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By Suhaib Yusuf

$5 Million

Red Deer County proceeds with investment of 2022 broadband budget

Feb 9, 2022 | 3:25 PM

Red Deer County council has taken steps to offer improved broadband services for County residents.

On Tuesday, council approved a $5 million expenditure from 2022’s broadband budget to enhance subscriber access and the network value, and authorize administration to enter into negotiations with EQUS Connect to establish a larger rural broadband solution.

Red Deer County has begun the process of initiating universal, reasonable cost, high-speed broadband services to rural residents within the County. Officials say there is an opportunity now to divest itself of the administrative and operative function of the project by partnering with EQUS and potentially several other municipalities.

By continuing to negotiate with EQUS, the County feels it can optimize a business model that will allow for community control that focuses on enhancing services while taking advantage of economies of scale. According to officials, this would include access to a greater customer pool and additional funding.

Currently, officials say many municipalities struggle with the high cost of fibre and operating as an “island” within a greater regional scope. This partnership is anticipated to resolve some of these challenges.

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Alternatively, council could have chosen to stay the course and continue building the County’s own fibre optic network. Risks include subscriber uptake (County not as well-known as other internet options) and that the overall broadband value would be limited to the County’s capital investment.

On Jan. 25, 2022, council reviewed a presentation detailing the chronology of studies, reports, strategic adoptions, and budgetary approvals from the start of the Broadband Project to current.

On Feb. 1, council received a presentation from Phil Roberts, CEO of Valo Networks, the County’s broadband project partner, regarding the proposed utilization of the 2022 broadband budget. Valo has committed that 2022’s budget would connect an estimated 1,880 county residents (30% penetration) by the end of year.

In the same meeting, council also received a presentation from Andy Metzger, CEO of EQUS. Metzger described the development of a separate entity currently known as EQUS Connect that would allow municipalities who had or intended to invest in broadband infrastructure, to aggregate their resources, improving economies of scale, and exponentially increasing the market base for service delivery, thereby expanding revenue opportunities.

Officials say this corporation could potentially remove fiduciary and legal risk from the municipality while retaining community control.