Telus' city-wide installation of fibre optic cable is underway with Erin Ridge, Deer Ridge and Braeside the first on the list.
The telecommunications company made the announcement in April that every household would have access to fibre optic internet at no cost. The company plans to spend $100 million to connect 90 per cent of the city's businesses and neighbourhoods along with part of Sturgeon County.
Doug Self, a spokesperson with Telus, told the Gazette via email that crews started working right away following the announcement. He said Erin Ridge, Deer Ridge and Braeside were chosen first because that helped the company bring a large amount of residents online in the shortest amount of time.
While some residents have told the Gazette they're frustrated by mess left behind from the installation, Self said the timeline to put everything back the way it was depends on the scope of work required to fix it. Generally, Telus waits until installation is complete in a neighbourhood before sending in crews to fix things up.
"We want to be good neighbours and ensure everyone feels informed about our progress, so we send direct mail to residents in areas where we are working so they know they'll see increased Telus activity in their neighbourhood, and that we'll be out knocking on doors talking to them about connecting their home directly to the network," he said.
"If the connection requires some construction work on private property, our crews make sure we return the resident's lawn to exactly the way we found it. In terms of timing around that piece, we first work to connect homes in a neighbourhood, then a separate, specialized team heads in to fully restore any properties that were impacted."
In total, the fibre installation across St. Albert is expected to take a year and a half.
"We anticipate the first homes will be connected ... and enjoying fibre services by mid-August with many more going live in September," Self said.
