CityWest to expand service to Haida Gwaii, as Connected Coast initiative moves forward

CityWest has announced another expansion program, this one
as part of the Connected Coast initiative to Haida Gwaii

Prince Rupert based CityWest is making the move westward, with the City of Prince Rupert owned communication company announcing its expansion of services to Haida Gwaii.

In a Friday information release the communication provider outlined its blue print for service to the Islands, with the first stage set to be an expansion into the communities of Masset, Old Masset, Queen Charlotte, Skidegate, Tlell and Tow Hill.

The expansion to take place over the next few months will be part of their service plan as part of the Connected Coast project.

“We’ve worked closely with our partners on Haida Gwaii for many months to lay the groundwork for this project, and their help has been essential to getting it off the ground. We’re thrilled that we’ll soon be serving residents and businesses across Haida Gwaii with great Internet alongside fantastic customer service!”  -- Stefan Woloszyn, CEO of CityWest. 

For the first stage of expansion, CityWest will be going directly to the doors and mailboxes of residents in some communities on Haida Gwaii , to sign them up for their installation, and ask permission to "bury a drop” on their property. 

In their information relay, CityWest notes that a drop is the infrastructure that runs from the street to the customer premises. 

Once that is complete, customers on Haida Gwaii will have access to fibre-to-the-home services when the Connected Coast project brings bandwidth to the island.

The project has been well received by elected officials on the Islands, with Queen Charlotte mayor Kris Olsen outlining the anticipation that the communities on Haida Gwaii have.

“This is just a really exciting project that will connect Haida Gwaii with the rest of the world. It will allow us to expand economic development, improve education, and deliver e-health services, all while staying at home.”

The program to bring the Connected Coast initiative to Haida Gwaii has seen CityWest work closely with communities on the Islands as well as with the Province of British Columbia, as they continue to support the roll out of their Connecting British Columbia program. 

No cost estimate towards the introduction of the program was included in the CityWest update.

More on Friday's announcement from the Prince Rupert head office of CityWest can be reviewed here.

It's the latest in a growing list of CityWest announcements on their growing footprint, you can review more of those from our archive page here.