Xplornet VP explains its internet plans for P.E.I.

If your internet access isn't what you want it to be, you probably took note of the $1.6 million in federal funding aimed at increasing broadband internet access in more than 12,000 households on the Island.

Xplornet Communications Inc. won that contract under the federal Connecting Canadians program.

The push for Island-wide internet access on P.E.I. isn't new — Bell Aliant was awarded a contract by the province in 2008 to do that. The company says as of 2010, broadband speeds of 1.5 Mbps per second were available in every home, and says since then its FiberOP service, which can run up to speeds of 8,000 Mbps reaches 70 per cent of households. 

CBC reporter Laura Meader asked Charles Beaudet, Vice President of Xplornet Communications, Eastern Canada for more details on what his company will do with this latest government contract.

1. What is happening?

Beaudet said the company has committed to help households that are under served — meaning households that can not get internet service that is faster than 5 Mbps.

"Our plan is to build an infrastructure that will be able to provide those 12,000 households with speeds of at least 5 Mbps and maybe go up to 25 Mbps," he said.

2. Is 5 Mbps a low bar to set, in today's terms?

"The 5 Mbps is the requirement that was given to us from the Connecting Canadians program. Now our networks run at 25 Mbps and that will improve over time … we're going to provide some really really good coverage."

3. What kind of infrastructure do you need to build?

"We are going to build a fixed wireless LTE [Long-Term Evolution] network. LTE is the latest technology in wireless internet service.

"We will co-locate on existing towers or build new towers to be able to have coverage that covers the entire Island."

4. What will it look like inside someone's house?

"It's very simple. We install an antennae which is about 10 inches by 10 inches on top of the roof so we have a clear line of sight to the tower that is transmitting the signal. There's a wire that goes into the home and connects to the computer or the router."

5. Will people notice a significant difference?  

"Absolutely. They will be able to access the internet much faster. They will be in the position to have more data — so more video streaming, music streaming.

"They will have much more availability of the internet, no doubt. People are going to be extremely satisfied."

6. Are there still going to be areas in P.E.I. you won't be able to cover?

"I would say it's pretty much everywhere on the Island. There were a lot of regions [Industry Canada] required us to cover.

"I can't say 100 percent, but I can say 99 percent. If someone lives in an area, extremely, extremely in the bottom of a valley, or extremely covered by tall trees [they may not get coverage] … but usually we're pretty close to the 100 percent."

7. When are you expecting to have your network built?

"We have started to work on it — we're doing now the planning. The requirement is we need to be finished by the end of 2017, we expect it to be a maybe little earlier than that."

8. How much will it cost?

We expect rates to be from $39 to $99 per month.