The Chief Executive Officer of Exolink says the federal government is delaying about 3,000 rural homes from Smooth Rock Falls to Hearst in getting reliable internet.
Denis Lebel says the feds aren’t giving access to the Spectrum or frequency used for wireless communication. He adds that one ray of hope might be a senator’s bill.
“It’s called Bill S242 Spectrum access which might help the small telecom down the road,” he said. “It will open up the spectrum to small operators so we are able to service the rural area.”
Lebel believes that until the government changes its plans regarding access to the frequency used for wireless internet, some people will have poor broadband connection or use higher priced options.
“There’s not even 30 per cent of the spectrum that is utilized for our region here,” he said. “If this would open up to the smaller operators it would be able to serve everyone with decent internet access in the region.”
Lebel says his company was granted conditional funding approval for a project in 2021 but only had a narrow window of five months to complete all of the necessary work including tower installation.
