Argenteuil gets 3 megabytes closer to high-speed internet

Some residents in Argenteuil will soon be able to retire their dial-up connections and look forward to satellite internet.

The Quebec government announced Monday, November 28 it would subsidize the installation of Xplornet satellite internet receivers for residents living in certain rural areas.

"Access to high speed Internet is essential, both for businesses and students and for anyone else who wishes to perform transactions, search for information or even take a course online. This service is now an indispensable tool in our daily lives," said Argenteuil MNA David Whissell.

At a cost of $100,000, this grant represents a small part of the provincial government's $24-million, Communautés rurales branchées program, which was launched in March 2009 as a tool to bring high-speed to rural areas at a comparable cost and quality to what is currently offered in urban centres.

The grant was given directly to Xplornet Communications Inc. and it will enable 530 eligible residents to sign-up for a service with a reduced installation fee of $49 - which represents a $200 rebate compared to the standard installation cost, says the company.

Service plans are available starting at $49, with download speeds in excess of three megabytes per second (mbps) and upload speeds of 600 kilobytes per second.

Xplornet services are available to all residents, but only those who are eligible will receive discounts; these include residents who already use Xplornet services and who wish to upgrade to the new 4G network being launched in mid-January.

This is the first commercial deployment of a national 4G network in Canada and it is expected to provide better and faster access with higher bandwidth allowances. Eligible residents are largely restricted to specific areas of Gore, Wentworth, Harrington and Grenville-sur-la-Rouge.

"I think that for the residents in areas that are not densely populated, this is a great solution," said Gore Mayor Scott Pearce.

According to Pearce, his municipality is advocating what he calls a "three-pronged attack" to bring in internet using a combination of towers, satellites and high speed DSL. Next spring, a Bell cellular tower will also be installed in Gore to increase service in the municipality and along Highway 329.

In order to learn more about this program, residents are invited to attend an information session at the Gore Community Centre on December 7 at 7 p.m., or at the Harrington Valley Community Centre on December 10 at 10 a.m. An information session will also be held in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge at a yet-unspecified date.