SHIPPAGAN, NB – The government of New Brunswick, Canada’s Advanced Research and Innovation Network (CANARIE), and F6 Networks have announced plans to invest in a new high-speed, dark-fibre network that will connect northern New Brunswick to the provincial and national research and education networks.
The province is providing $4 million, through the Northern New Brunswick Economic Development and Innovation Fund and the Miramichi Regional Economic Development and Innovation Fund, to F6 Networks to establish the network by March 31, 2015.
The project is also being supported through a $7.3 million investment by CANARIE, the organization that delivers digital infrastructure for Canada's research, education and innovation communities. The investment is part of its mandate to build a nationwide 100G (100 billion bits per second) fibre optic network backbone from Victoria to Halifax, enabling Canadians to participate in data-intensive, collaborative, research and innovation across the country and around the world.
The investments by the province and CANARIE in the Rimouski-Moncton corridor will bring the open access, dark-fibre network from Campbellton to Fredericton via Bathurst, the Acadian Peninsula and Miramichi.
“The extension of Canada's 100G network backbone through New Brunswick is the foundation for new economic opportunities and advances in research and innovation across the province,” said Kathryn Anthonisen, vice-president of external relations at CANARIE, in the announcement. “This digital infrastructure helps build New Brunswick's knowledge economy and attract investment in the ICT sector, and it supports trans-Atlantic connectivity for global initiatives.”
Photo, from left: Kathryn Anthonisen, vice-president external relations, CANARIE; Natural Resources Minister Paul Robichaud, who is also minister responsible for the Regional Development Corporation; Premier David Alward; Tracadie-Sheila MLA Claude Landry and Tom Rivington, president of F6 networks.
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