Darren Young (right) looks on as Red Deer County Mayor Jim Wood (seated) and Delburne Councillor Tim Wilson sign an agreement to build fibre optic internet infrastructure. At left is Mike Stelk with Valo Networks Ltd. (rdnewsNOW/Troy Gillard)

By Troy Gillard

into the future

Red Deer County fibre optic internet project gets underway

Jul 10, 2020 | 1:18 PM

An ambitious $20 million project to make high-speed internet available to all communities in Red Deer County is officially underway.

A contract was signed at the county office on Friday for a fibre optic network that will have the entire county connected by 2024.

“It’s really quite unique,” said Darren Young, the county’s information technology manager.

“It’s very tough for rural communities to even keep people; education-wise, medical-wise, business-wise. So we are hoping that this really supports, long-term, rural communities being able to exist where they want to exist.”

The county is building the infrastructure for the fibre optic network and it’ll be up to each individual community (municipality) to decide whether to connect to it. Delburne is the first to do so with Young noting the Town of Innisfail is part of a regular fibre working group and is showing interest in connecting. Penhold and Sylvan Lake are also showing some interest in the technology while the county itself will look after connecting hamlets including Benalto, Elnora, Markerville and Springbrook.

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“We’re dead in the water without this,” said Village of Delburne CAO Karen Fegan. “We’re thrilled beyond words to get on the world stage and be open for business.”

“They have been struggling, and we have been working with them for some years – at least five years – to get them effective internet,” Young explained. “They’ve got a clinic out there and they’ve been trying to do some things with seniors housing, and it’s very difficult with a poor connection.”

Young said it currently costs as much as $1,000 a month for rural customers to get the same high-speed internet as in larger centres like Red Deer. He says the new fibre optic network will eliminate the “digital divide” and bring lower the cost to between $100-120 per month.

“It’s not about the availability. It’s about the right for our citizens to have equal service at equal cost.”

Red Deer County is covering the entire cost of the project and will be looking into contributions from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and agricultural grants to help out.

“We’d love to see some provincial money in this, but we’re not going to wait for that to happen,” said Young.

“It’s time for government to contribute,” County Mayor Jim Wood suggested. “We’ve got a great project started here and I think we’ll be the example for what can happen everywhere else.”

In April, the county awarded the contract for the network to Valo Networks Ltd. Valo’s bid indicated a $9.2 million price tag for this year’s work, with the county’s portion not exceeding $4 million.

The county is building the network while Valo will manage it and provide service to customers.

“Imagine every home, every business being connected,” said Project Manager David Ball with Valo. “It’s not a vision anymore. It’s a reality.”

While the county is budgeting up to $20 million for the five-year project, Young is confident that the final bill will come in lower.

Liberty Landing in Gasoline Alley, Springbrook and the western region of Red Deer County are all slated to be connected by the end of this year.