Community News

Rogers Broadband Expansion: Improving access to Broadband in Blackville & Area

Earlier this month, Blackville Mayor Christopher Hennessy participated in a conference call with executives from Rogers Communications. The call was aimed at assisting the company in their application for funding to bring Fibre Op services to this area.

Rogers is asking our communities to offer support in their bid to secure funding to bring Fibre Op into homes in our area. This does not just include the Village of Blackville, but also the outlying areas, Local Service Districts, Village of Doaktown and Rural Community of Upper Miramichi to name a few.

Residents of any of these communities as well as businesses and organizations are encouraged to provide their support to show how broadband access can impact this area. You should be specific in listing the social and economic impacts that will result from a successful project. Your contact information is also required for the integrity of this initiative.

Thank you for your support. Deadline has been extended until March 10, 2021.

By building with fibre, speeds of 1Gbps will be available immediately and will effectively support much faster speeds as technology advances. These speeds will easily allow for:

  • Video calling
  • Online schooling
  • Remote work of all kinds
  • Use of streaming services
  • Cloud computing

Rogers expansion and broadband capability will also provide access to their full suite of products including:

  • Ignite WiFi pods provide wall to wall wireless internet connectivity
  • Ignite TV flexible television channels and an integrated platform for streaming
  • Smart Home Automation remote control of the home, including security solutions
  • Ignite Home Phone: a central landline with call forwarding and Home & Away voicemail capabilities

Instructions: Read carefully, and click Submit when complete. Some fields are required and marked with an asterisk *.

To whom it may concern,

I support Rogers Communications Canada Inc.’s (“Rogers”) application for funding under the Universal Broadband Fund to improve broadband coverage in Blackville, New Brunswick.

Rogers application will greatly expand broadband capabilities in our community by providing a fully fibre solution that will allow speeds of at least 75 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload, with potential to reach up to 1 Gpbs upload and download. Thanks to this infrastructure our residents and businesses will have vastly improved access to government services, e-commerce, and Internet-based resources. We desperately need this support in our community so we can effectively join the digital economy.

Miramichi River Valley

Miramichi River Valley

The Rural Community of Miramichi River Valley is governed by an elected council made up of a mayor and six councillors.

14 Comments

  1. Avatar Diane Munn on February 9, 2021 at 10:37 am

    Bell is too expensive and is not fast enough for some of the information needed for education programs

  2. Avatar colleen munn on February 9, 2021 at 6:36 pm

    Bell is too expensive – and speed is too slow!

  3. Avatar Marsha on February 10, 2021 at 9:20 am

    Explornet is my only option. Im the only occupant of the home and, paying a lot of money and the internet is so slow and lags all the time. Please help!

    • Avatar Draper on February 10, 2021 at 7:46 pm

      I have an opportunity for really great “work from home” employment, but currently my internet does not meet even the minimum requirements… what a great boost this would be to our area!

  4. Avatar Draper on February 10, 2021 at 7:47 pm

    I have an opportunity for really great “work from home” employment, but currently my internet does not meet even the minimum requirements… what a great boost this would be to our area!

  5. Avatar Lavonne Gallant on February 12, 2021 at 5:10 pm

    Had Fibre Optic in rural Alberta and it was absolutely amazing. The speed for internet, tv very clear, telephone, and no matter the storm it never went out. Please communities this is something that will improve your daily lives. Help with working from home. Online schooling. I tried to take a class from the university and the zoom cut in and out so much I couldn’t continue. Netflix or crave I don’t even try anymore.

  6. Avatar Lois Hare on February 20, 2021 at 9:37 am

    Fiber Optics is something we have wanted and needed for some years now. Bell appears not to want to provide it. If Rogers is willing to provide that service, I support heartily that decision……

  7. Avatar Richard keenan on February 21, 2021 at 8:14 pm

    Hope we get it up here

  8. Avatar Anita on February 23, 2021 at 8:13 pm

    Does anyone have an idea how much $$$ more monthly for fibre optics if we get this in Blackville?

  9. Avatar Jean-Marc on February 26, 2021 at 3:19 pm

    @Anita – The prices are about the same as what we currently pay for Bell.

    Internet Alone starts at around $75.00, but is 10 times faster than what Bell offers in Blackville.
    TV and Internet bundles start at $119.00 (again, 10 times faster internet speed than bell offers).
    If you want home phone, it’s $10.00 extra.

    You can get faster Internet than this even if you want, at a cost of about $20.00 extra, which isn’t bad considering it’s over 100 times faster than what Bell is currently providing us.

    I got this information by looking up another rural community in New-Brunswick that currently has Rogers Fiber-Op available to them. (where my mother lives)

    All this to say that we’re currently being over-priced right now for something that, if Rogers expands to our communities, could greatly improve our lives for just about the same price, or in some instances, a little bit less than what we’re paying right now.

  10. Avatar Anne Lee on March 4, 2021 at 11:57 pm

    I came from another area in Canada to this area 6 years ago. I was shocked the internet was so slow. It felt like dial up days again and the area was 20 years behind. Then there was the cost…!

  11. Avatar Kelly Arbeau on March 6, 2021 at 4:48 pm

    I hope we can get it. I am doing online schooling for NBCC and unfortunately Xplornet is the only option available here. It is slow and not dependable. Mine is down now and I have been waiting for a service technician to come. Since True Tronics in Miramichi closed, the closest technician is in Burnt Church. Therefore, the mileage cost to come here is even more….which of course Xplornet does not cover, yet I had to start paying $7 monthly for warranty or else they were going to charge me $135. It’s their equipment which is about 10 years old. I am definitely ready to start with a better company and receive better service and faster internet.

  12. Avatar Paul Doucet on August 13, 2021 at 11:07 am

    Worst thing ever happened in New Brunswick was NBTel partnering with MT&T to form Aliant, then being sold to Bell. NB was the world leader in telecommunications. Now? Well….

  13. Avatar Linda on January 9, 2022 at 11:00 pm

    Rogers ignite is the best way to go for service in Blackville NB area because I had in New castle Miramichi NB and I loved it

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