Broadband Pilot - Sherring & Churchill Industrial Parks

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Broadband Services are now a reality in Sherring and Churchill Industrial Parks as all photo-electronics and connection to the Internet Exchange have been completed on 2022-07-22.

The first customer installation will be turned on the week of July 25 with many more to come in the following weeks. If your business is located in either Sherring or Churchill Industrial Park this system has been built for you. All you have to do is reach out to O-NET, the operator and retail ISP of the network, and they will provide you with

Click the O-Net logo to jump to their homepage

Broadband Services are now a reality in Sherring and Churchill Industrial Parks as all photo-electronics and connection to the Internet Exchange have been completed on 2022-07-22.

The first customer installation will be turned on the week of July 25 with many more to come in the following weeks. If your business is located in either Sherring or Churchill Industrial Park this system has been built for you. All you have to do is reach out to O-NET, the operator and retail ISP of the network, and they will provide you with information on plans, services, and pricing to suit your business.

Over a decade in the making, O-NET provides every resident, business and municipal facility in the town of Olds, Alberta, and now in Lethbridge, with advantages such as the highest quality internet services in the industry, the latest high-definition television features, fully customizable telephone systems, mass storage and virtual private network.

O-NET is known for their strong customer service and the City of Lethbridge believes you will see their commitment from the instant you connect with them!

Please note that O-NET will be coordinating the inside wiring within your facilities to bring broadband functionality to your IT infrastructure. RPB Industries, who was our design / builder of the network brought the fibre into your building and now O-NET will finish the last stretch off to your Wi-Fi device or data switch depending on the situation.

There is great demand for this service and so the sooner you contact O-NET, the sooner they can plan and schedule the final step to getting you connected and make communication concerns a thing of the past!



WHY IS THIS PROJECT TAKING PLACE?

Without access to reliable, high speed internet connectivity (known as broadband), local businesses are unable to fully take advantage of business technology that will allow them to grow and operate efficiently and effectively. Reliable broadband is a staple for businesses to provide online sales and services, use video conferencing to communicate with customers and employees, and use cloud business solutions. The pandemic has really shown the need for broadband and online services and is expected to continue to grow, post-pandemic.

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

The business community in Lethbridge, in particular within the industrial park setting, is currently underserved by incumbent ISPs (Internet Service Providers) for their connectivity needs. ISPs are offering services in the industrial parks at much lower speeds than residential customers enjoy. This is due to the aging connectivity infrastructure in the industrial park areas and the cost for ISPs to replace their infrastructure.

The recommended course of action to address this connectivity gap is for the City of Lethbridge to leverage their existing municipal fibre infrastructure originally installed in the 1990’s, expand the network and investigate / enable an independent ISP / system operator to provide broadband connectivity to the industrial parks.

WHY SHERRING AND CHURCHILL INDUSTRIAL PARKS?

In order to keep the investment small until it is proven to be a viable financial enterprise, a pilot project was recommended in the area of the city with the lowest connectivity available – the Sherring and Churchill industrial parks.

This project is funded in part by City Council, the Government of Alberta, and the Government of Canada through the “Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program – COVID-19 Resilience Fund”.

  • Upcoming Activities

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    System now fully functional. Contact O-NET (https://o-net.ca/) the system operator and retail ISP with all inquiries regarding services and customer service.

    It has been a fantastic project for all of us at the City of Lethbridge that were involved. We would like to say one last thank you to our consultant, IBI Group, our design build partner, RPB Industries, our operator, O-NET, and all of you who let us into your buildings and businesses so we could bring you this important community initiative. Don’t hesitate to call if there is anything you need to ask about City of Lethbridge services…

    Stew Purkis, P.Eng.

    Broadband Pilot Project Lead

    P: 403.315.9962

    E: stewart.purkis@lethbridge.ca

    A: Stafford Centre 304 Stafford Dr N T1H 2A6

    lethbridge.ca

  • To Date

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    2022-07-25 – Connection of the Lethbridge Broadband system to the Calgary Internet exchange achieved and O-NET delivers services to first Lethbridge Broadband customer!

    2022-06-24 – Photoelectronics commissioning complete

    2022-06-15 – O-NET begins inside wiring extensions to Lethbridge customers.

    2022-06-06 – Photoelectronics from Calix arrive in Lethbridge and bench testing / installation in field facilities begins

    2022-05-05 – O-NET named as System Operator and retail ISP provider for the system and begins engaging customers with information on services and pricing on subscriptions.

    2022-02-28 – All fibre optic cable terminations and splicing complete and commissioned in right of ways and buildings in Sherring and Churchill

    2021-01-31 – Civil Construction complete in Churchill

    2021-10-15 – Civil Construction complete in Sherring and beginning in Churchill

    2021-09-17 – Last date for customers to arrange a fibre install to property as part of the pilot

    2021-08-16 – Field construction of network by RPB Industries begins

    2021-07-26 – Competition for operations of network closes

    2021-06-22 – Competition for operations of the broadband network including customer services release on Alberta Purchasing Connection

    2021-06-08 – Award contract for design / build of the broadband pilot project to RPB Industries

    2021-04-19 – Competition for design / build of the broadband pilot project release on Alberta Purchasing Connection

    2021-03-23 – City Council amends the Capital Improvement Plan 2018-2027 for 20% of project budget ($1.4 M) to provide funding for the project as required by the ICIP funding stream.

    2021-03-16 – Government of Canada formally announces Broadband Pilot will receive funding under the ICIP grant program for 80% of project budget amount ($5.5 M)

    2021-02-19 – IBI Engineering begins work on preliminary design package including mapping / material specifications / installation standards to inform a future design / build competition.

    2021-02-18 – Government of Canada provides preliminary notice of approval for project which allows work to formally begin.

    2021-02-03 – IBI Group Professional Service (Canada) Inc. is awarded contract to complete design and economic analysis of Broadband Pilot contingent on notice of grant funding approval from the Government of Canada.

    2021-01-19 – City of Lethbridge completes ICIP COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream application process.

    2020-12-17 – City of Lethbridge begins competition for engineering and financial analysis of Broadband Pilot project opportunities. Contract to be awarded once Government of Canada provides approval for grant funding.

    2020-09-30 – City of Lethbridge makes preliminary application to have $13.12 M in approved ICIP - Public Transit Stream funding moved to COVID-19 Resiliency Funding. Project list for COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream funding including $5.9 M for Broadband Pilot project.

    2020-09 – City of Lethbridge Council requests administration to apply for Broadband Pilot funding from the newly created ICIP-COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream

    2020-08-25 – Province of Alberta announces opportunity to reallocate approved Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) – Public Transit Stream funding to the new ICIP-COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream.

    2020-03-11 – COVID-19 Pandemic declared by the World Health Organization

    2017 – Presentation made to City Council as part of the Capital Improvement Program 2018-2027, however without a viable funding source, City Council only received and filed report.

    2017-present – Various granting agencies are approached to move initiatives forward in the broadband area in Lethbridge, but none are applicable to Lethbridge at this time. This includes work in researching opportunities in the broadband communications and Smart Cities space.

    2016/2017 – Work led by the Intelligent Community Program Manager and Economic Development Lethbridge establishes the Connectivity Working Group (CWG). The CWG initiates a master plan study which leads to a consultant’s report, the “Chermik Report”. The “Chermik Report” identified an opportunity for the City of Lethbridge to build out its broadband fibre system further to enhance connectivity options for citizens and business.

    2015 – Intelligent Community Program Manager hired by the City of Lethbridge to investigate opportunities in the City of Lethbridge for advancement of key principles to enable the future

Page last updated: 08 Sep 2023, 10:30 AM