Firm aims for fast rollout of wireless Internet

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Charles Beaudet, Eastern Canada General Manager, Barrett Xplore

June 10, 2009
Shawn Berry
Daily Gleaner, The, Published Wednesday June 10th, 2009

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The general manager of Barrett Xplore Inc. says the company is rolling out its fixed wireless Internet in a manner that benefits the most people in the shortest time frame.

The company is putting up antennas for the service over the coming 13 months to deliver high-speed Internet to residents who don't already have access to broadband.

Florenceville, Nackawic, Woodstock, Oromocto and Perth-Andover will be among the first to receive access.

"Our commitment is to supply high-speed Internet to unserviced homes at close to 100 per cent," said Charles Beaudet, Barrett Xplore's general manager for Eastern Canada.

But he said not everyone will have access to fixed wireless Internet.

"Although we have a beautiful province, it's full of tall trees, peaks and valleys - places where the population is very small."

That's where the company's satellite service will be used, he said.

Through government subsidization and a price cap, the monthly price for satellite or fixed wireless broadband will be comparable to service offered in urban areas, at $49.99 for satellite coverage and $44.99 for fixed wireless. For either service, there's a one-time installation cost of $99.

Beaudet said there's no lag on the wireless system. On satellite, there's a latency of up to 1.2 seconds as the signal travels to a satellite and back to Earth.

Both systems offer download speeds of up to 1.5 megabits per second.

Beaudet said there are no data caps with either service, but the company manages traffic over its satellite service to prevent a minority of users from monopolizing bandwidth.

Barrett has hired K-Line Construction Ltd. to help build the fixed wireless network.

The Carleton County construction company has expertise in the engineering and construction of information infrastructure.

K-Line Construction first brought wireless Internet to New Brunswick in 2003 through its subsidiary, Aernet Wireless, a company that Barrett purchased last fall.

In other parts of the province, the cost of high-speed Internet begins at $29.95 through providers such as Bell Aliant.

"We wanted to get a price that's essentially the same so we don't differentiate between people," said Beaudet.

An online tool has been set up by Barrett Xplore Inc. to determine what technology, service and pricing is available to residents depending on where they live. The tool can be accessed by logging on to www.highspeednb.com.

Barrett Xplore Inc. has also set up a phoneline where people can call for more information at 1-866-841-6001.

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