LAKELAND – Representatives from MCSnet gathered with dignitaries from the MD of Bonnyville and Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul MLA Scott Cyr, to celebrate the improvement of internet speeds within select areas of the MD of Bonnyville.
They gathered at an MCSnet jobsite in Cherry Grove on May 22, surrounded by giant spools of fiber optic cables.
MCSnet’s fiber optics projects have received both provincial and federal funding as part of the government's broadband strategy, and upon receiving a grant from the Universal Broadband Fund, MCSnet was able to start construction in Thorhild, and now they have started their project within select areas of the MD of Bonnyville.
According to the Government of Canada website, “The $3.225 billion Universal Broadband Fund supports high-speed Internet projects across the country. These projects will bring Internet at speeds of 50/10 Megabits per second (Mbps) to rural and remote communities . . . The Universal Broadband Fund is part of the Government of Canada's coordinated plan to connect all Canadians.”
Rhonda Lafrance, Chief Marketing Officer for MCSnet, explains that this is the fifth grant they have received to improve broadband.
“To date, MCSnet has received over $28 million in grant funding and has invested $24 million of its own funds as part of these grant programs to improve internet speeds for over 35,000 homes and businesses in Northeastern Alberta. In 2019, MCSnet built ‘Fiber to the Home’ projects in Mallaig, Fort Kent, and Cherry Grove - without any grant funding,” said Lafrance.
“Ultimately, fiber is the fastest technology invented yet, and it’s resistant to weather. It's kind of the gold standard,” said MCSnet’s CEO Jerico Vanbrabant.
He said the project in the MD of Bonnyville has been going well. Despite the amount of time it took to get approvals and funding sorted out from the government, the project should be completed “pretty quickly” now that construction has started.
Cyr had been an advocate for the project, bringing discussion on the topic to Alberta’s Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish, during committee budget meetings.
The MLA commented on how meaningful being connected with fast and reliable internet is within the more rural parts of his constituency, as he said some residents are still using dial-up.
“What I love about MCSnet is that it's a family-owned business and they are based out of St. Paul. They’re celebrating their 30th anniversary. This is one of those success stories where a family had an idea and went for it. They're entrepreneurs and it’s just quite remarkable,” said Cyr.
