High speed Internet service will it ever come? 1999
A report entitled "Telecommunications Crossroads " was presented at the KAST (Kootenay Association for Science and Technology) annual conference in Nelson on Monday. The report was prepared by Brian Fry and Doug Alder of IPWorld Communications in Rossland. The report was funded through KAST. They interviewed the major telecommunications providers in the West Kootenay area. Their conclusion: the existing telecommunication infrastructure is better than expected. However the access to high speed capacity is severely restricted by the lack of affordable "last mile" solutions.
The "last mile" refers to the copper line between your home or business and the local telephone exchange. 88% of the Kootenay Boundary region is now ADSL capable but the service is not accessible. At present, your typical home dial up access can provide you with data transmission speeds between 28.8 and 48 kilobytes per second (on good days). ADSL would provide the home/office with data transmission rates of 2 megabytes per second (10 times faster).
Higher speed access at affordable rates is only available in regions with a large enough customer base to be profitable for the service provider. At the present time BC Tel has no plans to provide high speed ADLS service to home or office in the Kootenays. Even though ADLS service can be provided at a much lower cost, as long as BC Tel sells T1 connections at $1500 a month (1.544 Mbps) there is little incentive to sell a faster ADLS (2 Mbps) connection to a business for $200 / month. It appears that BC Tel is more concerned with perceived profits than additional investment in the Kootenay / Boundary telephone lines to provide a less expensive ADSL service. The Kootenay region with only 2.4% of the provincial population is at a price disadvantage as inexpensive high speed access becomes readily available throughout the rest of the province.
Grand Forks and region, through Sunshine Cable System, is the exception to the rule as they already have high speed access through their (4 Mbps) cable for $30 per month (plus the cost/rental of the cable modem). Wireless (2Mbps) service can also be obtained through this company but it is $700 / month.
Shaw cable has made plans to deliver high speed cable access to the area within one years time. It seems the "last mile" is the hardest, and at the present time only Shaw cable is prepared to meet the demand.
The report "Telecommunication Crossroads" has suggested that KAST organise a group of interested high speed data professionals to prepare an overall plan to upgrade Kootenay regions "last mile" and prepare a Request For Tender to solicit a third party to provide the "last mile" solution. The existing telecommunications providers; BC Tel, Shaw Cable, and Sunshinecable Systems could partner with the Government (at all levels) to enable affordable ADSL service. If the major carriers are not interested or unwilling than a third party could provide the service.