While deploying broadband internet connectivity to densely populated urban centres is often cost-effective and straightforward, extending deployment to sparsely populated rural regions and designing manageable and consistent network infrastructure can be costly and challenging.

Understanding the need for open network services

Often, regions with closed network solutions have several urban centres with strong network service offerings from two or more providers. The remaining 90 percent of the region receives less reliable, under-performing, or dated services with limited bandwidth.

Telecommunications providers often follow the same regional pattern, with larger companies offering services in urban regions where the customer concentration is dense, while regional carriers or Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) service smaller, rural regions. Often, smaller regional companies want to expand, but larger companies typically have proprietary middle-mile connectivity, maintaining a near-monopoly on the network. Larger carriers often deploy the minimum service required to qualify and validate their funding, resulting in out-of-date services that require significant infrastructure re-tooling to keep up with customer requirements.

Creating expert partnerships

ISM’s network and business experts, backed by our network solutions partner., have developed a solution to provide middle-mile network services for the entire province. This will create the link that enables high-speed broadband internet delivery to all residents regardless of postal code.

The solution uses a carrier-neutral model that is not limited by a traditional telecom business model and delivers tremendous potential for increased competition and lower rates through a flexible and scalable network. The middle-mile network creates a province-wide backbone that will bridge the connection between large telecommunications connectivity and local ISPs and WISPs, enabling them to compete in the larger marketplace. This flexibility allows for diverse offerings and different price tiers for the last mile. The result is increased competition for ISPs, potentially leading to lower prices and increased quality of services for residents.

The middle-mile makes it easier to integrate rural communities and residents in the same way, expanding internet coverage possibilities and quality of service. This will bring significant benefits to the province and its residents, including:

• a consistent, high-quality, reliable network in urban and rural areas
• increased opportunities for the business sector
• better delivery of e-health and remote education initiatives
• maintainable data sovereignty and security through infrastructure with nearly limitless capacity
• access for small rural ISPs to a transport network, helping to enable their entry into the marketplace
• increased capacity and redundancy for larger telecommunications providers, facilitating an increase in performance in their cellular and other network services.

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