700 households and businesses to see faster Internet speeds
Northern Kootenay Lake residents and businesses will soon have access to faster Internet, thanks to Columbia Basin Trust and the B.C. government’s investment in an underwater fibre optic cable.
A 36 km underwater optical fibre cable in Kootenay Lake will establish a fibre optic link between Kaslo and Balfour to increase broadband capacity in the area.
Columbia Basin Trust will contribute $445,160, and the Province of B.C. will contribute $433,650 to the project. The provincial portion is being provided through the Connecting British Columbia program, administered by Northern Development Initiative Trust.
“High-speed Internet is a priority to residents in our region, as it can improve quality of life and help our communities thrive,” said Johnny Strilaeff, Columbia Basin Trust President and CEO. “This funding enables an important expansion to our regional fibre-optic network, and in particular, it complements the efforts of Kaslo infoNet Society to improve services in North Kootenay Lake.”
Kaslo InfoNet Society initially suggested the innovative concept of a submarine fibre project to address their customers’ growing bandwidth needs, and the Trust developed the idea to bring it to this stage.
Approximately 700 rural households and businesses will have better opportunities to learn, do business, access services and stay connected as a result. The fibre connection will provide northern Kootenay Lake communities with Internet speeds comparable with major urban centres. This project complements other Internet improvements being made by other Internet service providers operating in the wider region.
Northern Kootenay Lake communities benefitting from this investment include Ainsworth, Argenta, Cooper Creek, Fletcher Creek, Johnsons Landing, Kaslo, Lardeau, Mirror Lake, Pineridge, Schroeder Creek, Shutty Bench, Woodbury Creek Resort and Woodbury Village.
This project complements other Internet improvements being made by other Internet service providers operating in the wider region. Those other improvements are funded by the Trust, Northern Development Initiative Trust, the federal government, KiN and the RDCK.
Read the full news release here.
