Telus will expand construction of fiber optic networks to the Town of Peace River. Once the telecom operator finishes fiber optic network construction in the town, the community will be part of a few percent of communities in North America to get connected with the latest communication technology, reports Joanne McQuarrie in Peace River Record-Gazette. Telus will deliver high-speed broadband services through its fiber optic networks to the business and residential subscribers in the town.

Telus officials met with mayor Tom Tarpey, councilor Rod Burr; acting director of engineering, Sandi Adams and CAO Kelly Bunn on March 16 at the town office to go over Telus’ $10.4 million project in Peace River. Peace River is an urban center located in northwest Alberta, and is a scenic, growing town that is home to just under 7,000 residents. The community is situated within the Peace River Valley and straddles the banks of the mighty Peace River. The town is within a five hours’ drive north of Edmonton and just two hours northeast of Grande Prairie and has air, rail and bus services.

High-speed broadband services will attract entrepreneurs to the town. Fiber optic broadband will enhance the living conditions of residents and will add value to the businesses in the region. Using a community-based approach, 90% of the town will be connected. Telus will invest 10.4 million dollars to build the network. Telus takes all the installation cost and does not burden the end user.

The fiber optic cables will be installed by keeping the redundancy in mind allowing automatic switching of services if something goes wrong with one network. Redundancy allows the operator to enhance end-user satisfaction by keeping the traffic live.

Considering the fiber optic network will cover most of Peace River, the Telus officials were asked if there will be electromagnetic interference resulting from the magnitude of hook-ups. The installation ‘season’ is between April and October. Residents can expect Telus staff to be knocking on their doors to talk about connecting their homes and businesses to the fiber optic network. There is no requirement to be a current Telus customer.

Peace River has been segmented into 16 fiber serving areas. Priority areas for installation are the Peace River Community Health Center and businesses; ease of the installation will be considered too.

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