Tbaytel hopes to have entire city hooked on fibre by 2020

THUNDER BAY -- By the end of 2020 Tbaytel hopes it will have spent $40.5 million to get nearly the entire city hooked on fibre.

The company has spent nearly $9.5 million so far upgrading neighbourhoods around Thunder Bay from copper to fibre optic, which president CEO Dan Topatigh said offers virtually unlimited bandwidth.

"It's going to make a true difference," he said.

Because Tbaytel uses Thunder Bay Hydro's infrastructure to bring its services to homes and businesses, the two utilities are working together to roll out upgrades at the same time. Hydro has a 20 year capital plan.

"In 2015 we're going to invest about $12 million mostly into replacing aging infrastructure," CEO Rob Mace said.

Whenever hydro upgrades things like poles and wires in a neighbourhood, chances are Tbaytel fibre won't be far behind.