Premier Pat Binns today announced a bold initiative designed to catapult Prince Edward Island (PEI) into the forefront of the Information Age, recasting it from Canada's smallest province to the country's smartest province. The project is meant to create a massive increase in technology use in PEI, and revolutionize the way the world views the province.
PEI, in cooperation with Island Tel Advanced Solutions, Newbridge Networks and Sun Microsystems of Canada Inc., has begun building one of the most pervasive broadband communications networks in the world. Stretching from one end of PEI to the other, and joined by fibre optics to the mainland, the PEI Broadband Network will offer citizens, students, educators, business and government networked applications at some of the lowest costs available anywhere.
From high-speed Internet access and full-motion videoconferencing, to remote curriculum delivery and collaborative multimedia software development, this new infrastructure will transform the province into an ideal information technology testbed. Partnerships are being pursued with networking hardware and software firms and content creators. More importantly, unlike broadband networks in other provinces and states, PEI's will deliver top-speed connections into all parts of the province, not just a neighbourhood here and an industrial park there.
"We are pleased and excited to be building this critical piece of 21st century infrastructure today in Prince Edward Island. It heralds a big change in the relationship we have with the rest of the world," said Premier Binns.
The network is intended to get the attention of global players in information technology and telecommunications, to entice them to test new ideas here, and partner with PEI in developing its infrastructure and economy. Its presence has already convinced two leading firms to deploy new technologies first on PEI. Networking industry leader, Newbridge Networks of Kanata, Ontario, is installing the industry's most advanced switched routers in the province's schools, the most complete installation of its kind in the world.
"We are proud to be working with Island Tel Advanced Solutions and Enterprise PEI in the development of what is undoubtedly one of the most comprehensive infrastructure networks anywhere in the world," said Terence H. Matthews, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Newbridge Networks. "This network uses the family of Newbridge products and enables businesses and consumers to tap the potential of the information highway. We are committed to working with Island Tel Advanced Solutions to continue to evolve the network with future products and services."
Bernie MacIntyre, President of Island Tel Advanced Solutions, added, "We can't overemphasize the changes that this network will bring to PEI. We're not slightly ahead of our time on this project — we are several years ahead."
Network computing technology from Sun Microsystems of Canada Inc. will play an integral role in the province's plans. Sun's servers will be the platform that can provide every student, teacher and administrator in the PEI school system with universal Internet and E-mail access. "The collaborative efforts of Sun Microsystems, Newbridge Networks, the Province of PEI, and Island Tel Advanced Solutions to connect and support the government and business communities via the PEI Broadband Network will provide a host of valuable resources for everyone to enjoy and leverage," remarked Jacques Chartrand, regional manager for Sun Microsystems of Canada in Atlantic Canada. "It will be an exemplary model of network computing for others to emulate."
Sun's new JavaStation network computers can also be deployed for Internet and E-mail access, as well as distance learning over the PEI Broadband Network.
Also being considered are enhancements to an advanced health information network, including province-wide information management, telemedicine applications and more. In addition, through the use of technology, easier ways will be developed for federal and provincial governments to jointly serve the public and reduce costs, using a self-guided model with human support. Because the network extends to all parts of PEI, community-based economic development opportunities will be enhanced throughout the province.
The network will be comprised of an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) backbone operating more than 5,500 times the speed of today's standard 28.8 Kbps modems. The project, which is already underway, will connect more than 200 attachment points to serve schools and post-secondary institutions, government offices, libraries, hospitals, private industry and, ultimately, home users. The network is designed to be scalable; as bandwidth demand increases, it can upgrade easily to OC-12 (622 Mbps) and faster when necessary.
This $3.2 million network enhancement is a joint initiative between Island Tel Advanced Solutions and the Province of Prince Edward Island.
For more information, contact: Ann Stanley, Economic Development and Tourism, (902) 368-6322; Anne Stewart, Island Tel, (902) 566-0170; or Paul Goyette, Newbridge Networks, (613) 591-3600.