Fibre optic network nears fruition

BY KIRK STARRATT

The Advertiser

NovaNewsNow.com



The executive director of the Kings Community Economic Development Agency (Kings CED) says despite a couple of minor setbacks that affected the project timeline, the Valley Community Fibre Network (VCFN) is on the cusp of fruition.

Erin Beaudin said they anticipated that the fibre optic cable network would be constructed by the fall of 2006, but there was a delay due to cost overruns and budgetary issues and they weren’t in a position to move forward. The make-ready work and construction costs were first projected in 2004 as part of their business plan and turned out to be inaccurate, partially due to inflation.

However, Aliant and Nova Scotia Power Incorporated (NSPI) stepped up to accommodate them with the make-ready work, and a number of other funding partners came through with additional resources for what Beaudin described as a hybrid solution where everyone saw themselves as partners. These organizations included the provincial Department of Economic Development, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), ACORN (the Atlantic Canada Organization of Research Networks) and CANARIE.

Beaudin said there was a stipulation on the funding from CANARIE – which is a Canadian non-profit collaboration between business and government that coordinates improved Internet access and network connectivity throughout the country - that it must be spent by March 31, 2007 or it would be lost. However, it looks as though that will not be an issue, as the entire network wouldn’t have to be completed by that date.

She said NSPI and Aliant worked within their powers to provide cost reductions for the VCFN make-ready component. Without their support, she said the board would’ve had to get more creative. They’re on a strict budget and were able to get a locked-in price from NSPI.



$4 million, community-owned network

The VCFN is a $4-million, community-owned and operated 196 km stretch of 72 strand fibre optic cable network that will follow Highway 1, connecting Halifax with Middleton and multiple partners along the route. Partners include Acadia University, the Nova Scotia Community College, the Municipality of West Hants, the County of Kings and the towns of Windsor, Hantsport, Wolfville and Berwick.

She said the other municipal partners would like to see the Town of Kentville at the table. They have yet to partner on the initiative and there’s a sense of a void, but Beaudin said it wouldn’t have an impact on the project proceeding. The board respects Kentville council’s decision but would be open to having them join. “It’s a leap of faith,� she said.

Beaudin said the VCFN board felt it was now on good financial ground to proceed with the initiative and voted in favour of moving forward Nov. 16. Contracts for the make-ready work with utility poles have been negotiated with Aliant and NSPI over the last few weeks and negotiations are taking place with the successful respondent to the request for proposals for construction.

“We didn’t want to move ahead until our financial house was in order,� she said.

Make-ready work will take place over the winter months and construction details will be worked out hopefully by early 2007. They plan to begin construction by April and have the network built by the end of August so it will be functional by September 2007. Beaudin said they hope to have a business development representative to market the network in place by early 2007.

“It’s very important to have the marketing person in place now,� she said.



Critical infrastructure

Beaudin said we need this critical infrastructure and the partners recognized that they needed to find a solution because the implications of not having the network are significant. She said their willingness to do so shows how much they believe in the project.

Beaudin said the VCFN steering committee has a risk management plan in place and it took a lot of hard work on the part of the board to make the project a go. However, they’re excited about it.

She sees the network as a tool to foster economic development, inter-municipal cooperation, service sharing and countless other benefits. It will make our region more competitive in the global economy.

In terms of how the project ties into the recent announcement by Premier Rodney MacDonald that the province is committed to providing high-speed connectivity to everyone by 2009, Beaudin said connectivity is only one part of the mandate to be accomplished by the network.

The VCFN will be a vehicle - a backbone - to help the province meet its mandate, and other carriers will have an opportunity to be vehicles to help meet the provincial mandate as well. She said our high-speed and wireless connectivity might be expedited by the fact the VCFN will be community-owned and operated.