A multi-million dollar transaction reached earlier this month will help connect dozens of northern Manitoba communities – but no specifics have been announced for Flin Flon.
Clear Sky Connections, a First Nations-owned business, will begin work to provide internet service upgrades to 72 communities in northern Manitoba. The plan will include laying down 10-gigabit ethernet fibre connections in remote communities. According to a provincial government press release, the project aims to provide “access to high-speed Internet services on par with southern urban areas.”
In total, the project is estimated to cost around $63 million. Both federal and provincial governments will be adding in cash to help finance the project – $33.5 million from the federal side and another $20 million from the provincial government and Manitoba Hydro, part of which will be an in-kind donation, allowing Clear Sky to access Hydro’s existing networks.
Funds for the upgrades will also come from Wawanesa Mutual Insurance and the Winnipeg Foundation.
“We will start building to the first communities by summer 2017,” wrote Lisa Clarke, interim CEO of Clear Sky Connections.
“Phase one funds, which were committed on Tuesday, are for the northern First Nations and that is expected to take three years to complete.”
Flin Flon was listed among the 72 communities that may see upgrades in the future, but the nature of any reboot is still vague.
When asked about whether upgrades to Flin Flon’s internet infrastructure were part of the plan, Clarke refrained from specifics.
“The mandate is to serve the First Nations, but there will be opportunities to serve surrounding towns and non-First Nation communities as we build the network,” she wrote in an email to The Reminder.
“If additional funds are committed, there may be opportunities to do as many regions as possible.”
Upgrades to Flin Flon’s internet service were last made in 2011, when MTS Allstream launched a high-speed packet access network for the community. Upgrades for The Pas and Thompson were included in the expansion.
In a speed test conducted by The Reminder, service provided included a 1.25 megabits per second (Mbps) download speed and a 0.25 Mbps upload speed. Both are far below the national average – 35 Mbps download speed and 10 Mbps upload speed – according to global internet research firm Ookla.
One intriguing possibility in the Clear Sky Connections deal is the ability for communities and reserves to run their own high-speed networks.
Clear Sky confirmed that communities would be allowed to operate their own internet systems through an open-access policy.
“We provide fibre point of presence to each community. The communities have two options – to allow the existing internet service provider (ISP) to upgrade their speed and service the community, or for the community to decide to own their ISP,” wrote Ehigie Agbator, business development manager for Clear Sky Connections.
“They (would) have to set up and manage by themselves, depending on the expertise, resources and finances such communities can access.”
Clarke added that part of the upgrades would be funds for training people on remote First Nations how to maintain, troubleshoot and repair networks.
“This is much more than the outside build mandate,” she said.
