A new high-speed Internet service is officially on its way to Niverville’s Business Park, after town council unanimously approved a conditional use application during a public hearing held Tuesday morning during a Town Council meeting.
The application, brought forward by Rural Connections Manitoba Ltd., will allow the company to set up a central office building at 500 Kuzenko Street in Niverville's Business Park, east of town.
This small, unoccupied facility will house electronic equipment that is needed to deliver both fibre optic and wireless high-speed Internet to businesses and surrounding rural areas.
"This is an application for Rural Connections," explained Eric King, Niverville’s Chief Administrative Officer. "This will allow for the setup of the central office building where they will house the electronic equipment for a fibre optic and wireless high-speed Internet service provider at 500 Kuzenko Street."
Mayor Myron Dyck opened the public hearing with a routine call for feedback from the community. However, no written or in-person opposition was submitted. “So, no one's here. Nothing's been written,” said Dyck. “So then I guess I could take a motion to move out of the public hearing if there's no one to ask questions to at this point.”
Council then moved swiftly to approve the project. King formally recommended the application be passed.
Some questions did come up before the final vote, particularly regarding Internet speed and affordability. Meghan Beasant, town councillor, brought up a key concern: “This is obviously about providing Internet to the industrial park.”
King confirmed that the goal is to bring reliable service to all current and future businesses in the area.
“This will provide high-speed Internet to all potential and existing buildings in the business park, as well as future roads off of 6th Ave.”
Bre-Ann Boulet, Executive Director of the Niverville Chamber of Commerce, joined the meeting and voiced concerns from local businesses.
“There are some concerns from the business park regarding the type of Internet being put in… how fast will this provider be? How does it compare to others? And… concerns with the speed going forward.”
A representative from Rural Connections Manitoba Ltd, Brian Stasynec, answered those concerns directly.
“Our base package is about 450 Meg for $150. Gigabit is $250 and dedicated Gigabit is $325,” he said, adding that the service is competitively priced and capable of high speeds once the infrastructure is in place.
He also confirmed that the network's reach would extend well beyond the business park.
“We want to service everything, you know, the farms, residences around the town… almost to Winnipeg and then south to almost Hwy 23. So it’s a good location for us.”
In terms of timing, the company expects to start installing cables by mid-July or late August, depending on permit approvals.
“The crews are ready to start,” Stasynec said. “We’re just waiting on final permitting.”
The conditional use was carried unanimously.