VAL D’OR, Que. — Non-profit regional fibre network operator Gestion de l’inforoute régionale de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue (GIRAT) and Bell Canada today announced a newly operational cell site that will bring improved mobile coverage along Route 117 between Mont-Laurier and Val d’Or.
Located at Dorval Lodge in Réserve faunique La Vérendrye, the remote cell site is also part of a research project with the Université de Sherbrooke to enable solar-powered infrastructure to minimize generator use in remote locations without access to electricity, says Bell’s press release.
The new cell site is part of the Mobile A-T project, a partnership between GIRAT and Bell to add 32 sites in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, as well as in the section of Réserve faunique La Vérendrye located within the regional county municipality of La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau. As of now, 19 of the sites are in service and the full project is expected to be complete by the end of spring 2021, according to the press release.
“Leveraging our network leadership to further advance how we all connect with each other and the world, Bell looks forward to further developing this unique solar-powered technology for use on cell sites in other remote areas,” said Nicholas Payant, Bell’s vice-president of connectivity and reliability, in the release.
The development of the site’s solar-powered technology is part of a previously announced partnership between Bell and the Université de Sherbrooke. As part of the partnership, Bell’s 5G wireless communication systems are being installed at the university’s Interdisciplinary Institute for Technological Innovation (3IT) to drive broadband technology research in a broad range of sectors, including smart energy management, Internet of Things (IoT) and innovative manufacturing.
“Pairing 3IT’s solar energy expertise with that of the Nergica research institute in Gaspé, we developed a solar panel and battery storage solution to power this remote site, allowing us to integrate computer modelling, testing at 3IT’s solar park, and implementation in an operational setting, which is truly distinctive and highly instructive for our students,” explained Professor Vincent Aimez, vice-president of partnership and knowledge transfer at the Université de Sherbrooke.
For more, please click here.
