Brooks, a small city of about 15,000 people in southeast Alberta, Canada, needed broadband infrastructure.

Telecommunications infrastructure in North America is typically owned and operated by private service providers who focus on urban centers where homes and businesses are closely located and populations are high.

As a result, most rural communities like Brooks experience low service levels and high costs. With download speeds below national standards and 5,500 homes needing internet access, the city’s system was not primed for future growth.

The BrooksNet connectivity program

Brooks needed a private partner to help design, build, operate, and maintain a next-generation broadband network to deliver high-speed internet. Woven Smart Arcadis Solutions brought partners together to form a consortium and build BrooksNet, a fiber-optic network spanning 109.3 kilometers. This municipally owned, open-access broadband infrastructure should deliver connectivity speeds at 10 gigabytes per second to over 5,000 homes and businesses throughout the city, providing retail-level internet service.

Arcadis provided design, project management, and contract support services. The city invested $5.3 million, with community network partners contributing an additional $15.7 million to connect residents and businesses to the network backbone. The city was also divided into a series of service zones for efficient fiber-optic connections. Built over three years, the open-access model enables multiple internet providers to offer services, giving residents and businesses greater choice. This scalable and resilient telecommunications infrastructure is ready to support Brooks’ future growth and changing community needs.