(rdnewsNOW/ Ian Gustafson)

By Ian Gustafson

Telus PureFibre

Fibre-optic internet services will soon be available in Red Deer

May 8, 2025 | 1:08 PM

A partnership between the City of Red Deer, Telus, and F3 Networks has been formed to bring fibre-optic infrastructure to the community.

Announced Thursday morning, Telus PureFibre will be available over the next two years in Red Deer thanks to a $168 million investment by F3 Networks.

Red Deer Mayor Ken Johnston said it’s an incredible day for the city.

“With this kind of connectivity Red Deer can stand beside any major city. Yes, it was a no-brainer but it also took a lot of logistical care and support before we were able to proceed,” Johnston said.

Work has already began in laying over 400,000 metres of fibre wiring in Red Deer, a project that comes at no cost to the city or its residents.

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Residents and businesses can expect to see construction notices and communications from F3 Networks, the owner of the fibre-to-the-premise network. Once the project is complete, TELUS will engage newly connected residents and businesses.

To date, more than one million homes and businesses in Alberta have access to Telus PureFibre, including over 120,000 in rural areas.

(rdnewsNOW/ Ian Gustafson)

Johnston said the city’s involvement in the process was key because once the project is finished in 2027, 31,000 homes will be connected through Telus PureFibre. The city has been involved from the perspective of permitting, licensing, and operational plans.

“There’s no question that our utility network and so on had to be mapped out very carefully anytime you bring in this level of equipment,” he said. “It was very important to us to be able to coordinate with F3 and the contractors. It was quite a structured puzzle that was put together over the last 18 months.”

Currently, Telus PureFibre is already in about 10 per cent of homes and businesses in Red Deer. The rest of the city is on a broadband copped-based connectivity, which uses up more energy.

Shazia Zeb Sobani, Vice-president Customer Solutions Delivery West at Telus, said fibre-optic connectivity has the ability to take on more data, more quickly.

“We connect every home free of cost with their own dedicated fibre line so that even if the rest of the neighbourhood is using it you will not have to share your connection unlike other technology,” Sobani said. “It’s 85 per cent more energy efficient which is environmentally so much better.”

The Morrisoe area in Red Deer will be the first area where people will be able to sign up for the service. Sobani explained Telus’ plan is to make PureFibre available for more than 50 per cent of the city this year with the remaining areas next year.

The construction process, which includes heavy machinery, is very intrusive and takes about six weeks per street.

In addition, Telus will be installing five brand new wireless towers and upgrading older towers in Red Deer, which aims to improve cellphone service.