Sunday, October 15, 2006

Port Edward on the fast track to high speed

Citywest is running a fibre network line into Port Edward, bringing the District a step closer to high speed internet access. Next up is an upgrade to the cable television lines into Port Ed that will enable the local plant there to process high speed data traffic. The third and final phase will be the installation of a state of the art Cable Modem Termination System at the Prince Rupert office that will run the high speed internet network.

Still a bit off yet, but perhaps not as far off it seems, as Citywest is accepting pre-orders for those who wish to access the service in Port Edward, the first 150 of which will receive free installation as well as a cable modem rental free for one year.

The Daily News featured all of the high speed plans in its Thursday paper.

PORT ED WIRED ABOUT SPEEDY HOOK-UPS
By James Vassallo
The Daily News
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Page One

CityWest has begun work that will one day see Port Edward fully integrated into the high-speed internet revolution.

“(We’ve) been fielding questions about when the residents can sign up for this service, so this announcement is welcome news,” said Mayor Dave MacDonald. “We would encourage all residents to sign up as soon as possible to take advantage of the free installation and cable modem.”

The first phase of the expansion plans is to run fibre-optic lines into Port Edward, On Sept. 25, CityWest began trying into their existing fibre network along Highway 16 and running a line into Port Edward. The second phase of the expansion plan is to upgrade the cable television lines in Port Edward in order to enable the local plant to carry high-speed data traffic. The final phase of the project will see the installation of a state-of-the-art Cable Modem Termination System in Prince Rupert that would run the high-speed cable internet network. Although no firm date has been set for the availability of service, CityWest is currently taking pre-orders from Port Ed residents who want to be among the first to access the service.

“High-speed internet over cable is an extremely fast internet service, perfect for downloading large files quickly or watching streaming video over the internet,” said Rob Brown, CityWest’s general manager. “CityWest’s general manager. “CityWest’s service offering in Port Edward will be the same as what they offer to cable internet customers in other communities.”

In July 2006, the District of Port Edward announced that they had awarded an infrastructure grant for $20,000 to CityWest for the purpose of bringing high-speed internet services to the town. CityWest and the District of Port Edward agreed that the grant would get dispersed back to Port Edward residents in the form of credits for those who signed up for High Speed Internet service. As a result, the first 150 customers who sign up for CityWest High-Speed internet in Port Edward will receive a free installation plus a cable modem rental free for one-year.

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