Frequently Asked Questions
General
What is NanoFibre?
What areas are involved in the NanoFibre network?
Services
What potential services and benefits will be available on the NanoFibre Community MetroNet network?
Who will provide services on the NanoFibre Community MetroNet?
When will services be available?
What will these services cost?
Technology
How fast is the NanoFibre Network?
How reliable is the fibre-optic network?
What is the danger of fibre becoming obsolete in a few years?
Does wireless fit into NanoFibre's plans?
Do I need new TV's, phones, or computers to use the NanoFibre network?
Construction
How is the fibre installed?
How is the fibre installed into a home or business?
Who is performing the construction?
Does my home or business need to be rewired?
General
What is NanoFibre?
NanoFibre is an ultra-broadband fibre optic network established in the Columbia Valley to provide our residents and visitors with a world-class telecommunications infrastructure and services. We have four goals to accomplish with our network:
- To provide choice and competitive pricing for consumers. Our competitors want to put unique, competing cables into your home and neither offer each others' services. It doesn't make sense to have a different airport for every airline, why have different wires for each service? NanoFibre can offer any services and is open to all Service Providers. Consequently, residents and businesses will enjoy better services and prices as Service Providers compete for your business.
- To provide new distance education and telemedicine options for our youngest and oldest citizens. Kids learn differently today and need to see what the rest of the world is experiencing. Just as seniors need access to health care that is enhanced by leveraging health care professionals from around the world. A NanoFibre connection accomplishes both at the speed of light.
- To diversify employment alternatives to more than construction and tourism. Communities that have NanoFibre will be extremely attractive places in which to live and to locate businesses because of the enormous speed and capability of the fibre optic network.
- To reduce the impact on the environment by using technology to allow people to work from home and travel less. Gas prices and the carbon footprint we are leaving behind has everyone thinking about a greener planet. Imagine being able to have high quality face to face conversations with people anywhere in the world. Now think about using a fibre connection to save the time cost and expense of driving there.
What areas are involved in the NanoFibre network?
The Village of Radium Hot Springs, Columbia Ridge and Spirit’s Reach have fibre running past the front door of over 1,500 residences and businesses and more buildings are being connected every day. We have placed fibre in the ground within Pedley Heights, Copper Point and a new subdivision in Fairmont Hot Springs. Every home within these communities will have the opportunity to join our network. We are ready to begin building in the Fairmont Hot Springs business area, Invermere and Edgewater. Our fibre optic backbone stretches from Panorama to Spirit’s Reach and as far north as Spillmacheen.
Services
What potential services and benefits will be available on the NanoFibre network?
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Voice Services:
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Local telephone service including 347 numbers. 341, 342, 345 and 346 prefixes will be available when those communities launch
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competitive long distance telephone service with anywhere from 200 to 1,000 free minutes of calling in selected packages
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Numerous calling features at no additional charge (i.e. call display, call forwarding, call monitoring, call waiting, call parking)
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Data Services
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Ultra-high speed Internet access
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Symmetrical service (same speed up and down)
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Dedicated connection - no sharing with your neighbors
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Automated meter reading (AMR). Collection of usage statistics from water meters to save the needless cost of driving around collecting information.
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Video Services:
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Improved channel selection
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Movies and other video on demand services
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High definition TV
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Improved programming and recording options
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Exceptional reliability and quality
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Video conferencing
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Innovative Services
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Telemedicine
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Distance learning
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Home security and utility management
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Interactive game playing
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Remote data storage and retrieval
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School and community network services
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Who will provide services on the NanoFibre Network?
NanoFibre has begun offering telephone, internet and will soon launch television service. Additional Service Providers are currently in discussions with NanoFibre and will join the network as the number of homes and businesses connected grows. A gradual increase in service options will allow more competitive options and pricing for subscribers.
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When will services be available?
Radium Hot Springs and Spirit’s Reach are live now. We will begin connecting businesses and homes within Athalmer during July of 2008. The Copper Point Hotel will have NanoFibre services before opening in Fall of 2008 and anyone within Pedley Heights, the Copper Point subdivision and Mountainside in Fairmont will have the service available to them when their homes are completed. All Windermere Water & Sewer customers will have the fibre optic connection installed when their water/sewer connection is hooked up. Within one week after construction is completed in all other areas, Service Providers will be able to provide services.
What will these services cost?
Prices will be determined individually by the Service Providers on the network and are very competitive with existing service pricing. Custom packages have been developed that maximize the value to the subscriber such as six month seasonal or weekend only packages (service turns on Friday morning and shuts down on Sunday evening). Why pay for something you are not using when you can turn it on only when you need it?
How fast is the NanoFibre Network?
The NanoFibre network will provide 100 Mbps connections, upload and download, to every private residence and businesses. It is important to note that while your NanoFibre connection provides you with a full 100 Mbps, your actual internet speed will be determined by the type of service you subscribe to.
How fast is that? If you download a movie from the iTunes site, you can begin watching it within one minute!
How reliable is the fibre-optic network?
The NanoFibre network construction and maintenance crews are under contract to provide 24x7x365 emergency response in the event of a system problem. Any system problem is automatically reported within seconds and crews will be contacted immediately to repair a system outage or damage of any kind.
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What is the danger of fibre becoming obsolete in a few years?
The fibre will not become obsolete. The system is designed to be updated to take advantage of new technologies as they are developed. The glass fibres that carry pulses of light have virtually infinite capacity: a single strand of fibre transmitting multiple frequencies of light could conceivably carry all the phone traffic for the entire planet. With new technologies being developed, the capacity is almost unimaginable. Copper wire, which has clearly understood limitations, has served as the main medium for telecommunications for many decades . The limitations of fibre have not yet been discovered and will enable all kinds of new technologies. Once NanoFibre's fibre strands have been deployed (either buried in the ground or strung on utility poles), they will have a functional life well beyond 25 years.
The electronics initially used in the NanoFibre network will likely become obsolete in some period of time in the same way your home computer becomes obsolete: it continues to function; it simply is overtaken by new technologies. We often re-purpose our old computer equipment (give it to the kids, donate it to a worthy cause, etc.) when we add upgrades to our home systems. The NanoFibre network will do the same with its electronics. Since these electronics are "boxes" connected to the ends of the fibre, it is a simple matter to disconnect them and replace them with new "boxes." This type of equipment change-out is anticipated and budgeted for in the NanoFibre operations model. NanoFibre will update and keep current all its components so that the system, as a whole, never becomes obsolete.
Does wireless fit into NanoFibre's plans?
Although wireless technology can not satisfy the broad or critical demands of today’s growing video and data requirements, NanoFibre may temporarily employ wireless technology in areas scheduled for build and then upgrade subscribers to a full fibre connection upon completion of construction. If you live in a remote area, contact us to discuss wireless options.
Do I need new TV's, phones, or computers to use the NanoFibre network?
The answer to that question depends on what you want from the system. For people who want the standard, basic internet services currently available to them from current providers, the answer is "No, you will not need to purchase new equipment." You will be provided with the interface equipment that allows your computer to utilize basic services.
However, to take advantage of new and exciting services available ONLY on the NanoFibre network, you may eventually want to upgrade current equipment or purchase new equipment. For example, video phone calls will be possible over the NanoFibre network—full framed, full speed moving color pictures of the person you are talking to. While there is nothing compelling you to purchase that service—you can purchase voice-only service as long as you like but you will not be able to enjoy that type of service without purchasing a video phone. The same is true of high-definition TV: you can receive video programming over your current non-HDTV as long as you like, but you will not be able to enjoy the clarity and resolution of HD programming without purchasing an HDTV. As with DSL and Cable internet access, you will need a LAN card in your computer to receive internet access, but your current LAN card will work just fine for accessing the internet over the NanoFibre network. In order to use our telephone service, you will need to purchase one analog telephone adaptor to allow your existing phones to work on our network.
As with all technology, new developments will eventually require new devices. But if you are satisfied with the basics, your older equipment will work just fine with the basic services delivered over the NanoFibre network.
Construction
How is the fibre installed?
Buried installation:
First, field engineers will complete an engineering study to determine how to build an area, and then prepare construction plans and mark the location of existing utilities. Once existing utilities are marked, construction crews will install conduit along the public utility easements. These easements are reserved by the governing body (Village of Radium, District of Invermere, RDEK, etc.) for all utilities such as water, sewer and telephone. After the conduit is laid, the disturbed landscape will be restored and a small utility box, about the size of a sprinkler box, will be installed on approximately every other property. Fiber optic cable is then pulled through the conduit to splice points along the route. NanoFibre will build down one side of a typical neighborhood street, and then run service laterally to the homes on the other side.
Aerial installation:
Aerial installation of the fibre is very much like installation of cable and phone lines. The fibre will run along existing utility poles and wires and then be connected to the most convenient point closest to the house. At the house, it will be run along a rain gutter or other feature until it reaches the designated entry point into the home.
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How is the fibre installed into a home or business?
When NanoFibre completes placing the fibre underground or aerially within a community, residents can call to book an appointment for installation. Once the installation day has been determined, then a work order is generated which dispatches our crews to install into the home or business and to splice the fibre itself. Our appointments take approximately 2 1/2 hours and we book the times of 8:30, 11:00 AM and 1:30 PM.
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Who is performing the construction?
NanoFibre has selected DSG Communications to perform the installations. DSG employees are trained and bonded and will present NanoFibre issued identification when they arrive at your door. This firm was selected because of its demonstrated ability to manage the construction and documentation process required in fibre optic implementations. You have probably already seen their crews throughout Radium Hot Springs and Spirit’s Reach during the past six months. DSG Communications is required to minimize disruptions by using light residential construction techniques, coordination of construction crews, traffic management programs, and public relations campaigns. As the primary contractor, DSG will employ mostly local workers to complete homeowner installs and maintain the network on a 24X7 basis thus employing a significant number of local employees.
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Does my home or business need to be rewired?
Maybe - it depends on what you currently have for wiring in your house, what types of services you sign up for, and what issues you are willing to take on for yourself.
For phone service, you are probably fine with your current wiring. You already have a telephone demarcation point into which your current telephone company plugs into to distribute signals through the phone wiring within your home. NanoFibre telephone services can distribute phone signals and service over your current wiring.
If your house is already wired with coaxial cable, the same may apply for video programming: NanoFibre can plug into a connection point from which video signals would be distributed over your current coax cabling. If, however, you subscribe to video services over the NanoFibre network and there is no cable already installed, your house would need to be wired for the new video service.
Unless you already have Cat5 network cable in your house, your subscription to internet service would also suggest a need to wire your home. However, if you are willing to deal with certain issues on your own (security, reliability, throughput, etc.), you might elect to run your internet services (and even your video services) over a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) instead of wiring your house.
For homes requiring rewiring, NanoFibre has contracted with DSG Communications for customer premises wiring. If you would like additional outlets, they can install them for a nominal charge.