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2009-10-29 -Port Hawkesbury Reporter - Seaside rolls out high speed

by Dana MacPhail

SYDNEY– Seaside high-speed Internet has announced more communities have come “on-line” in areas of Richmond and Antigonish counties.

The communities of College Grant, Cross Roads Ohio, Glen Alpine, Hillcrest, Lochaber, North Lochaber, Ohio Lake, Ohio West, South Lochaber, West Lochaber and West Side Lochaber Road were informed that high-speed Internet should arrive by early December.

In Richmond County, the communities of Barren Hill, Enon, Fourchu, Framboise, Gracieville, Grand River, Grand River Falls, Head of Loch Lomond, Lake Uist, L’archeveque, L’Ardoise, L’Ardoise West, Little Harbour, Loch Lomond, Loch Lomond West, Lower L’Ardoise, North Fourchu, North Framboise, Point Michaud and Stirling can all expect a call from Seaside by the middle of November bringing them some happy broadband news.

Meanwhile, Seaside spokesperson Adam Conter reports that the company is excited to be nearing completion of the project, though he admits there may be problems with reaching the end of the year deadline. “We’re on schedule with respect to our construction. There’s a great deal of complications that arise with terrain, equipment and weather. So we are pushing forward as quickly as we can to get high-speed Internet to everyone as soon as possible. We won’t work in snowstorms, we won’t send our teams up 67 feet in the air in bad weather if it’s dangerous. We will do our best to continue pushing through it until the weather hits and then there may be some expected delays.”

Conter extended his thanks to residents in unserviced areas for their patience.
The broadband expansion is part of the provincial government’s Broadband for Rural Nova Scotia initiative. When completed at the end of 2009 the entire province should have access to high-speed Internet, making Nova Scotia one of the most connected jurisdictions in North America.

The Sydney communications company was awarded the contract to provide the service to residents of Richmond, Inverness and Guysborough and Antigonish counties, while Eastlink and OmniGlobe Networks were contracted to deliver to the rest of the province.