FORT FRANCES – Tbaytel announced that the company will be expanding its fibre optic technology to now offer Internet, home phone, digital TV and security services to customers in the Fort Frances area.
The addition of fibre-fed wireline services to the company’s existing mobility offering will mean that customers will now have access to the region’s only five-product telecommunications bundle, which will allow Fort Frances residents to enjoy all the benefits of having a truly connected home or business.
“Fort Frances not only has impeccable infrastructure to support the deployment of fibre but it is also one of Tbaytel’s key regional mobility markets, so the transition to providing wireline services is a natural progression for Tbaytel,” says Tbaytel president and CEO Dan Topatigh. “After a long process of planning and co-ordination, Tbaytel is thrilled that the addition of new services delivered through our state-of-the-art fibre offering will provide customers in the area with more choice, better selection and excellent value. We are excited to be able to enhance the telecommunications and entertainment experience of the people of Fort Frances, while at the same time continuing to provide community support to worthwhile events and organizations in the area.”
As a result of its planned expansion, Tbaytel will offer a selection of competitively priced packages for each of its connected home and connected business services to meet customer needs, all delivered through fibre optic technology, which connects customers with virtually unlimited bandwidth direct to their home or business.
“In addition to the enhanced experience that Tbaytel’s diverse lineup of services provides to our customers, there are also a number of advantages to living in a community connected with fibre technology,” adds Topatigh. “Fibre helps create new opportunities by providing a future-proof solution to significantly improve the way that communities live and do business. The benefit can be felt across multiple sectors ranging from education, health care, social services and information technology and for that reason, Tbaytel is very proud to be the provider making it a reality.”
The positive impact of fibre optic technology was also noted in the release of Incredible Community – Boundless Opportunity, the Town of Fort Frances’ 2015 to 2018 strategic plan. One of the main goals identified was to support economic and community development through the investigation of enhancements to information infrastructure. This included opportunities to explore advanced broadband infrastructure through the installation of a fibre optic network.
“This is great news for the Town of Fort Frances and we are very optimistic about the potential that Tbaytel’s expansion will bring, not only for our community but for the entire region,” says Fort Frances mayor Roy Avis. “In addition to helping to better connect the Town of Fort Frances, we are very excited about opportunities for economic growth, the ability to attract new families and businesses, and of course the technologies and applications that we can explore with fibre to ultimately improve the delivery of services to our own residents.”
”We are very excited that Tbaytel is expanding its fibre network to Fort Frances. The success of our corporation hinges on the success of our community, and we see the deployment of fibre as a crucial step in facilitating economic growth and enhancing the quality of life for our community,” says Fort Frances Power Corporation president and CEO Joerg Ruppenstein. “As a business we have witnessed our demand for bandwidth grow exponentially as we continue to deploy more and more computers as well as intelligent field devices. Being able to operate our communication network over a fibre backbone will significantly improve our processing speed, data security, and enable emerging technologies in our line of work such as a Smart Grid.”
Since Tbaytel first introduced mobility service to Fort Frances in 2001, the company has continued to expand wireless coverage and improve capacity with technology upgrades, the addition of new cellular sites and ongoing network enhancements.
Tbaytel will begin wired service network infrastructure development in Fort Frances in early 2017 with expected service delivery to customers in late 2017.
