Blame it all on the Bottleneck

CityWest has received some accolades (as well as a cheque) from Port Edward, with the introduction of internet service to the town. With a total of 85 customers logged on and clicking away, the Rupert based communications company is looking to add new customers in February as the system is put completely in place.

One concern of the company however, is a bottleneck that has occurred in Prince Rupert, which results in slow and lagging connections for the new users of Port Ed and has been the topic of many a discussion locally for a while with users in Prince Rupert as well . With slow service reported at “peak times”, many have been rather frustrated with the troubles that pop up during the day.

Those of us sharing in the joys of the wired world join in welcoming our newest members of connected family, lets all hope that CityWest has us cruising along the internet at mach speed in short order, otherwise they may find that those 85 new customers will lose that new user smell rather quickly and be quick to express their concerns over speed and reliability.

The Northern View had full details on the newest services provided by CityWest and how it has been received in Port Edward.


High speed ‘net doing well in Port Ed
By Shaun Thomas
The Northern View
Jan 31 2007

CityWest’s cable Internet service is now up and running in Port Edward, and all indications are that the expansion has been a success.

“The initial list was up to 70 names that we collected prior to us beginning to bring Internet on the cable grid into Port Edward. That number has since grown,” CityWest General Manager Rob Brown told Port Edward Council at its January 23 meeting.

“It looks like we currently have a total of 85 customers, which is very good and I am very pleased with that number…By early February the system will be completely in place and we will be able to add new customers on a call-in basis.”

While Brown noted that there is one trailer park in town that needs new wiring, which should be done by the end of the week, he said that the speed of the Internet has been good for customers in Port Edward. However, he did say that there were some concerns about bandwidth bottlenecks

“The only concern we have as a service provider in Prince Rupert and here in Port Edward is the amount of bandwidth we can send out of Prince Rupert,” he said.

“If the service is slow at peak periods, that is the problem. It is not the modem or your system, but the bottleneck out of Prince Rupert.”

Following Brown’s presentation, Mayor Dave MacDonald and the rest of council presented him with a cheque for $20,000 which covers the district’s commitment to the project.