Annapolis County fibre optic internet project getting back on track

ANNAPOLIS ROYAL, N.S. — Annapolis County’s internet project, that promises high speed connection availability to everyone in the county, is getting back on track and could resume this fall.

Municipal council recently approved a motion to direct CAO John Ferguson to write a letter of intent to engage Eagle Telecom after it went through a request for proposals process.

“This company, they were the successful respondent,” said Warden Timothy Habinski. “Obviously there’s a road that has to be crossed before you get the point of actually signing the contract.”

But he said the county has already developed the contract template.

“We spent a lot of time and a lot of energy getting that done in the first place,” Habinski said. “So that’s still there and still ready to go. It won’t be nearly as time consuming as it was the first time around.”

See Also: INTERNET BACKBONE

See Also: FASTER INTERNET

Hatch Engineering, consultants for the county, will finalize the CCDC-14 stipulated fixed-price fibre optic contract with Eagle Telecom for council’s consideration, Ferguson said.

“The county terminated, for convenience, the previous contract,” the CAO said. That contract was with Mainland Telecom and was ended earlier this year.

Habinski was impressed with Eagle Telecom. “Certainly their presentation was pretty confidence inspiring,” he said.

“It’s certainly our intention to have the build proceeding this fall,” Habinski said, adding the build will consist of all the same specifications, all the same requirements for deliverables. “The one thing that we’re changing -- and we think it’s the right way to go – is we’re inverting the build.”

That means those in more remote areas will get service first. That’s the federal government’s Connect to Innovate portion to the tune of $2.9 million that will light up communities like Port Royal, Port Wade, Victoria Beach, Delaps Cove, Hillsburn, Parkers Cove, Youngs Cove, Phinneys Cove and Litchfield.

The overall $18-million county project will also bring fibre optic internet along the rest of the shore as far as Margaretsville. Much of the fibre optic internet backbone build will be possible through federal government gas tax rebate funds and a debenture. Taxpapers should not have to pay anything for the project that will be paid for by subscribers.