Following some social media messaging from Friday from both the City of Prince Rupert and CityWest, many in Prince Rupert were wondering if they were one click away from losing their connection to the wired world sometime over the weekend.
As things turned out, the concerns coming from wildfire areas in the Bulkley Valley and Burns Lake regions did not bring the connections down, but the warnings did serve to give cause to wonder about the progress for the second connection to the south to be offered through the Connected Coast project.
The most recent update from late June on that work notes of cable installation taking place around the Broughton Archipelago, Johnstone Strait, Port McNeil and Port Hardy.
Two vessels are in use towards the cable laying work, the Ocean Destiry and Western Princess. They are working on landing sites at the end of Fisher Channel near Bella Bella near the Canadian Coast Guard Light station Addenbroke.
 |
| click to enlarge |
Other areas of work include Fitz Hugh Sound and Port Hardy.
The Connected Coast Build Status map (at left) or available here, indicates that a significant portion of the backbone between Vancouver and Prince Rupert has been built.
The two gaps between total connectivity between the two centres are found at the Addenbroke Lighstation area and another area between Sayward and Campbell River.
Those areas have had permits approved and are ready for installation.
The remainder of the expansion of the Connected Coast to the west coast of Vancouver Island.as well as that into the Haisla Nation are in various stages of permitting or preparation for installation.
One section of the Connect Coast project, the stretch from Lax Kw'alaams to Prince Rupert is the only one to go into service so far.
Once the system goes live up and down the coast, service interruptions from the current connection along the Highway16 corridor and to points south won't have as large an impact with the secondary access available.
As part of their messaging of Friday, it was outlined that the Connected Coast initiative should be live and serving the North by March of 2024.
That second connection is a much anticipated event for residents and commercial and industrial customers in Prince Rupert the home base for the City of Prince Rupert owned CityWest.
So with the current concerns still fresh in everyone's minds, the time might be opportune for a public update from CityWest officials.
It's been quite a while since City Council has invited the city owned communication company down to City Hall to share some information on how things are going.
Beyond the Connected Coast timeline and other local service issues, the status of distribution payments back to their investors, the residents of Prince Rupert would likely be among some topics of interest.
As well as some background towards the most recent Statement of Financial Position at CityWest, as published in the Annual Report last month.
That documents shows a reduction in net income from 2021 and no amount noted when it comes the repayment of the loan provided by the City to the communication company.
Having CityWest officials provide an update for not only the service themes, but on the focus for the company into the future should be a regular part of their engagement with their investors.
A public forum at City Council would make the easiest vehicle to make that happen.
Past notes on CityWest themes can be reviewed here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
No comments:
Post a Comment