By Connie Tabbert
COBDEN — Rafting companies can now hook up to fibre optics following the installation of fibre optic cables in that area of Whitewater Region Township.
Barry Hohol of Cogeco Fibre Services, provided an update to council at last Wednesday’s council meeting.
The work has been completed at Greenwood Road and the Industrial Park as well as along the Grants Settlement Road area to Wilderness Tours in one direction and RiverRun Rafting in the other direction, he explained.
Through funds received through the Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN), Cogeco installed fibre optics into specific areas throughout Eastern Ontario. Two major fibre builds have been completed — the Industrial Park area and Grants Settlement Road area.
Wilderness Tours has already signed up as a customer, Mr. Hohol said, adding, other businesses have requested quotes as to costs to sign on.
He was scheduled to meet with the five economic development officers in the area last Thursday. This meeting was to give an overview of the services provided by Cogeco so those officers could explain them to business people requesting more information.
“Companies these days are looking for high speed bandwidth in order to look at opportunities to come to an area,” Mr. Hohol said.
Advertising to let people know there is fibre optics in the area will be done using highway billboards and those will soon be completed, he said. One will go on Hwy. 17 and another next to the Greenwood business park.
Part of the EORN bill was to bring fibre optics to the curb, he said. The second phase is to bring another technology into the network that allows the company to deliver today’s cable based services, he said.
This would be the traditional cable, costing anywhere from $50 to couple hundred dollars a month, he said.
Installation of fibre optics and various technologies will allow the installation of equipment that will deliver less expensive services to small businesses and organizations in the community, Mr. Hohol said.
“There are a lot of smaller businesses that need bandwidth, but can’t afford the high costs of fibre optics, and this new technology will give them that opportunity,” he said.
Speaking about the world kayak event that will be happening at Wilderness Tours this August, Mr. Hohol said the company is working with them and is currently putting together a proposal in terms of how Cogeco might be able to deliver high speed broadband services for the event, he said.
“There is no solution yet due to the location of where the event is actually taking place,” Mr. Hohol said. “It’s a great opportunity for them and for us.”
He added, “It would be a permanent solution, whether it’s wireless or fibre. Those types of solutions are usually permanent.”
Mr. Hohol said the new service will be available to everyone at a comparative price to other companies that provide the same service.
Councillor Charlene Jackson said people should be forewarned that they ask for the Eastern Ontario Regional Network price, which is lower than the regular price.
Mr. Hohol said there are guidelines within EORN, and the company tries to stick to them.
“Some of those prices, even at the lowest level, are still more than some small companies can afford,” he said. “That’s why it’s important this next phase we’re doing will allow them to go back and get fibre services and have a much lower cost.”
Councillor Daryl McLaughlin was disappointed to find out that in order to get fibre optics, the cable must run in front of a person’s house.
He was under the assumption people would be able to hook up through their telephone systems.
“That’s very disappointing,” he stated. “I thought it was going to be from the green box at the end of the Kerr Line. I thought if you were seven kilometres from that box, you would be able to get high speed Internet.
“Is that with a different company?”
There still needs to be a connection to the person’s home, Mr. Hohol said.
Coun. McLaughlin noted he is four kilometres from the box, “and was waiting patiently to get high speed, thinking this was going to happen. It’s not.”
Mr. Hohol said he doesn’t know if it’s going to happen or not because he’s not on the residential side of the company.
He does know the residential side of the company has been working with EORN to deliver internet services.
“We are constantly building our network to provide better services,” he said.
Coun. McLaughlin said, “So, right now, at this point, it’s not going to happen.”
“No,” Mr. Hohol answered.
As for the quality of cell service in the area, Mr. Hohol said Cogeco does not deliver cell service, but will partner with other companies that do, such as Wind, Mobile, Rogers, etc.
“We will work with wireless companies to see if there’s opportunity to improve service,” he said. “We don’t go out and solicit that ourselves. If they come to us, we will work together to deliver cell service.”
