Tag: Network Expansions

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Mobile Syrup

May roundup: network expansions in Canada

Aerial view of mobiel phone cell tower over forested rural area of West Virginia to illustrate lack of broadband internet service

The Government of Canada has a goal to connect 98 percent of the country’s residents with high-speed internet by 2026.

This has resulted in a barrage of funding announcements, often through partnerships with provincial governments, over the past month. Telecom companies have also been making similar announcements to advance their networks throughout the country.

To help MobileSyrup readers keep track of the May announcements, we’ve broken down the details below and provided a map to help make everything easier to visualize.

Government

May 10: The Government of Quebec announced high-speed internet access for 10,000 homes in the province, courtesy of Starlink. The government-funded project is worth $50 million.

May 13: The Government of Canada paid Starlink $1.04 million to connect hundreds of rural Manitoba homes with high-speed internet.

May 20: The federal government and the Province of British Columbia invested $108 million to bring high-speed internet to 14,000 households. 

May 27: The Governments of Canada and Quebec invested nearly $400,000 to bring high-speed internet services to 55 rural households.

Telus

May 17: The Vancouver-based company announced $17 billion in investments for network infrastructure, operations, and spectrum in Alberta over the next four years.

May 24: Telus announced it will invest $11 billion towards network infrastructure, operations, and spectrum across Quebec over the next four years.

May 26: Telus announced it will bring its 5G and PureFibre networks to the Lower St. Lawrence region through a $20 million investment.

May 27: The company invested $8 million to bring its PureFibre and 5G networks to the Innu community of Ekuanitshit and the municipalities of Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan and Port-Menier.

Bell

May 31: Bell expanded its fibre internet services to 20,000 locations across 25 communities in New Brunswick.

Image credit: Shutterstock

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Mobile Syrup

October round-up: Network expansions in Canada

Image source: WikiMedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Utility_Wires_on_a_utility_pole.jpg

Every month, we report on press releases from Canadian carrier companies announcing new investments in wireless and broadband services in regions across the country.

To help you keep on top of things, here’s a list of every announcement from October 2021, plus a helpful map so you can visualize where each company focused its efforts this month.

Nunavik internet project

October 14th: CRTC provides final $53.4 million for Nunavik high-speed internet project

Primus

October 7th: Primus expands internet service availability in Quebec

Rogers

October 12th: Rogers expands 5G service to 11 regions in Quebec

October 14th: Rogers to expand fibre internet network in the Ottawa area

October 25th: Rogers announces completion of its national 5G core rollout

October 28th: Rogers to build up fibre internet network in Ramara, Ontario

Telus

October 14th: Telus expands 5G service in nine Alberta locations

October 18th: Telus widens 5G network on Vancouver Island

October 20th: Telus 5G now available in Grand Forks, Pemberton, Vernon and Whistler

October 21st: Telus expands 5G network to six new communities in British Columbia

Xplornet

October 7th: Xplornet now offering gigabit internet service at 6,500 Haldimand locations

October 29th: Xplornet to install high-speed fibre cable across PEI’s Confederation Bridge

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

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Mobile Syrup

Xplornet to install high-speed fibre cable across PEI’s Confederation Bridge

Image source: Shutterstock https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sunset-confederation-bridge-bordencarleton-prince-edward-250426222

Xplornet Communications is launching a unique network expansion project in Prince Edward Island.

According to the press release, the internet service provider (ISP) plans to install a 15 km fibre cable spanning across the Confederation Bridge, linking PEI to the mainland.

The high-speed fibre would reportedly be the “first telecommunications cable to be placed inside the bridge’s utility corridor in nearly 25 years.”

As a result, Xplornet had to partner with Strait Crossing Development, the company that operates and maintains the Confederation Bridge.

Xplornet says it intends to lay over 600 km of fibre cable across PEI, connecting an estimated 20,000 homes and businesses on the island.

The project is expected to be completed sometime in early 2023.

Earlier this month, Xplornet provided an update on its high-speed internet expansion project in Haldimand, Ontario, announcing that 6,500 new locations in the region now had access to its broadband service

In September, the ISP launched Canada’s first-ever rural 5G standalone network in New Brunswick.

Source: Xplornet

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Mobile Syrup

Rogers to build up fibre internet network in Ramara, Ontario

Image source: Shutterstock https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/moncton-new-brunswick-canada-29-march-1690633498

Rogers has partnered with the Ontario township of Ramara to expand its fibre internet network in the region.

According to the press release, Rogers is investing $4 million to build new infrastructure to service “800 homes and business” in Ramara, which is located along the northeastern shore of Lake Simcoe.

That new infrastructure includes erecting two new wireless towers in the township, with the help of Ruralwave — a local internet service provider that Rogers purchased in 2020.

Rogers says the project will span “38 square kilometers of underserved area” and should be completed by halfway through next year — i.e. mid-2022.

To ensure connectivity throughout the community, two wireless towers will be installed to provide wireless home internet to more than 80 homes delivering reliable connectivity to residents that are harder to reach with a fibre-optic network

Earlier this week, Rogers announced that it had completed the national rollout of its 5G standalone core network.

The same week has seen Rogers at the centre of a highly-publicized leadership struggle, as conflict continues between the company’s board of directors and founding family.

Source: Rogers

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Mobile Syrup

Rogers announces completion of its national 5G core rollout

Rogers reported today that it has completed the national rollout of its 5G standalone core network.

In a press release, the Toronto-based carrier announced that it had “completed its 5G standalone core network deployment nationally and is deploying its 5G standalone service coverage in major markets.”

Those major markets include the cities of Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver.

The company also shared that it achieved what it says is the “first 5G standalone device certification in Canada.”

The specific devices in question are the Google Pixel 6 and Google Pixel 6 Pro. Pixel 6 owners will be able to connect to Rogers’ 5G network using their devices, provided they live in a region where they’re eligible for service.

Rogers began rolling out its Ericsson-powered 5G standalone core network in December 2020.

The carrier’s last 5G network expansion announcement was on October 12th, and focused on the Quebec regions of Beaconsfield, Boucherville, Brossard, Dorval, Drummondville, Longueuil, Mascouche, Mont Tremblant, Saint-Constant, Saint-Lambert, and Terrebonne.

To see where Rogers expanded its 5G network in September, check out our monthly round-up and map of network expansions in Canada.

To learn more about 5G, read this handy guide by MobileSyrup‘s Jonathan Lamont.

Source: Rogers

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Mobile Syrup

Telus expands 5G network to six new communities in British Columbia

Telus has once again expanded its 5G network to more regions in British Columbia.

According to a series of press releases, residents and businesses in the following communities now have access to Vancouver-based carrier’s 5G internet service: Chetwynd, Cranbrook, Fort St. John, Kitimat, Prince Rupert, and Tumbler Ridge.

The upgrades are funded through a $13 billion investment from Telus, aimed at beefing up its 5G infrastructure in the province of B.C.

If this story seems familiar, that’s because this is the third major B.C.-focused network expansion announced by Telus this week.

On October 18th, Telus widened its 5G network on Vancouver Island to include Campbell River, Comox, Courtenay, Cumberland, and Saanich.

Two days later, on October 20th, the carrier’s 5G internet services became available in Grand Forks, Pemberton, Vernon, and Whistler.

Source: Telus, (2), (3), (4) (5)

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Mobile Syrup

Telus 5G now available in Grand Forks, Pemberton, Vernon and Whistler

Telus has expanded its 5G internet network to four new regions in the province of British Columbia.

Folks living in the B.C. communities of Grand Forks, Pemberton, Vernon, and Whistler now have access to Telus’ 5G internet services, according to three press releases from the Vancouver-based carrier.

This new development is part of a $13 billion B.C.-specific investment from Telus.

Announced in May 2021, the investment will fund the expansion of Telus’ 5G network to more than 187 communities in the province, as well as the hiring of 12,000 British Columbians to set up the necessary infrastructure, from now until 2024.

Prior to today’s announcement, Vancouver Island was the most recent B.C. region to gain access to Telus 5G internet — specifically, the communities of Campbell River, Comox, Courtenay, Cumberland, and Saanich.

According to data gathered from Ookla’s internet speed-tracking tool, Telus was the fastest mobile operator in Canada during Q3 2021. However, national telecom competitor Rogers took first place in terms of 5G availability.

Source: Telus, (2), (3)

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Mobile Syrup

Telus widens 5G network on Vancouver Island

Telus has extended its 5G internet network to five communities on Vancouver Island in British Columbia.

Residents and businesses in Campbell River, Comox, Courtenay, Cumberland, and Saanich now have access to the carrier’s 5G internet services.

According to the press releases, this expansion is funded through a $13 billion investment from Telus announced back in May 2021.

The purpose of the investment is to improve the west coast telecom giant’s infrastructure and operations, specifically in B.C., from now through to 2024

The press releases also state that Telus has invested over $47 billion in “technology and operations” in B.C. since 2000.

Telus’ last B.C-based network expansion was announced on September 27th, and included the regions of Bulkley-Nechako, Fort St. James, Houston, Parksville, Port Hardy, Qualicum Beach, and Richmond.

Source: Telus, (2), (3)

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Mobile Syrup

CRTC provides final $53.4 million for Nunavik high-speed internet project

Nunavik’s Kativik Regional Government (KRG) announced that the region’s first-ever high-speed internet expansion is officially fully funded.

The infrastructure project was originally announced in August 2018, following a pledge from the federal and Quebec governments to each invest $62.6 million — a total of $125.2 million — to provide folks living in the remote northern Quebec region with access to high-speed internet.

In addition to $500,000 from the KRG, the initiative was recently bolstered by a final contribution: $53.4 million from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), as reported by Nunatsiaq News.

Installation began on Nunavik’s first-ever undersea fibre optic cable network in August of this year.

The cable runs north along the coast of James Bay, starting in Chisasibi and connecting through to Kuujjuaraapik, Whapmagoostui, Umiujaq, Inukjuak, all the way up to Puvirnituq.

According to Nunatsiaq News, KRG telecommunications advisor Dan Pellerin says this stretch of the fibre network should be ready to use by January 2022.

In 2022, the plan is to expand the undersea cable network further along the Hudson Strait, in order to connect to the communities of Akulivik, Ivujivik, Salluit, and Kangiqsujuaq.

The entire project is expected to be completed towards the end of 2023.

Image creidt: Shutterstock 

Source: Nunatsiaq News

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Mobile Syrup

Rogers to expand fibre internet network in the Ottawa area

Rogers is growing its fibre internet offerings in southeastern Ontario through a recently announced 24,000 location network expansion.

The 24,000 locations are mostly situated in the National Capital region, in the cities of Ottawa and Clarence-Rockland, the municipality of North Grenville, and the town of Carleton Place.

The press release provided no specific timeframe as to when residents and businesses in these locations can officially expect to gain access to Rogers’ high-speed fibre-to-the-home broadband.

The expansion is funded through a $188 million investment from the Toronto-based telecom carrier.

Earlier this week, Rogers announced that its 5G network is now available to 90 communities in 11 cities and towns in Quebec, including Beaconsfield, Boucherville, Brossard, Dorval, Drummondville, Longueuil, Mascouche, Mont Tremblant, Saint-Constant, Saint-Lambert, and Terrebonne.

Source: Rogers