The world comes to nowhere - May. 20, 2010
John Gardner/Courier
Premier Shawn Graham updates his Twitter account following an announcement that the province was fully connected to broadband. The announcement was made at the remote Loon Bay Lodge.
BY JOHN GARDNER
john@stcroixcourier.ca
LOON BAY – “The middle of nowhere no longer exists in New Brunswick.”
With those words, Roxanne Reeves sent her husband, Premier Shawn Graham, off to make a historic announcement.
Graham and Bill Barrett, president of Barrett Xplore Inc, were in Loon Bay on Wednesday to announce that New Brunswick is now the first jurisdiction in North America that is fully broadband enabled.
“It is this type of coverage that is going to allow our citizens to become better educated. It is going to allow our businesses to become more profitable,” said Graham. “It is going to give us the tools to continue to move forward in the 21st century.”
The project that employs a hybrid approach of 161 towers providing fixed wireless, as well as satellite in the most difficult areas to reach.
During the announcement, Graham made use of the system to send a message on Twitter of the achievement.
“Every person in New Brunswick now has access to broadband coverage,” read the premier’s post.
In February of 2009, the provincial government committed $13 million to a project with the Woodstock-based company to provide access to the 10 per cent of rural New Brunswickers who were not able to connect through Bell Aliant’s broadband network.
“We started with satellite in those early months,” said Barrett. The fixed wireless towers began in May of 2009.
Due to government investment new customers pay $99 for installation regardless of where they live. Customers pay $44.99 a month for fixed wireless or $49.99 a month for satellite access.
Graham pointed out that because of the achievements of the New Brunswick-based company, the company is able to seek new markets nationally and globally.
“This is a day that we can celebrate and be proud of in our province as we are being recognized internationally for our accomplishments,” said Graham.
Graham will be in New York on Friday to accept an award for Visionary of the Year from the Intelligent Communities Forum.
For more on the Premier's visit to Charlotte County see the Courier Weekend.
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