Athabasca County is considering its options in terms of broadband communications and cell coverage within its borders.
The county invited Lac La Biche County to one of their regular meetings to give a presentation on what they were doing on the subject, which they did at the Jan. 31 meeting, according to the meeting minutes.
Lac La Biche County Mayor Omer Moghrabi and deputy mayor Lorin Tkachuk talked about cell infrastructure, as well as fibre optics and wireless connections.
Tkachuk said in an interview after the meeting that all municipalities are trying to wrap their head around exactly what broadband communications is.
“We though it would be beneficial to go and talk to them about what the future might hold for their area,” he said. “One of the key messages I had for them was that three of the most important pillars they will need is fibre-optic cable to the home in densely-populated areas. Cell infrastructure is also very much needed for low-density populations, as well as a service provider to maintain that infrastructure.”
He also talked about the benefits of partnering with other municipalities on this type of project.
“The key point I’m trying to get across is that when we partner intermunicipally, we are going to have more buying power for that type of infrastructure,” Tkachuk said. “We still also have better access to grants when we work together.”
At this point, Athabasca County Reeve Larry Armfelt said they are considering all of their options.
“This is another specialized alternative for getting better cell service to the area,” Armfelt said in an interview after the meeting. “We do have choices in that area, including Telus and MCSNet.”
He said they wanted to know what Lac La Biche County was doing, and find out if they can either join them in their endeavours or not.
“We were hunting for information,” Armfelt said. “They were good enough to come on down from Lac La Biche to tell us what they were doing.”
Tkachuk added that he was also there to seek support from Athabasca County in his endeavour to obtain a spot on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) board.
“I just recently left my communications job after more than ten years so I could run,” he said. “That way, I can try and drive some change for broadband in Alberta and across the country.”
He added that the FCM dictates grants, both for internal and external streams of funding.
“The latter includes grants for broadband, infrastructure and environmental,” Tkachuk said.
He also addressed concerns about how to justify building a broadband network when some parts of the county do not have cell-phone infrastructure or activity.
“My explanation was that broadband was not just wires in the ground, but it is access to the internet,” he said. “By building a holistic broadband plan, that would include cell infrastructure as well as fibre in the ground and a service provider.”
He also talked about how other communities viewed their experiences by having fibre optics.
“Westlock, for example, has been very happy with their build-out,” Tkachuk said. “That includes the benefits of turning the cell-phone towers from the highly-populated areas out to the lower density areas, which provides better cell phone coverage to the surrounding areas.”
Coun. Dwayne Rawson moved to accept the presentation from Lac La Biche County as information, according to the minutes. The motion was approved unanimously by all the councilors present.
Tkachuk said he is looking forward to possibly partnering with Athabasca County and the Town of Athabasca.
“We looking forward to helping them along their journey for better communications activity for their residents,” he said.
