What to expect:

We have been hard at work to ensure everyone knows that we are bringing your community fiber optic internet! More importantly, our project is bringing speeds up to 1,000 Mbps! And because Sturgeon County has been so poorly served, this means that you will have an opportunity to get internet that is 1000x faster. Here’s a rundown on the progress so far.

 

Progress So Far:  

We’ve been hard at work alongside the Canadian Fiber Optics team to get fiber into residents’ homes as fast as we can. The transport construction crew has been plowing and directional drilling along the many highways and grid routes, the installation team has been getting ahead of them with drops to the homes ready to connect to our services when the transport and middle mile construction is complete! There were some delays with the fires and weather in the area, however crews are still committed to connect Phase 1 of the Sturgeon Broadband Project in 2023.

 

Here is the most recent update where the construction stands in our communities from the CFO team:

Drop crews will be out in Reyda Vista and Fairhaven

Middle mile crews are active in Reyda Vista, Fairhaven

Transport crews are actively connecting working north from Villeneuve to connect communities

 

As a reminder, the transport fiber is the fiber that will connect hamlets to each other.  The middle mile fiber is the fiber infrastructure that runs along streets and alleys in population centers, and the drop is the fiber the connects your individual home or property. The full status update can be seen below!

 

Villeneuve – Complete, Internet Service Active!

Calahoo – Complete, Internet Service Active!

Hansen’s Estates – Complete, Internet Service Active!

Turfside Estates – Complete, Internet Service Active!

Rosal Acres – Complete, Internet Service Active!

Dover Estates – Complete, Internet Service Active!

Shil Shol Estates – Complete, Internet Service Active!

Westwood Lane – Complete, Internet Service Active!

Glory Hills – Complete, Internet Service Active!

Pine Sands – Complete, Internet Service Active!

Fairhaven and West Fairhaven – Drops in progress, middle mile in progress

Reyda Vista – Drops in progress, middle mile in progress

Northern Lights – Drops in progress, middle mile completed ahead of transport construction

River Que Barre – Drops in progress, middle mile completed ahead of transport construction

Heritage IP – Drops in progress, middle mile completed ahead of transport construction

Terreault Estates – Drops in progress, middle mile completed ahead of transport construction

RR262 – Drops in progress, middle mile completed ahead of transport construction

Rol Anna Park – Drops in progress, middle mile completed ahead of transport construction

Villeneuve Airport – Drops in progress, middle mile completed

Pro North – Coming 2023

Calahoo Trailer Park – Coming 2023

Silver Chief – Coming 2023

 

 

If you are in a community where services are coming soon and you’ve already signed up for Northern Lights Fiber, there is nothing required to do on your end! Our team will call you to schedule installations of services once we have network light to your community. 

 

If you have already signed an Access Agreement, the CFO drop crew will be placing underground conduit and fiber on your property. You will receive contact via e-mail and phone call from the CFO team to install your drop, and ONT to your home respectively when our drop crew is working in your area.

 

Access Agreement

At this time, the most important thing for you to do is sign an access agreement. You can find the link by visiting HERE. Our blog has easy to follow steps.

 

Underground Construction  

To prepare Sturgeon County for their digital future, new fiber-optic infrastructure is deeply important. This will ensure that the upgrades will service and last for generations to come.  And to ensure that the network remains reliable, CFO will bury this infrastructure! But even in the best weather conditions, installing new underground infrastructure is hard and dangerous work, so here are some things you should know about the project:

 

Flagging  

Before the project begins down your alleys, side streets, and the drop comes into your yard, you will see flags begin to pop up all around. This is the first step at installation your drop, and if you’ve registered for services (or completed your access agreement) you will be notified when we start this process for your home. These flags are incredibly important as it tells the construction crew where important infrastructure, like gas and electric, is located. If you see these flags, please ensure that you do not touch or remove them from the ground. If a crew is unable to see a flag or the utilities below it could cause serious damage to your utilities or cause harm to the crew! If you would like to let us know about private utilities on your property where we will be building, please call our main line and let our team know. For more information on locates, visit UtilitySafety.ca.

 

Installing the drop

This is the easy part! Access to the home isn’t required for the initial drop so no appointment is needed. This is completed based on techs availability. The CFO crew will come by and knock/ring first before getting to work. They will install the conduit from our access point to just outside of your home. They do this by making use of a vibratory plow, to install the fiber cable just beneath the ground. All you’ll see is an orange piece sticking out of the ground ready to install your ONT, which converts the light signals into internet. How neat is that? After this, you just need to register internet services to use your new fiber internet network. If you’re interested in learning more about or connecting to Northern Lights Fiber services you can check them out here!

 

It Can Get Messy

Progress is going very well, but with our variable Canadian weather things can get a little messy. Because we are building buried infrastructure under/in wet ground, progress on our new construction will require a bit of a mess to complete properly. Follow our Facebook page to keep yourself updated as we get updates from CFOC to connect you sooner!

 

Remediation  

This is underground construction, which means there are holes and small trenches for the fiber lines to run down! Although directional drills and vibratory plowing equipment reduce the amount of soil turned, there’s still a small mess. Sometimes, the earth is required to settle for a bit following snow melting, rainy conditions, and the ground shifting naturally. But fear not, remediating anything effected by work and ensuring that it will return to its healthiest form in suitable time will be completed as soon as possible.

The team will wait for the proper weather and ground conditions so the soil can properly settle. At that point, the earth is set to final grade and new grass seed is planted for your lawn to regrow to its previous health! It is a small price required to pay to keep construction moving so homes and businesses can get connected as fast as possible!

 

How do I sign up for Northern Lights Fiber internet!?  

If you would like to register for service now, check out our world-class products and services HERE! (And remember, you will NOT be charged anything until the service officially begins after installation).

Visit our Products and Pricing page or give us a call at 1-888-CFO-2947 (ext 2, for Sales)