Consider Community Network Option for BC Internet Delivery, Urges Association

VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 25, 2024 /CNW/ - The not-for-profit organization that has guided the construction of Canada's largest open-access network is urging the CCBC to strongly consider the open-access model for broadband projects in BC.

Connecting Communities BC (CCBC) is the federal-provincial partnership targeting the delivery of high-speed internet service to 100 percent of households in B.C. by 2027.

"The open-access model provides for community ownership and community operation," said i-Valley Vice President Roel Coert.  "It allows all Internet Service Providers to make their offerings available for citizens, which increases the variety and competitive pricing – two factors that enrich the citizens."  

i-Valley has been working with the Shuswap Broadband Project on a Co-Op model of community networking.  "The local Co-Op  model has advantages that should be explored" stated Coert:

• The Open-Access infrastructure avoids monopoly by an incumbent, as multiple service providers can use it to provide high-quality and competitive services;
• It delivers one coordinated project for the entire region: after the first communities come on board, more communities can be added to benefit from the infrastructure with minimal additional investment;
• It partners with local First Nations, and to further the equity stake of First Nations, it allows for further expansion with indigenous participation;
• It is long-term, scalable, sustainable and upgradable; and
• It creates local jobs during the build phase and for long-term operations.

"To ensure that all options are considered, CCBC should enable joint discussion with ISPs to benefit from the proposed open-access infrastructure," urged Mr. Coert, "instead of individual applications. We contacted CCBC and have been assured that the Shuswap Co-Op application is still being actively considered, and we look forward to hearing from them soon.

"We would also like to have a delegation of local community and indigenous representatives to meet with the Minister of Citizen Services, The Honourable George Chow, to discuss overlapping projects in the area from incumbent providers, into the Shuswap Region Broadband Cooperative", stated Coert. "The Co-Op's larger community initiative would help to solve the connectivity problem for all underserved areas in the region".

He noted that a study from Harvard demonstrated that community-owned networks provide consumers with significantly lower rates than their private-sector counterparts, leading to their growth in popularity.

About i-Valley

i-Valley is a Canadian-owned non-profit Society that specializes in remote rural Broadband projects. i-Valley has obtained more than $ 50 million in funding for community networks since 2014 and their model community-owned network is in Pictou County, Nova Scotia. 

SOURCE Shuswap Economic Development Society

Roel Coert, Vice President, i-Valley B.C., [email protected], 604 767 7498; Community Contact: Sue McCrae, President Shuswap Economic Dev.; [email protected] 250-832-5932