Xplornet gets $484K to create 55 jobs in Fredericton

Xplornet Communications Inc. plans to create 55 full-time jobs at its newly-expanded customer care centre in Fredericton with help from the provincial government.

Invest NB will provide up to $484,000 through payroll rebates, Fredericton-Nashwaaksis MLA Troy Lifford announced on Wednesday on behalf of Economic Development Minister Paul Robichaud.

The new jobs are expected to contribute $1.6 million to the province's gross domestic product this year, he said during the opening of the company's expanded offices.

The 55 positions will bring the total number of staff at the Fredericton office up to 215, said CEO John Maduri.

"We've got roughly 600 people in the company today. And if I go back to 2005, there might have been 50 people in our companies. It just gives you a sense of how quickly we're growing," he said.

Xplornet's chief strategy officer Allison Lenehan said the announcement caps a "momentous" week for the company.

It launched its new 4G broadband satellite last week and will start serving rural New Brunswick residents and businesses late this summer, she said.

"We are very pleased to be working with the province of New Brunswick to grow in this market, which offers so many highly qualified and motivated employees."

The government made a similar investment in Radian6, a social media monitoring company last month, offering a $3.8-million payroll rebate to help the company create 300 full-time jobs in Fredericton and Saint John.

Xplornet Communications, which is headquartered in Woodstock, is Canada's largest rural broadband provider, with customers and dealers in every province.

Invest NB is a provincial Crown agency intended to promote economic growth.