Merging on to the information highway is not quite as fast as Cherryville residents wanted.
While it was announced in March that the community could get high-speed Internet service by the end of 2013, the planning process is slowly moving ahead.
“It’s taking longer than we expected. We’re behind by about three weeks because of people being on holidays and other issues,” said Eugene Foisy, Regional District of North Okanagan director.
“All of this takes time because of establishing easements and land transfers.”
The total cost to bring high-speed Internet to Cherryville is $300,000, with $250,000 coming from the provincial government and $50,000 from the Southern Interior Development Initiative.
Individual pricing for customers to access the service is not known yet.
“I’m hoping this will be an economical system for people,” said Foisy.
He added that there is considerable pressure to have Internet available by Dec. 31 and he is confident that timeline can still be achieved.
The current dial-up Internet has made it difficult for Cherryville businesses to connect with their customers, while children have ran into problems accessing information for school projects.
Foisy said the goal is for broad-band service to bring new residents to Cherryville, increasing business opportunities and enrolment at the elementary school.
