PRINCE RUPERT, B.C. – CityWest announced last week work has begun to allow the municipally-owned cableco and telco to bring high speed Internet service to Port Edward.
The first phase of the expansion will see CityWest tie into its existing northwestern B.C. fibre network along Highway 16 a new line into Port Edward (pop. 660).
Fibre-crews started this phase on September 25th. The second phase of the expansion plan is to upgrade the cable television lines in Port Edward in order to enable the local plant to carry high-speed data traffic. The final phase of the project will be the installation of a new CMTS in Prince Rupert (pop. 15,000).
Although no firm date has been set for the availability of service, CityWest is currently taking pre-orders from interested customers who wish to be contacted for installation once the service is ready.
In July 2006, the District of Port Edward announced that it had awarded an infrastructure grant for $20,000 to CityWest for the purpose of bringing high-speed internet services to the town.
CityWest and the District of Port Edward agreed that the grant would get dispersed back to Port Edward residents in the form of credits for those who signed up for High-Speed Internet service. As a result, the first 150 customers who sign up for CityWest High-Speed internet in Port Edward will receive a free installation (valued at $79.95) plus a cable modem free for one-year ($5 savings for 12-months).
“High-Speed Internet over cable is an extremely fast Internet service, perfect for downloading large files quickly or watching streaming video over the internet,” said Rob Brown CityWest general manager for CityWest. The broadband offering in Port Edward will be the same as what they offer to cable internet customers in other communities: a high speed plan and a more economical "lite" plan. “Cable internet customers in Port Edward will enjoy the same internet plans, and the same rates as our customers in Terrace, or Kitimat enjoy,” added Brown.
