. New and exciting projects have come to fruition, with Sturgeon County becoming our newest and most recently announced endeavor. This project will fulfils our mission of not only connecting rural communities, but also connecting farms to world-class fiber infrastructure. There is so much to look forward to in 2022. To celebrate where we’ve been and how far our communities and their vital projects have come, we have created a brand new page, highlighting some of our favorite moments of the last year. We made sure to include a few details of these new projects coming in 2022 and we’re sure it will be very exciting news to many. We cannot wait to bring these new communities onto the right side of this new digital landscape we enjoy in Canada. If we have not built in your community, you can let us know by filling out the invite us form – we’re always looking for new communities to connect! We believe every community, big and small, deserves digital equality and the freedom to access the world around them without hinderance. 2022 will be a year of new connections, rural development and growth in rural communities that Canada needs. Visit the new “Our Communities” page and invite us to our community if you have not already!

Our Communities Webpage

Construction Update: Winter Plans

Dec 10, 2021 | Construction, Construction Updates

What to expect:

We have been hard at work to ensure everyone knows that we are bringing your community fiber optic internet! More importantly, we are bringing speeds up to 10,000 Mbps. This means that you will have an opportunity to get internet that is 1000x faster than anything seen in town before!

To prepare your community for the future, new fiber-optic infrastructure is deeply important. To ensure this massive upgrade lasts decades, we will burry this infrastructure! Unfortunately, even in the best weather conditions, installing new underground infrastructure is hard and dangerous work, here is what you need to know about the project.

Progress so Far

Our project was only announced 6 months ago, and we have already installed tens of thousands of meters of fiber! And even though it is officially wintertime, we still have a lot of work to do! Internet Service Providers do not usually construct infrastructure in the wintertime because it takes talent, experience, and specialized equipment.

But since we have all of that, we have decided to keep constructing! But there are a few things you should know and expect for this winter!

Slower Progress

We announced our Valleyview project only 5 months ago, and we already have several businesses and households connected! Progress is going very well, but like all things in our Canadian winters, construction takes a lot longer. Not only is the winter hard on our work force and equipment, but the ground is also frozen. Because we are building buried infrastructure under/in frozen earth, progress on our new construction will slow down. Follow our Facebook page (insert link) to keep yourself updated as we push through this winter to connect you sooner!

Temporary Drops

A drop is the fiber that connects your house to our infrastructure. It is possible that we may not be able to construct an underground drop to your house in the wintertime. As such, we will provide a temporary fiber connection and come back in the springtime to make it a fully permanent drop!

Remediation

We are building underground construction, which means we dig holes and small trenches for the fiber lines to run down! Although we deploy directional drills and vibratory plowing equipment that reduces the amount of soil turned, we still create a small mess. But fear not, we always remediate anything effected by our work and ensure that it will return to its healthiest form in suitable time.

Wintertime can lengthen the time it takes for this remediation process to complete; the ground is frozen and we cannot plant new grass seed in the winter.

Our team will wait for our spring sun to thaw the ground so the soil can properly settle. At that point, we set the earth to final grade and plant new seed for your lawn to regrow to its previous health! It is a small price we need to pay to keep construction moving so we can continue to connect homes and businesses throughout the wintertime!

How do I sign up!?

If you would like to register for service now, check out our world-class products and services HERE! (And remember, you will NOT be charged anything until the service officially begins after installation). 

Visit our Sign-Up page or give us a call at 1-888-CFO-2947 (ext 2, for Sales)

Canadian Fiber Optics Partnering with Sturgeon County

Dec 8, 2021 | Construction, Construction Updates, Our Communities

Investing in Rural Alberta

From Sturgeon County’s press release:

Residents and businesses in Sturgeon County are officially one step closer to having reliable, accessible, and affordable high-speed internet right to their door. After an extensive selection process, Sturgeon County has partnered with Canadian Fiber Optics for the development and operation of a fiber-based internet service, starting with a pilot project in the south-west corner of the county that includes the Hamlets of Villeneuve, Calahoo, and Riviere Que Barre, the Villeneuve Airport, and the Heritage and ProNorth Industrial Parks.

“High-speed internet is a need-to-have versus a nice-to-have for our residents and businesses, which is why we approved the broadband strategy and are investing up to $7.3 million for the pilot project area. Sturgeon County is very excited to be working with Canadian Fiber Optics to help fulfill Council’s vision for a connected community. Their experience with rural connectivity solutions and appreciation of the challenges faced by rural communities made them a clear front-runner for the Sturgeon County broadband project.”
– Mayor Alanna Hnatiw, Sturgeon County

Resetting The Benchmark

While rural municipalities have been tackling the issue of rural broadband for a number of years, Sturgeon County’s solution is quite unique. After extensive consultation with the industry, the County developed a shared risk/reward model where both the County and Canadian Fiber Optics contribute financially to the development and operation of the service and share the revenue. The County also implemented an FTTP (Fiber-To-The-Premises) approach that offers residents and businesses the fastest and most reliable technology available, providing speeds starting at 100Mbps (twice the Canadian standard) and capable of 10Gbps, faster or equal to any service in Canada.

A Rejuvenating Investment in Rural Communities

This bold investment will strike directly at the digital divide and empower the residents of Sturgeon County and its local industry. Canadian Fiber Optics believes in the right to connect, grow, communicate and streamline both lifestyle and business. This partnership will foster crucial opportunity in Sturgeon County and ensures future proof fiber connectivity that will benefit both residents and businesses for generations to come.

To connect your business to fiber optic internet contact Cole Summach: Cole@canadianfiberoptics.ca

To learn more about how we can invest and build fiber optic internet in your community contact Johann Reimer: Johann@canadianfiberoptics.ca

More information on the County’s broadband initiative can be found at sturgeoncounty.ca/internet.