After receiving permission in late summer, Telus has now actively begun laying fibre optic cable across an extremely wide section of the St.Lawrence River near where it meets the Atlantic Ocean.
The cable is set to go between Sept-Îles on the south side to Sainte-Anne-des-Monts across the river. This is a massive infrastructure project that is projected to cost around $20 million. It’s being funded in part by the Government of Canada (up to $7.5 million) and Telus.
“This deployment marks the culmination of several years of careful planning and represents a major technological turning point for the North Shore,” said Nazim Benhadid, Chief Technology Officer of Telus, in a press release.
The release also mentions that this cable is set to be operational in weeks after it’s fully installed. It’s expected to take between 10 and 15 days for the large cable ship fully lay the fibre optics. The full length will be around 125km when it’s finished, and it only has a diameter of 3cm; however, it’s being buried one and a half metres below the ocean floor, so it should be out of the way of anything else underwater. Traditionally, cables like this can last for several decades.
However, it will likely take more time for more infrastructure to be built out on the north side of the river to allow more people to get fibre to their homes.
Image credit: Telus
Source: Telus
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