Stewart B.C.’s internet service will up and running sooner than anticipated.
Sienna Networks, which operates out of Terrace B.C., is currently working to restore service to the remote community.
Stewart has just under 500 people and has been without internet for the past four days. Non-profit organization One Way Out was unable to continue their service after the cost became too high and were forced to cut off internet access on November 30th. The community was unable to attract another company to continue service before the deadline.
Mayor Galina Durant said she fears the economy will be negatively affected since a lot of local businesses rely on the internet and cell service. Although she is happy her community could be connected again in the near future, there’s no clear date set for when the internet will be fully restored.
“They are working hard. I know they tried to erect the tower yesterday and they are still working on the tower today too,” said Durant. “People are patiently waiting for when we will have our internet back but it’s very inconvenient. I never thought it would happen in the 21st century.”
One Way Out previously offered free internet to Stewart. Now that the community will have to pay for the service, Durant says they will have to request more funds to cover the cost.
“We enjoyed one year of free service here for the public library and we had free computers for public usage,” said Durant. “We will ask for additional funds from the municipality.”
She adds, there needs to be more options for internet service for smaller communities in the province and the government has not done enough to advocate for its rural residents.
If you get value from KelownaNow and believe local independent media is important to our community we ask that you please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter.
If you appreciate what we do, we ask that you consider supporting our local independent news platform.
