Saturna's gas station is running dry. Help is coming for the Wi-Fi instead
CityWest is laying sub-sea fibre to Galiano and Saturna, and the CRD gets a cut of the profit for the next 30 years.
Saturna Island, where the only gas station will soon run out of fuel for good, is about to get something it's never had: fast internet over the water.
The Capital Regional District and B.C.-owned CityWest are bringing high-speed fibre to Galiano and Saturna by sub-sea cable. About 1,049 homes and 50 businesses qualify on Galiano; nearly 600 homes and 20 businesses on Saturna. Construction starts on Galiano later this month, with Saturna's work slated for the fall.
The arrangement is unusual. Rather than just hire CityWest and walk away, the CRD will collect a share of the company's annual profit for 30 years, then plough that money back into economic development across the Southern Gulf Islands. Ottawa is covering $5.27 million through its Universal Broadband Fund, which aims to connect every Canadian household by 2030.
The fibre backbone stays open to other internet providers, which the CRD argues should keep prices honest once the cable is live.
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