Annapolis County Internet plans going full speed ahead

Annapolis County’s plan to build an Internet fibre backbone is going full speed ahead, said Warden Timothy Habinski, and his hope is access for every home in the county.

“I can tell you that we’re working very hard at it and I’m incredibly excited about its implications for the county,” said Habinski in a recent interview. “And this is not 10 years off in the distance. This is coming in the very near future.”

While he couldn’t talk specifics because of the proprietary nature of the work and the county’s agreement with the company that will build the infrastructure, the warden wants residents to get online soon.

“It’s backbone fibre. Fibre to the premise,” said Habinski. “Our goal is within a very rapid period of time to have 95 per cent of all residents of Annapolis County to have access to a direct-to-their-home fibre connection.”

Habinski did note there will be some outlying areas and individual homes that will be difficult to reach but there will be other technologies to fill that need.

“So we’re in the process of just making sure we have the picture fully in hand,” he said. “I have great confidence in Mainland. They’re a great company to deal with.”

Also, on March 27, Annapolis County received news that it would get $75,000 from the province, one of 22 community high-speed Internet projects divvying up $1.44 million.

Announced Plans

In late December 2016, the county announced its intentions. It had entered into an agreement with Mainland Telecom to negotiate a plan to design and build open access backbone fibre within the county boundaries.

“Residents of Annapolis County told us clearly at our public consultations that Internet connectivity throughout the county was necessary if our communities and businesses were to prosper, and the municipality listened,” Habinski said at the time.

“We made this issue the first priority of our Economic Development Strategy, and I am delighted that we are now in a position to act. Backbone fibre is critical for improving our capacity, and making it possible to reach underserved communities and residents.”

Chris J. Norman, Mainland Telecom’s chief technology officer, said the network will bring big city connectivity to a rural area ripe for economic regeneration.

“The municipality has the courage to take a leadership stance and work for a longterm solution which Mainland is proud to be a part of,” Norman said when plans were first announced.

Local Governments

Annapolis County isn’t the only local government to act on Internet. The Village of Lawrencetown has also taken matters into its own hands to provide residents and businesses with high speed Internet.

The village has already erected two of four 90-foot Wifi towers that will send signal from a Gigabit fibre cable. That signal will give residents in the village and surrounding areas 15-megabit speeds in a basic package. And subscribers become owners of the company – a co-operative.