ASSIGINACK—Representatives from ROCK Networks have been applying to Island municipalities and First Nations for permission to work on their road allowances and other properties in order to fulfill the company’s commitment to bring fibre optic connection for internet access 18,600 homes on Manitoulin Island and along the North Shore.
ROCK Networks received $97 million in funding from both the federal and provincial governments to help build the network, which will provide fibre-to-home connections with download speeds of up to 1.5 gigabits per second at a cost the company suggests will be less than the $150 monthly cost for Starlink satellite connections.
This past week, ROCK Networks came to the Municipality of Assiginack’s committee of the whole to outline what they, and their engineering firm Cyient, are trying to do and what they need from the municipality in order to accomplish their connectivity mission.
“The program was actually initiated to give services to every underserved home in Ontario,” noted Adem Idriss, active networks manager with ROCK and Pomegran (key investors in the project). Mr. Idriss was supported in the presentation to council by Mahsa Alikhani, assistant project manager at ROCK.
The project being undertaken by ROCK Networks and their engineers requires a number of vaults or “cabinets” as described by their representatives to be built along the Hydro One pole lines, many of which are situated on municipal property.
Just about every home on Manitoulin Island will eventually be within reach of one of those cabinets, providing high speed internet access to those homes.
“So, one of the cabinets we have is in your land,” said Mr. Idriss “That’s where we come to you guys to give us approval to install the cabinet on the land. The cabinet will also be fitted with power from Hydro One or whatever utility provides the available power. The power to the cabinet will be going underground from the utility pole. We are coming to every municipality to give us an approval. Right now, we have 12 approvals out of 17.”
The ROCK representatives had some good news for the council. “Basically, you’re going to get the faster internet and more options than Starlink,” he said. “It’s all about the gigs. The network that we are bringing here is the maximum that you can roll, will be between 5 gig speed in each place.”
“The other side of it is the perfect side, the pricing of the services—it is regulated,” continued Mr. Idriss. “I don’t have a detail, but it is much cheaper than the money that is being spent on the 5 MB and 10 MB right now. So, getting like, 200 and 100 MB/S with the cheaper price is the goal for the whole project.”
In order to minimize impact on the environment and aesthetics a lot of the infrastructure will be underground, requiring some lateral drilling.
In answer to questions from council, the ROCK representative assured that the coverage will be practically 100 percent—including seasonal homes—anywhere that is served by a Hydro pole.
There was some confusion when it came to whether those homes served by submarine cables would be included. The representatives promised to get back to council on that question.
Although the fibre connections will be available to everyone, there is no obligation on the part of a home or property owner to hook up—that will be entirely voluntary. Where the lines need to cross private property, that will be negotiated with the owner—if they want the service.
The fibre network capacity will be much higher than that currently in place in some communities on Manitoulin—being designed to accommodate high speed access for every home on Manitoulin.
The key provider for internet service will be ROCK Networks, and that is who homeowners and businesses will sign up with, although the ROCK representative noted that, once in place, the fibre network will open to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that wishes to offer the high speed option. That, he suggests, will mean competition and lower prices to the consumer.
There will also be a lot of marketing coming down the pipe, including flyers—but consumers will have choices. “We are obligated by the government to make the network open access,” said Mr. Idriss. “Bell, or whoever service provider is that wants to access the area using our fiber, we are obliged to allow them, so that will give a competitive marketing structure for the area.”
As for timelines, “it is being requested by the government to finish the end of 2025 to reach all homes. So that’s why we are rush. That’s why you guys are getting a lot of emails, calls and visits from us and our vendors who are involved as well.”
Exact pricing for the service is not yet available, but due to a competitive environment, the costs will likely be better for more than is currently available.
