The City of Kimberley and Telus are pleased to announce that fibre optic technology is finally coming to town.
Kimberley residents will have Telus representatives knocking on their doors beginning this week, asking permission to bring fibre to their residence.
Kimberley is the second East Kootenay community to get fibre optics, the first being Creston.
This is big for Kimberley, says Mayor Don McCormick.
“What this means is that Kimberley is now part of a handful of rural communities who can boast the same high speed internet connection as downtown Vancouver. It creates a competitive advantage. Now people can combine lifestyle and business advantages.
“Kimberley is now a serious contender for all kinds of business attraction. It’s a pretty big announcement for us.”
Telus hopes to be able to cover 90 per cent of Kimberley with fibre optic service, only excluding areas where there are access issues. And while Telus is in town putting in the fibre optic cable, they will bring it to your home or business for free.
“You don’t need to commit to any Telus services,” McCormick said. “It will cost nothing to bring it to the premises. But then if you wish to take advantage of fibre optics, it will be there. If you don’t let them bring it to the building and then decide in the future you do want it, it would cost money. While Telus is here there is no cost, so it’s to everybody’s best advantage to do it now.”
The Telus representatives will request permission from each home and business in the community before construction commences. The infrastructure will follow the same connection path as your existing cable, with connections made either below ground or aerially via poles.
If your connection is on a pole to the house, you will see minimal or no impact to your property. If your connection is below ground, there will be more work required. However, every effort will be made to limit disruptions and minimize the impact on your home and daily routine.
In addition to the fastest internet speeds available (currently up to 100MBps) you will also have access to Telus Optik TV should you decide to purchase the services.
For more information on fibre optic technology and to register for progress updates, please visit telus.com/kimberley or call 1-855-595-5588.