CAMPBELL’S BAY – During its annual general meeting June 4 at the MRC Pontiac building, the Board of Directors of Connexion Fibre Picanoc (CFP) adopted a corporate strategy to provide “access to reliable high-speed internet service to 100% of households in the two MRCs (Pontiac and Vallée-de-la-Gatineau) within five years at a cost comparable to that offered in major centre
CAMPBELL’S BAY – During its annual general meeting June 4 at the MRC Pontiac building, the Board of Directors of Connexion Fibre Picanoc (CFP) adopted a corporate strategy to provide “access to reliable high-speed internet service to 100% of households in the two MRCs (Pontiac and Vallée-de-la-Gatineau) within five years at a cost comparable to that offered in major centres.”
“Internet is as essential a service today as running water, sewage, electricity, and the telephone,” said Bernard Roy, Director General of the MRC Pontiac and Acting President of CFP at the AGM. “However, the Pontiac and Vallée-de-la-Gatineau still rank among the least connected in Québec,” he continued.
Although some sectors and CFP customers currently have access to internet speeds of around 10 megabits, the majority is below 5 megabits; many households still do not have access to high-speed internet or have a poor connection.
CFP will seek help from an expert to restructure the organization. Lynn Kearny, Director General of the MRC Vallée-de-la-Gatineau and CFP Administrator, admits it is time to review the business model. “Our goals are clear and reasonable and our vision has not changed, but it feels like we’re stagnating. It is time to speed up the process,” she explained.
Connexion Fibre Picanoc was created in 2005 by the MRC Pontiac and the MRC Vallée-de-la-Gatineau in partnership with the local school boards to connect municipalities, schools, libraries, and fire halls to fiber optic.
CFP then created Réseau Picanoc.net with a private partner to bring high-speed service to approximately 2,000 households in the two MRCs.
Last year, CFP submitted a $ 10M financial assistance request to the federal government’s Connect to Innovate program and Québec Branché program to connect 5,000 additional households to high-speed, but this request was refused. (AB)
