Re: “Dreaming of better broadband,” Letters, February 26
The author makes some very good points and we thank him for raising them. The Nelson and Area Economic Development Partnership understands the technology drawbacks he cited very well. These issues were expressed through business focus groups and consultations conducted during the planning stages of the broadband project. He is not alone in his concerns and we are actively working on ways to remedy those issues in a timely manner.
The partnership’s aim is to put Nelson on the map as a gigabyte community. As a wired community, Nelson will retain many talented professionals like you, who require reliable, high-speed broadband to flourish in a rural setting. Our long term objective is to attract like-minded professionals and businesses to relocate here.
To be clear, fibre-optic broadband is not available residentially, at least not in the near future. So the problem isn’t fully resolved ... However, some companies may be interested in using a co-working space such as Gyre, located on Baker Street.
It provides access to broadband for technology professionals and entrepreneurs.
We envision other downtown buildings connecting to the fibre-optic infrastructure in the coming months, making downtown tenancy even more attractive.
Bob Wright
Chair, Nelson and Area
Economic Development Partnership