B.C. telecommunications provider supports Connect the Basin project in East Kootenay

Columbia Basin Trust is handing over its broadband network assets to another service provider to secure the long-term health of its regional internet project.

The Trust’s Broadband Corporation was initially tasked with bringing high-speed internet to 1,355 homes in East Kootenay. That mantle has now been passed to CityWest, a telecommunications company operating for more than 110 years and primarily serving rural and Indigenous communities across B.C.

“From the outset, the Trust’s goal was to put in place the infrastructure needed to bring service to as many Basin residents as possible who lacked reliable high-speed internet,” said Johnny Strilaeff, president of the Columbia Basin Trust. 

“As an experienced operator of networks in rural BC, CityWest has the expertise and capacity to operate this much-expanded network and provide the services residents and communities need now and in the future.”

The $103.3 million project is expected to help roughly 8,050 homes across East to Central Kootenay, Columbia Shuswap and Kootenay Boundary. 

“The Trust has played a pivotal role in building this regional fibre network,” said Rob Gay, chair of the Southeastern BC Regional Connectivity Committee. “This next step with CityWest ensures the infrastructure will continue to serve households and communities well into the future.”

The Trust’s current broadband assets will transition to CityWest later this year. Connect the Basin assets will move over when construction is complete in 2027. The final closing date is subject to the typical consent and approval required for transactions like these.