WINNIPEG – MTS Allstream said Friday it will invest $125 million over the next five years as part of an accelerated deployment of its fibre to the home network which will carry digital TV, voice and ultra high speed Internet, named FiON, in Manitoba.
By the end of 2015, MTS expects to deploy fibre to about 120,000 homes in close to 20 Manitoba communities such as Steinbach, Thompson, The Pas and in areas of Winnipeg. The company has been building up to expand the rollout all year.
"MTS already delivers some of the most advanced Internet and television services in Canada, and this investment will position us to continue that leadership,” said Kelvin Shepherd, president, MTS. “Together with our existing high speed VDSL networks in Winnipeg, Brandon and Portage, this expanded fibre deployment is expected to make available advanced broadband and television capabilities to about 65% of Manitoba homes. This extended coverage with state of the art technologies will be unique and market-leading in Canada."
Customers on MTS’s FiON network have access to high-speed Internet services with speeds up to 25 Mbps and MTS Ultimate TV. FiON also has great potential for exciting future development with future broadband speeds of over 100 Mbps.
MTS was the first in Manitoba to launch a fibre to the home network this January in the Waverley West neighbourhood of Winnipeg and announced in April that it would be expanding the initiative to include the City of Selkirk along with an adjacent portion of St. Andrews and St. Clements. Teams will continue to convert Selkirk residential customers to the new network throughout 2010 with plans to have the network fully deployed by 2011.
Additional details on specific communities to receive FiON service under this expanded program will be announced as deployment plans are finalized for each community.
