PRINCE RUPERT — Municipally owned telecom company CityWest, based in Prince Rupert, today announced it has purchased Evolve Communications, a Vanderhoof, B.C.-based wireless Internet service provider.
Vanderhoof has a population of 4,500 and is located more than 600 km east of Prince Rupert.
The deal was completed after CityWest’s board of directors approved the terms of the sale, the company said. Financial details were not disclosed in the press release.
“We are very pleased to announce the purchase of Evolve Communications. The team at Evolve has the same attitude towards providing customers with the best possible experience at all times and they bring amazing synergies to our business platform,” said Stefan Woloszyn, CEO of CityWest, in the release. “The owner and employees of Evolve have served their customers well over the last eight years, and we’re thrilled to welcome them to the CityWest family.”
Evolve Communications was incorporated in 2012 by Ryan Ray, an entrepreneur who grew up in Vanderhoof. Its coverage area includes the towns of Vanderhoof and Fort St. James, as well as their surrounding rural areas. The company provides high-speed Internet packages at affordable rates and, including the owner, employs three people.
Ray will join the CityWest senior management team as director of wireless services, and Evolve Communications will operate as a subsidiary of CityWest, says the release.
“We’re very happy about this deal because CityWest has the unique opportunity to bring Internet services to remote communities on a wide scale,” said Ray. “And, like us, they know how important it is for a local company to get good services to remote communities, which no one else can provide.
“The ownership has changed, but the same principles of excellence in customer service will continue,” added Ray. “Our customers will see great improvements in their services, thanks to this deal with CityWest.”
In September CityWest announced it was investing $9 million to expand its Internet, TV and phone services into Vanderhoof. At the time, CityWest said $2 million was earmarked for the first stages of construction, and the initial rollout of service was expected to begin before the end of 2020. It then intended next year to continue building and bringing service to the Vanderhoof community using a combination of its own money and external funding, it said.
