It’s taken a number of years but students at Ecole elementaire catholique Christ-Roi in River Valley finally have high-speed internet.
Daniel Gagne, who is the Director of IT at the Conseil scolaire catholique Franco-Nord school board, says the board has been working on this project for about four to five years.
Gagne says the board put out many Requests For Proposals looking for an internet provider who would erect an internet tower in the community.
He says what made finding an internet provider difficult was the small population of the area.
“It was tough getting an internet provider to offer us a solution,” Gagne said.
After a lengthy process, the school board identified a company that specializes in introducing high-speed internet in rural areas.
It’s Northern Rural Net a company based in Bancroft.
The company put up a tower on the school property and carried out testing to make sure the system worked.
That was followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday commemorating the event.
Gagne says in addition to Christ-Roi now having high-speed internet, Northern Rural Net was also able to provide high-speed internet service to the community’s library.
But the good news doesn’t stop there.
Gagne says Northern Rural Net can also offer high-speed internet to the residents of River Valley.
He says interested homeowners can contact the company at www.northernrural.net or call it at 1-888-998-0769 to be added to a list of people who may want a faster internet speed.
Gagne says the school board was able to bring high-speed internet to River Valley thanks to the provincial government’s Broadband Modernization Program.
He says in order to connect to the Highway 17 corridor when erecting the River Valley internet tower, Northern Rural Net bought additional towers along the corridor.
“This means they can now offer high-speed internet in other areas of West Nipissing like Field, Lavigne and Verner,” Gagne said.
“And I also know that they’re in discussions with Nipissing First Nation and Dokis First Nation to offer high-speed internet.”
Gagne says with the potential to introduce high-speed internet to other communities in West Nipissing in addition to the two First Nations, he expects Northern Rural Net to grow in the near future.