P.E.I. government scraps $30 million plan to build internet 'backbone' cable

The P.E.I. government says it's scrapping what was once a major part of its plan to boost internet speeds in rural areas.

Last fallin its throne speech, the province announcedit wouldspend $30 million from the capital budget overthree years to build1,450 kilometres of fibre cable, acting as an internet"backbone" spread across the Island.

We realized the plan had to evolve.- Joe Rowledge, adviser, P.E.I. Economic Development Department

But Joe Rowledge, a senior policy analyst with P.E.I.'s Economic Development Department, says his government decided to stop moving forward with that plan after consulting with internet companies and experts.

He says the main issue is the cable would still rely on broadband companies to build connections from the "backbone" to homes and businesses.

"Backbone was a middle-mile play. That means it's the back haul for your network, but it's not actually delivering the service to your home," Rowledge said. "We thought, we have to have a better way of delivering the service to Islanders."

Companies to build own infrastructure

Instead, the province has issued a request for proposals to broadband companies, to come up with their own plans for boosting speeds in underservedareas.

Rowledge says those companies would have to build all their own infrastructure to make that happen, rather than piggybacking off a government owned cable.

"We realized the planhad to evolve into this RFP which was build it, deliver the service," he said. "It could be wireless, it could be wired, it could be a combination. It's the smart way to move forward."

The province has said both it and thefederal government will provide some amount of funding to companies, to ensure expanding their services into rural areas makes business sense.

At this point, Rowledgesays it's not clear how much of the $30 million that had been budgeted for the fibre backbone will go toward the new plan.

Companies have until Oct.12to submit their proposals to the province.

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