CityWest expands footprint on Sunshine Coast with project plans for two communities

CityWest is the provider of choice to deliver some faster internet connectivity for two Sunshine Coast Communities, with the Province of British Columbia announcing plans for those residents of the remote areas of skelhp and Lund.

The project was announced yesterday by Lisa Beare, the Minister of Citizens Services.

 “We’re committed to ensuring everyone in British Columbia can access high-speed internet services, no matter where they live, by 2027. We know that access to high-speed internet can be crucial for people living and working in remote areas like Lund and skelhp. It can encourage community and economic growth by opening up opportunities for business, education, job training and access to services comparable to urban centres.”

The latest area of Coastal BC for CityWest to provide
internet connectivity is on the Sunshine Coast

The background release towards the project notes of plans for the City of Prince Rupert owned and operated communication company to begin work in 2024.

These projects will support the delivery of high-speed internet in Lund and sḵelhp when the capacity enabled through the Connected Coast Network is achieved. Connected Coast is laying approximately 3,500 kilometres of subsea fibre-optic cable providing backbone connectivity infrastructure to bring high-speed connectivity access to 139 communities from Prince Rupert south to Vancouver and around Vancouver Island, and is expected to be completed in 2024.

More than 140 households in Lund and sḵelhp will benefit from installation of new last-mile network infrastructure providing broadband internet speeds of more than 50 megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads, and 10 Mbps for uploads. 

Once completed, people in the area will have better, faster access to digital services and opportunities through high-speed connectivity. The project, being built and to be operated by service provider CityWest, will begin construction in 2024.

Funding for the near one million dollar project comes from three levels of government as well as a quarter of a million dollars from CityWest:

The Government of British Columbia will invest up to $202,300 through the Connecting British Columbia program, administered by Northern Development Initiative Trust. 

The Federal government will invest up to $404,700 through the federal Universal Broadband Fund. Service provider 

CityWest will contribute approximately $254,000 and the qathet Regional District will provide for approximately $94,500.

“CityWest specializes in serving rural and remote communities, and we’re thrilled to bring improved Internet services to even more communities within the qathet Regional District. 

These last-mile projects are crucial to ensure that all British Columbians have access to Internet connectivity, allowing them to participate in the digital world. 

We would like to thank the Province of B.C., the Northern Development Initiative Trust and the federal government for their connectivity vision.” -- Stefan Woloszyn, CEO, CityWest 

The full provincial  announcement can be reviewed here.

More notes on the Prince Rupert based communication company can be explored through our archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.