Alberta searches for last mile proposals for SuperNet

The government of Alberta will soon issue a request for proposals to complete the province’s broadband expansion into communities, but not everyone is convinced that government funding is needed for the last mile. The Alberta government invested nearly $200 million in the SuperNet to bridge the digital divide between urban areas and unconnected remote communities with service from commercial Internet service providers (ISPs). The network, which combines fibre and wireless towers, was also built to provide public institutions with high-speed Internet. As a result, more than 70 independent ISPs now provide residential and commercial broadband services to more than 400 Albertan communities. Last October, the Alberta government began consulting with communications technology providers to research how to improve and expand the network’s capacity and reach. Mike Berezowsky, assistant communications director for Service Alberta, the ministry responsible for SuperNet, said in an interview that SuperNet is now complete except for the last mile. “The final mile is kind of going that step further and making sure broadband access is available to all residents and businesses across Alberta,” he said. Berezowsky said the department recently conducted a phone survey of rural Alberta to get a clearer picture of where service gaps need to be filled. He said the government is now working with ISPs to find out where existing companies can provide services to reach residents without broadband access. “In some cases that may involve using the SuperNet fibre. In some cases that may work with whatever technology might be existing for some areas that need to be expanded,” he said. “This is all what needs to be figured out because there are gaps in different areas of the province. It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s quite complex.” Mark Beland, a representative from St. Paul, Alta.-based independent ISP MCSNet, Alberta’s largest fixed wireless provider, said the SuperNet has been a “catalyst” for broadband rollout into small communities. Prior to the creation of the network, he said planning was much more complicated and limited. “The services required long-term contracts and were extremely cost-prohibitive,” Beland said in an interview. “Now with the SuperNet, the pricing model is much less costly and much more available.” But Beland said government funding may have already served its purpose in spurring competition and that any more could be counterproductive. “Our position is we’d rather as little government involvement as possible,” he said. “We feel that there’s a market in rural Alberta. There’s a lot of providers in Alberta. The SuperNet deployment in Alberta has really driven a fairly strong private sector wireless telco business out here.” Beland said government grants typically go to new market entrants, which can distort the market and aren’t really needed with many independent ISPs operating across the province. He added that the government often deals with flawed data when determining where to expand and may subsidize new entrants in areas where coverage is already provided. Beland acknowledged that some remote areas don't provide a business case for service, and such cases may require government money. Brian McNary, operations manager for ISP Optic Lynx in Camrose, Alta., said the SuperNet has “been a wonderful thing for our business growth,” allowing the company to reach otherwise unreachable communities. He said the SuperNet project is limited by last mile construction costs, which for some companies can be prohibitively high in certain areas. “Most often, businesses have to build their infrastructure to that access point,” McNary said in an interview. “Quite often it could be a $20,000 bill.” He said wireless solutions are making broadband connections more affordable and feasible but government money for the last mile would be welcome. Axia SuperNet Ltd., the company that operates the SuperNet, presented a proposal to the Alberta government for its consultation last February. The consultation submissions are not public. But Murray Sigler, executive vice-president and president for Axia North America, said the best-value solution is to build more open-access, shared wireless towers to reach unconnected communities. “It’s a wireless solution that’s being delivered by those service providers. We’re just saying that by smart, strategic investment in additional towers, that will satisfy the policy objectives the Alberta government set out in the ,” he said in an interview. “It will extend the reach; it will have a powerful offering; it will be sustainable; it will certainly not be proprietary to any one carrier; it will be there to facilitate all the service providers that are out there and to attract new ones on an economically viable basis.” Sigler said fixed wireless for the last mile could be rolled out without any government money. Axia would build the towers and new or existing ISPs would pay to use them. Ottawa technology consultant Bill St. Arnaud said the SuperNet relied far too much on wireless instead of extending fibre deeper into the province's regions. He said wireless is a stop-gap measure and that more investment in fibre is needed. “Point-to-point wireless will not have the capacity of fibre,” St. Arnaud said in an interview. “The ultimate end game is you’ve got to get fibre, eventually to every home, at least to communities or to the node. That’s where they sort of lost sight of the vision.” St. Arnaud said the project was initially a significant achievement, but it didn’t account for continued growth. He said he also doubts the Alberta government is motivated to invest heavily in the project for another round. The province contributed almost $200 million in building the SuperNet but Berezowsky said the government isn’t at a point yet where it’s ready to project spending for the last mile. “As opposed to earlier Alberta governments, I think there’s a lot less fire in the belly to do something,” St. Arnaud said. “They seem to be almost satisfied with what they have, except for some last few remaining rural areas.” Both Beland and McNary said money should also go into building “core redundancy,” that is, ring closures to ensure that fibre cuts or other disruptions don’t affect the entire network. Berezowsky said the request for proposals would be issued “as soon as possible” but he said he couldn’t be more precise, only saying it wouldn’t be within the next month. mburgess@thewirereport.ca

Alberta searches for last mile proposals for SuperNet

News | 05/19/2011 8:39 pm EDT

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