People in Basin as well as local governments have told us that high-speed Internet is important to them. In addition, both the Province of BC and the Government of Canada have identified many communities in the West Kootenay’s as being underserved and unable to meet the CRTC’s universal service objective of 50Mbps (per subscriber).
To improve connectivity, local governments and the Trust are partnering with the Province of BC to extend a fibre optic backbone network into the Fruitvale and Nelson area to serve as a high-speed launching platform for Internet Service Providers wishing to offer their services to residents or businesses in the area.
In partnership with the Regional District of Central Kootenay, the Trust is planning to build a fibre optic backbone between Fruitvale and Nelson. The planned network will connect to the existing regional network.
This project has received funding from the federal Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the provincial Connecting BC program, the Regional District of Central Kootenay and the Trust. Read more.
The project will use a variety of installation methods including underground and aerial. Regardless of methodology, the Trust will employ best practice techniques to minimize or eliminate impacts to residents, wildlife, the environment and locations of historical significance.
