STEPHEN RICCIO
PONTIAC Feb. 8, 2021
Connexion Fibre Picanoc (CFP) held an information session via Zoom on Feb. 8 regarding the progress the non-profit organization has made so far in securing high-speed internet service across the MRC’s of Pontiac and Vallée de la Gatineau.
CFP, which was incorporated in 2005 by the two MRCs, is in the process of completing a second application to secure internet speeds of 50 Mbps for underserved homes in the two regions, according to CFP collaborator Pierre Collins.
The application must be . . .
submitted to the Universal Broadband Fund (UBF) – delivered by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada – by March 15. It will be requesting roughly $60 million to deploy 3,055 km of fibre-optic cable that would cover 12,939 households across all of the municipalities in both MRCs. CFP President and MRC Pontiac Director General Bernard Roy said that an answer on the funding would hopefully come in a couple of months.
The application is similar in scale to one that was filed by CFP in May 2020 to the CRTC Broadband Fund, which was requesting $57 million in grant funding to deploy 2,971 km to cover 6,788 households. Roy said that the response on this project is also expected to come in the first half of 2021.
Collins explained to those in attendance that applying for multiple programs within the federal government improves CFP’s chances of getting one approved for funding. He added that if the latest application is approved, it nullifies the need to have the initial one funded.
Both Collins and Roy thanked communications officers Colleen Jones, of MRC Pontiac, and Natacha Desjardins, of MRC Vallée de la Gatineau, for obtaining 90 genuine letters of support for the project from municipal, commercial and social services partners.
Collines explained that obtaining these letters is a key part of the government viewing a project as viable, in addition to affordability and co-funding, among other factors.
In terms of affordability, Collins explained how the May 2020 application had a capital cost of $6,456 per household, while this latest application will have that figure down to $4,568. He said that lowering the household cost should improve the likelihood that the government grants funding.
He also said that co-funding for these projects typically comes from banks, or other partners. In addition to needing financial assistance to pay for the project as well as government funding, the CFP has already secured a deal with Bell Canada and Hydro Quebec for fibre cable linking.
One resident who was in attendance, Jacques Rodgers, asked Collins whether either project would be connecting high-speed service to homes of part-time residents. Collins explained that the federal government definition of a household is the main house of a person, so therefore part-time residents would not be able to take advantage of this improved service.
Roy closed the information session by assuring the public that CFP and the two MRCs continue to work very hard to improve service for the regions.
