November 2022 - High Prairie

Is Starlink Right for Rural Communities?

Nov 30, 2022 | Why Fiber Optics?, WI FI

Xpay.com, Tesla Inc., and SpaceX are just a few of Musk’s brainchildren, and the latter was founded in 2002 with the mind-boggling goal to colonize space. No matter how you may feel about him, you’ve certainly got to hand it to Musk: when it comes to ideas, the sky truly is the limit! This brings us to the matter at hand: In 2019, SpaceX announced its latest projects, one of which was Starlink. But what exactly is Starlink? And is it really everything it’s cracked up to be?

What Is Starlink?

Satellite internet technology has been around for decades. Internet connectivity is transmitted by radio waves emitted by satellites orbiting thousands of miles above the Earth’s atmosphere. Those radio waves are received by ground stations and then sent right into your home. Plenty of people already use satellites to connect their homes to the internet.

For example, one of the leading satellite internet providers, HughesNet, has satellites that sit 22,000 miles above the Earth. Starlink is also a satellite internet service, but the company is utilizing low-orbiting satellites that operate only 300 miles above the surface. This translates to improved internet speeds and reduced latency when compared to other satellite providers. Moreover, SpaceX plans to continue the launch of these satellites in the coming years. There will be as many as 40,000 new satellites arranged in what the corporation refers to as a ‘constellation.’

Satellite Internet Challenges

Getting Starlink in your home starts with a hefty investment right off the bat. The initial $760 fee gets you the satellite dish and the Wi-Fi router, and you can expect to pay $140 per month for internet services. That’ll get you 1TB of usage during the day, with overage fees of $0.32/GB (About $30 to download a newer game, or $5 to stream a movie!) Compare that to Canadian Fiber Optics $89.99 for a symmetrical 100Mbps, with unlimited usage, with options for free installation!

There also comes the obstacles of maintenance. We monitor our network consistently and have prepared our techs to be able to react to, and fix a large scale issue should it occur within only a few hours. If a satellite goes down leaving you in the dark with no network, it takes a little bit longer to get into orbit for repairs.

Choose Reliability and Scalability with Fiber

These days, reliable internet is more important than ever, especially for those living in rural areas. It helps keep us connected, employed, and entertained. Interrupted connectivity—even a short one—can make a world of difference for those who depend on it. Fiber is a buried infrastructure, meaning the weather won’t take away your reception, and it’s built to last. We’ve designed our network to work consistently, and scale with your communities’ needs. Our services currently scale to 10,000Mbps (that’s almost 1,000x faster than what many residents get today!) and is built to grow beyond that without extensive work and repairs.

While Starlink will be a welcome option for customers who only have traditional satellite internet—or none at all—it simply can’t compare to the reliability, functionality, and future proofing of your community that a fiber network does.

For guaranteed fast, reliable, and affordable internet services, fiber from Canadian Fiber Optics and Northern Lights Fiber is the way to go.

How can we connect with fiber?

Nov 7, 2022 | Why Fiber Optics?, WI FI

New Options and Opportunities

Fiber eliminates the struggles of “Who’s downloading?” and “Can you turn your game off so I can work?” With a true symmetrical network, you always have the bandwidth to do more. Multiple devices at once are no longer an issue with our WiFi 6 enabled Gigaspire. Up to 250 devices can connect with plenty of bandwidth overhead for your family to work and play freely.

Staying Connected

There are a multitude of options for video chatting with the family, or conferencing remotely. FaceTime, Messenger, WhatsApp, Google Duo, and Teams are all great options to keep in touch. Downloadable from the App Store or Play store on your phone or tablet, seeing friends and family far away has never been easier. Video calling can use quite a bit of bandwidth, but when you have a dedicated symmetrical fiber connection provisioned just for you to use, there’s never a frozen face or spinning circle to get in the way of your quality connecting time.

Home Security and IoT

Home security has always been a pain without a network that can support it. With our fiber optic infrastructure, you can run as much (or as little) as you need. Smart cameras, motion sensors, doorbells, you name it! Keeping your home secure 24/7 is important, and that is why we use Wi-Fi 6 technology. The most advanced solution you can get in your home. This ensures that not only do you have the speed to operate safely and securely, but there are no disruptions in your devices connections to the network. Enhanced even further by our WiFi Mesh optional upgrade, that will cover even the farthest corners of your home (or shed, or garage!)

Remote Work and Learning

One of the biggest hurdles with rural internet: upload speed. Whether it’s sending off an email, document, or getting that video essay turned in. It takes time to send your information where it needs to be. Or at least it used to. That’s why a symmetrical connection is so important to us. We offer the same upload speeds as we do download speeds in all of our packages so that essential tasks can get done quickly and hassle free.

Work Hard…Play Hard

As we move into the digital age physical games and movies are becoming more and more scarce. Digital libraries and cloud gaming are becoming the norm, and nobody wants to wait to jump into the action. We offer up to 1,000Mbps, making sure that your game gets installed in time. Or if you can’t wait, you can use cloud gaming services like Xbox Game Pass or Playstation Now for a smooth streamed game experience. Launch Netflix in 4k, or catch up on your favourite Disney+ and Prime series. There will be no disruptions for anyone else that is getting as invested in their show as you are.

What if I Have Questions?

Please call us at 1-888-CFO-2947 (ext 1) or email us at info@CanadianFiberOptics.ca.

How do I future proof my house and get internet that is 100% fiber?

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

Construction! What to expect with our investment?

Nov 1, 2022 | Construction Updates, Why Fiber Optics?

What To Expect

Northern Lights Fiber is excited to bring you fiber optic internet, with speeds up to 10,000 Mbps (10 Gigabit symmetrical service!). To future proof your community, these types of speeds and reliability is an absolutely necessity. But it would not be possible with the infrastructure that exists today.

To prepare your community for the future, we will be required to build an entirely new fiber-optic infrastructure.

If you want to sign up for service now, check out our world-class products and services HERE!

Utility Locates

Before we hit the ground running (and digging) we need to find out where it’s safe to do so. We rely on calling in utility locates to map out critical infrastructure and make sure we don’t strike anything that could disrupt, harm, or injure the community or our construction crews. You will see small flags along alley-ways, roadsides, and even through your yard if you request our service! This is to map out what to avoid, so we know where it’s safe to dig in our lightning fast fiber optic infrastructure. This process can take some time depending on the backlog of the government locate crew, but as soon as they’re performed you can expect to see us within the next few weeks to build and connect our network.

Main-Line

The first part of our construction is called “middle-mile” or “main-line” construction. You will see large equipment of ours, including “hydrovacs”, directional drills, dump trucks, front end loaders, skid steers, and even vibratory plows. Our design in High Prairie dictates that we will be digging in public easement, and most of our design, in the area, will be in back lanes.

There are some places that this is not possible. There may be a few places where our design determines that we will use front lot easement. This means we will have to dig along the curb of your front yard.

The Drop

Having fiber infrastructure will future proof your home for generations to come. And while cities already have this infrastructure, it is very rare for rural communities in Canada.

If you sign up for services during this process, we will also need to burry new infrastructure to your house. We call this “the drop.” We will also install a small box on the side of your house.

Can I get fiber to my house, even if I don’t want internet?

Yes! We want to future proof your community, and that includes building to as many houses as possible. You can sign an access agreement HERE, and pay a small fee to future proof your house (and very likely increase the property value)!

This will not only be good for your household and local businesses in High Prairie, but real estate studies strongly suggest the increase of property value when having this infrastructure to your rural home. In other words, many people now want to move to a quieter community but cannot sacrifice internet speed to do so. Now, High Prairie will be able to attract them!

What About My Property?

This is a big private investment to futureproof the Town of High Prairie, and it requires heavy duty construction. We will try to be as respectful as possible to everyone’s property and we will restore all landscaping to the best of our ability, properly backfilling, and replanting grass.

We have invested in specialized machinery to get this job done fast and as discreet as possible, especially when we leave public easement to get to your house. If you have any questions about our proposed route, please call us at 1-888-CFO-2947 (ext 1) or email at info@CanadianFiberOptics.ca

All services such as electric, water, and other utilities are professionally located to prevent damage. If you are aware of any private underground utilities (like underground sprinklers), please let us know at onecall@CanadianFiberOptics.ca

How Long Will it Take?

Build a world class fiber infrastructure can take some time! Main-line construction in High Prairie will continue through the winter and into 2023. That said, we should only be on each street for about a week at a time. Burying the drop to each house will only take about half a day.

What if I Have Questions?

Please call us at 1-888-CFO-2947 (ext 1) or email us at info@CanadianFiberOptics.ca.

How do I future proof my house and get internet that is 100% fiber?

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