Toronto, ON – July 12, 2018 – Metro Optic, Crosslake Fibre, and Utilities Kingston announce today their plans to build a new fibre-optic cable system from Montréal to Toronto. The project will be developed by Maple Leaf Fibre Ltd., a joint venture of two leading independent Canadian providers of fibre optic network capacity, Crosslake Fibre ULC based in Toronto, Ontario and Metro Optic based in Montréal, Quebec. The Maple Leaf Fibre cable system will have a terrestrial segment between Montréal, Ottawa, and Kingston, and a submarine segment through Lake Ontario between Kingston and downtown Toronto.
Maple Leaf Fibre has partnered with Utilities Kingston as strategic investor and development partner to optimize route design and accelerate time to market. Utilities Kingston plans to use the cable system to further enhance its state-of-the-art fibre optic services.
Providing a physically diverse route from other cable systems, the Maple Leaf Fibre cable system will have a high fibre count and offer commercially-available dark fibre between Toronto and Montréal. Deploying advanced fibre optic technology along this optimized route will yield critical performance benefits to its users. The project has been in development for several months, has material customer backing, and is estimated to be completed during the second half of 2019.
“This is a truly exciting opportunity to develop much needed Internet Infrastructure along one of the busiest routes in Canada,” states Mike Cunningham, Chief Executive Officer of Crosslake Fibre. “We are thrilled to be working with great partners and believe that Maple Leaf Fibre has ideally positioned itself to provide a new, innovative solution in the Canadian wholesale marketplace.”
Maple Leaf Fibre will own and operate the system as an independent operator, giving the company flexibility to provide innovative commercial solutions to customers. As a carrier-neutral provider, the company will offer dark fibre strands to carriers, data center operators, ISPs, OTTs, cable MSOs and government-sponsored advanced network projects, among others.
“Canada is uniquely situated as a gateway for high-capacity data flow between Europe, the U.S. and Asia. The Montréal-Toronto route is critical to reach Europe through the Maritimes, the major U.S. trading hubs of New York and Chicago to the South, and Asia to the West,” says Michael Bucheit, Chief Executive Officer of Metro Optic.
“This project will provide new and existing businesses in Kingston with even faster and more reliable broadband connectivity – connecting them directly to centres in Toronto, Montréal and Ottawa. Fibre access is at the heart of strengthening our community’s competitive advantage, in particular with its potential to attract an enterprise-class data center, contributing to a smart and livable 21st century city. That’s why we’re pleased to support this initiative for Kingston,” says Jim Keech, President and Chief Executive Officer of Utilities Kingston.
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About Crosslake Fibre ULC
Crosslake Fibre was established to develop fibre-optic projects throughout North America. Crosslake’s innovative approach to developing next-generation networks will bring new backbone routes to telecommunications carriers and web-centric customers, and last mile broadband to consumers. Crosslake Fibre’s leading project is its Lake Ontario project to construct a new subsea cable from Toronto, Canada to Buffalo, New York. For additional information, see www.crosslakefibre.ca.
About Metro Optic Inc.
Metro Optic is Canada’s largest independent, carrier-neutral operator of high-capacity fiber networks and carrier-dense interconnection and colocation facilities. The company offers dark and lit fiber solutions to medium and large sized businesses, telecom carriers, cloud operators, wholesalers and datacenter operators. The Metro Optic network reaches critical corporate and wholesale datacenters and interconnection locations in the greater Montreal and Toronto areas. For additional information, see www.metrooptic.com.
About Utilities Kingston
Utilities Kingston operates multiple utilities through a single service structure, allowing it to deliver cost savings and customer service excellence. The company is unique in Ontario, combining water, wastewater, gas and electrical services, and broadband fibre optics in one company. Trusted by customers to deliver reliable utilities for more than 150 years, employees are proud to provide personal, responsive services.
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