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September 29, 1997
(Executive Council)

NewTel launches $60 million rural services program;
Premier welcomes "bold, far-reaching" initiative

NewTel Communications this morning announced a major initiative "laying out the final kilometres of the province-wide Information Highway to the 21st Century."

Brian Tobin, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Vince Withers, President and CEO of NewTel, announced that NewTel Communications and the NewTel companies are committing to invest, by the end of the year 2000, in a $60 million Rural Enhanced Services Program to deliver the newest communications services to the province's rural communities.

The major features of the program include: a $20 million digital switching and transmission network traversing Labrador; a $40 million program to deliver digital services to 250 rural communities on the island; continued expansion of local access to NewTel's Sympatico Internet service, to achieve 90 per cent coverage by the end of 1997, and 100 per cent coverage by the year 2000; and deployment of high-speed, high-bandwidth ADSL services.

Premier Tobin welcomed the initiative, saying: "This is a bold and far-reaching initiative that will help to re-make the economy of rural Newfoundland and Labrador. This additional $60 million investment provides a major signal to our rural communities that we are committed to their future development, and that the opportunities to further expand the IT sector of our economy are being fully supported."

Mr. Withers said: "If we are to protect the heritage and the quality of life represented by the rural communities of Newfoundland and Labrador, then we have to act now, without delay. Our rural communities need and deserve our support. The digital broadband network and services NewTel is building out to our rural communities are a critical component in the economic development of our province, and they are, in fact, driving the evolution of our businesses, and our service institutions."

NewTel's Rural Enhanced Services Program contains several major elements.

Fully one-third, or some $20 million, is assigned to provide a complete digital transmission network covering Labrador, extending along the coast from Nain to L'Anse au Loup, and across the Strait to the island network; and west from Happy Valley-Goose Bay to Labrador City and Wabush. As well, this investment will provide digital services to a number of communities of Labrador, which already enjoys one of the highest levels of digital services in all of northern Canada.

Premier Tobin noted that "this new investment, in addition to providing access to the latest services to our Labrador communities, is also an essential element of the Voisey's Bay mine development, and is an expression of real confidence by one of our largest companies in the long term future of this region."

As for the island, the remaining portion, or some $40 million, will complete the effort to achieve 100 per cent digital services, by "building out" digital services to some 250 rural communities. Mr. Withers said: "These 250 communities represent, in NewTel's terms, about 40,000 telephone lines. That averages about 155 lines per community. I think that this is a very significant point to note, that in this province, many of our people still live and work in small, rural communities, and the extension of these leading edge services offers the prospect of creating communities which combine the best of modern communications with the quality of life and the values that we proudly seek to retain."

The program will also continue NewTel's efforts to extend local access to its Sympatico Internet service. "NewTel has grown local access to our Sympatico Internet service from 150 communities in 1996, to 320 communities today - and I'm very pleased to note that NewTel has now extended Sympatico access to the major centres in Labrador - and, by the end of this year, 1997, fully 463 communities throughout Newfoundland and Labrador will have local access to Sympatico Internet service.

"This means that the schools, hospitals, businesses, and residents of these communities do not have to pay long distance charges to access the Internet."

Newfoundland and Labrador are at the forefront of local Internet access. By the end of 1997, 90 per cent of NewTel's telephone lines will have local access to Sympatico Internet service, a level which will not be reached in Ontario and Quebec for another three years.

NewTel will continue to extend local Sympatico access to other rural communities over the next three years, to achieve 100 per cent coverage by year 2000.

Under this program, NewTel will also begin to roll out high-speed, high-bandwidth Internet access services. Using existing telephone lines, NewTel is currently testing a technology called ADSL, or Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. Using ADSL, NewTel has turned participating customer lines into high speed access links. This trial covers a number of communities, such as metro St. John's, Corner Brook, Gander, Clarenville and Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

NewTel will introduce this service, in 1998, at speeds up to seven million bits per second, a speed that will be faster than anything on the market today, or contemplated in the near future.

Furthermore, with ADSL, people in Newfoundland and Labrador will be able to use their computers, and the voice services on their telephone AT THE SAME TIME, ON THE SAME LINE! If someone is calling you, your phone will ring, or you can place a call, and you'll be able to speak with family and friends even when you are using your computer. In fact, you will be able to use voice or fax at the same time you are downloading the very high bandwidth information, I referred to earlier.

NewTel has a total investment in this province of over $1.2 billion, including $100 million invested in digital fibre optic networks across the island, one of the highest penetration rates of fibre optics in Canada.

Contact: Heidi Bonnell, Office of the Premier, (709) 729-3570
Harry Connors, NewTel Corporate Communications , (709) 739-2837