Cold Lake– The City of Cold Lake will canvass its residents to see how strong the local market is for fiber optic internet connections, in the hopes that investors could be encouraged to make the required infrastructure available throughout the City.

The City of Cold Lake’s Mayor and Council learned that City staff frequently receive complaints from residents frustrated with their current internet service provider. These complaints come alongside concerns from individuals who mistakenly believe the City has delayed the installation of fiber optic infrastructure necessary for faster connections.

At its September Corporate Priorities Committee Meeting, administration notified mayor and council that, while fiber optic cable has been installed in portions of the community, there remain significant portions of the municipality that do not have fiber optic infrastructure available. These areas have not been serviced by fiber optic cable because companies have not deemed the business case strong enough to warrant the investment.

“Any notion that the City has stood in the way of the installation of fiber could not be further from the truth,” Mayor Bob Mattice said. “If anything, over the past decade, our staff and Cold Lake’s elected leadership has been willing to work with internet service providers to expedite the installation of fiber optic cable.”

The City’s administration noted that the community has a number of internet service providers, some of which have come up with options for local customers to access high speed internet, that is near gigabyte speeds, in the absence of fiber optic cable. The City of Cold Lake has also been installing a fiber optic backbone from north to south whenever underground utility work has allowed for the installation of conduit. This work has been undertaken to ensure that the City can connect its facilities with fiber optic connections, but the infrastructure can also be made available to internet service providers, should it be required.

“We are happy to see a competitive market locally with lots of options for people to choose from, but we still lack the ability to have all of our commercial and residential properties serviced with a high-speed internet connection,” Mattice said. “In this day and age we are hoping to catch up to ensure that none of our residents are left behind and that all of our commercial areas have access to the internet speeds they need to compete.”

The City of Cold Lake’s administration will work to canvass its residents and business to accurately gauge the availability and demand for high-speed internet throughout the community.