Paul First Nation Broadband Service Plan

Working closely with the neighbouring municipal district of Parkland County, Paul First Nation identified the need for sustainable, reliable, and affordable high-speed broadband communications within the Nation to support residents, schools and businesses. 

IBI Group communicated and consulted with residents on the current state of broadband connectivity within their community to assess what would be needed to improve broadband internet connectivity.

With COVID-19 gathering restrictions limiting the ability to hold community meetings and with a lack of basic telecommunications connectivity existing within the Nation, in-person consultations with citizens were required. The consultations were carried out through a mix of door-to-door opinion surveys and paper surveys available at locations throughout the community, as well as through an online survey that could be accessed where broadband connectivity was available.

The scope of this engagement included examining how an existing fibre optic cable backbone could be used to support a future community connectivity strategy that would include 258 homes and public sites. As a result, we developed a plan for the Nation that will serve as the basis for future funding requests from other levels of government, as well as providing a roadmap for partnership opportunity discussions with Parkland County.