High Speed Internet throughout Argenteuil. There is progress. Be hopeful!

Jacques Pigeon Municipal affairs

I received my first email through Fibre Argenteuil from a happy Louisa Road resident at 17:25 on Tuesday February 24. Mind you, this is a test but still, it is for real. I was told that 4 residents from this area had just been connected.

The following day, Wednesday February 25, I attended the Fibre Argenteuil information session at the Gore Community Centre. It was a full house. People standing in the back of the room.

Benoit St-Jacques

Mayors from Gore, Wentworth and Mille-Isles were there. So was Marc Carrière, DG of the MRC, with staffers Frédérick Jones and Stéphane Jourdain, the newly appointed Executive Director of Fibre Argenteuil Denis Huberdeau, and Chaiman of the Board Benoit St-Jacques of Black Lake, Chartered Accountant, Partner at FBL and the DCA’s esteemed treasurer. So, we are in good hands.

We need to. Dealing with Bell and it’s 5 000 telephone poles has proven to be a formidable obstacle course.

Before I tell you more about the project, I will answer the question most dunanyites are asking: WHEN?

Deployment to the 55 residents of Curran road: summer 2020.

Availability of Fibre Argenteuil for residents along Dunany Road and branches, spring 2021.

Fibre Argenteuil will offer speeds of 25, 50 and 100 Mbits. Bell’s DSL on Dunany road and some branches is a 5 Mbits service. Better than nothing but…

Telephony and television will be offered at a later stage.

The strategy here is to prioritize deployment to areas now totally unserved. Makes sense.

These are the highlights of the fibre Argenteuil project:

  • Budget: 16,5M$, mostly from federal and provincial subsidies. 3M$ from the MRC.
  • Owner: MRC Argenteuil will deploy the 300 kilometres of fibre to reach 4 200 homes north of the river.
  • Operator: Fibre Argenteuil, a non profit corporation, will operate the network and provide the service to residents.
  • Rates will not be known until April but they are expected to be very competitive as the corporation is a non-profit organization. Finally, Fibre Argenteuil will offer special plans for vacationers.

I will do my best to answer your questions.

 

 

5 thoughts on “High Speed Internet throughout Argenteuil. There is progress. Be hopeful!”

  3. Mitch azaria

    Thank you very much Jacques. Great news and a clearly written story. Did they offer a more precise date than Summer 2020? Is it weather dependent ? Any insight as to how it rolls out, ie: one house at a time moving west to east etc?

  4. Jacques Pigeon Post author

    I have made enquiries Mitch but I have not yet received an answer. Will get back to you when that happens. Cheers.

  5. Jacques Pigeon Post author

    My corespondent at Fibre Argenteuil was away for spring break!
    This is what he tells me: Target date is August 2020 but not absolutely firm. Why?
    They need to find out if it is possible to bury the cable in certain areas to facilitate deployment. That can only be done when the sow is gone.
    We should have a firm date in a couple of months.