SOUTH HAZELTON, B.C. – Prince Rupert’s municipally owned network operator CityWest today announced a partnership with the British Columbia government to provide approximately 200 households and businesses in South Hazelton with Internet, television, and phone services.
The community is about a three-hour drive inland from Prince Rupert.
“Having access to high-speed Internet is incredibly important to people, especially during times such as these,” said Anne Kang, Minister of Citizens’ Services for the Province of BC. “Bringing broadband to South Hazelton will make life easier for people in the community.”
The cost of the project is over $800,000, with CityWest and the province sharing 50% of the costs.
South Hazelton is located just west of New Hazelton, at a bend in Highway 16 where the Skeena River branches into the Bulkley River. When construction is completed, residents and businesses will be able to access Internet speeds of up to 1 Gigabit per second, as well as TV and phone services.
“We’ll be able to provide residents of South Hazelton with the same great experience we give to all our customers in all our communities,” said Tina Lussier, interim CEO of CityWest. “As a company that was built in the North, we’re proud to provide our newest communities with the fastest Internet speeds possible alongside great optical TV and phone services.”
Construction will take place during the summer months, and the first customers will be installed at the beginning of the fall, said the company. “Our construction team will be practicing all the appropriate Covid-19 social distancing measures to ensure everyone stays safe,” said Bart Kuntz, vice-president of outside plant with CityWest.
If Covid-19 provincial restrictions are still in place by the fall, the company said it will continue taking all the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of its employees and of its customers when services are being installed in the house.
