Project Update
January 5, 2009As we begin a New Year, Nova Scotia Economic Development (now the Department of Economic and Rural Development) and the Broadband for Rural Nova Scotia (BRNS) team would like to thank you for your enquiries, interest and encouragement throughout 2008. To keep you informed on the broadband project, here's a quick review of our activities over the last year. We know that people all over Nova Scotia will continue to work with us to complete this exciting project throughout 2009!
Our partner companies - the Internet Service Providers
Since 2007, two, then three Internet Service Providers have been working around the clock to deliver high speed Internet to rural Nova Scotia under the BRNS initiative.
Seaside High Speed
In addition to its site in Orangedale, Seaside High Speed has 40 new sites near operational status in Cumberland and Victoria counties. The company has identified another 120 sites where it will be erecting poles early in 2009, to provide high-speed service in Cape Breton and northeastern Nova Scotia.
EastLink
EastLink has been pinpointing the best sites for its towers, and consulting with communities. That process is nearing completion, and work will begin soon on 55 new towers and 47 existing structures throughout their zones.
Omniglobe Broadband
In August 2008, Omniglobe Networks won the contract to deliver broadband access to the remaining unserved civic addresses in zone 7 - Halifax Regional Municipality. The new service will be delivered by OmniGlobe Broadband, the company's broadband division, which has identified sites for its towers. Currently, the company is working to complete the consultation and regulatory processes required before tower construction can take place.
Building the high speed network
All three service providers are using fixed wireless technology to deliver high speed. Work on the network is continuing, even as winter settles in. Here's a recap of how much our partner companies have achieved to date.
Radio Frequency engineering
The radio frequency engineering for a province-wide fixed wireless network was undertaken. This engineering plan is the blueprint for project construction. The Internet Service Providers are working closely with the Nova Scotia Geomatics Centre, based in Amherst, to ensure they have the most accurate record possible of the province's constantly changing list of civic addresses.
Land acquisition and public consultation
In the last 12 months, sites for fixed wireless structures and equipment have been identified and leased all over the province as part of the Broadband for Rural Nova Scotia initiative. This lengthy and complex task is undertaken by small, dedicated teams working on behalf of each service provider. Their work was made easier throughout the year by the assistance of municipal staff and public representatives around the province.
All across Nova Scotia, municipalities are working with our partner companies to ensure that the public consultation and other regulatory aspects of this project are being completed to the satisfaction of all parties.
Agencies including the Department of Natural Resources, Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations, the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, the federal Department of Transportation, Environment Canada, and NavCan have also taken the lead in various regulatory and permitting processes this year.
Building network poles and towers
All three Internet Service Providers are using existing towers, and building new structures to carry the fixed wireless network signal across the province.
A number of existing towers will be used for the initiative. Currently, we are working with our partner companies to ensure the necessary fixed wireless equipment is placed on each of those towers.
Tower upgrading and construction has been underway for a number of months now, across many counties and regions.
Communications, Liaison and Development Activities
Along with its partners, the BRNS team is committed to supporting organizations and individuals who want to grow dynamic, thriving communities. To meet this goal, staff members are working to help communities plan for a high speed future.
Planning for a High Speed Future workshop
Planning for a High Speed Future is a community-based facilitated workshop that offers groups an opportunity to identify goals and priorities to help to make the most of broadband access in the community.
The workshops were developed using a collaborative design and review process. Workshops were held in Sydney, Windsor, and New Glasgow in 2008, with workshops already scheduled for Digby and Inverness in January 2009.
Connect to Compete: Broadband in Rural Nova Scotia
Currently, in partnership with Communications Nova Scotia, we are finalizing three audio-visual case studies of rural Nova Scotia businesses and organizations already benefitting from access to high-speed Internet.
They are just some of the many examples of web-based innovation being undertaken by businesses and communities all over rural Nova Scotia. We hope they will inspire other communities to achieve their own community economic development goals.
Keeping our stakeholders informed
In 2008, we made over 75 presentations to stakeholders in every corner of the province. We responded to over 500 public enquiries about broadband access, and contributed to numerous community-based meetings concerned with rural access to high speed. More than 1,500 additional people signed up for email updates on our progress last year.
In May 2008, we launched our own website as part of our ongoing communications strategy. In addition to being a source of information on the project, the website also provides links to Internet resources for Communities, for Families, and for Business. You can access the website at www.gov.ns.ca/econ/broadband/.
Looking Forward...
We look forward to working with you all in 2009, to continue bringing high speed access to the Internet to rural Nova Scotia. Contact us at broadband@gov.ns.ca if you have any queries about this exciting project.
Happy New Year,
Broadband for Rural Nova Scotia initiative team www.gov.ns.ca/econ/broadband