With new undeveloped land and the Town's acquisition of new annexation land from the M.D. of Foothills, the time is now for fibre optic internet installation for a pair of Okotoks Town Councillors.

Tanya Thorn and Matt Rockley brought fourth a notice of motion for fibre optic installation as a utility for the future of Okotoks' growth.

Okotoks Town Councillor Tanya Thorn

Thorn says faster internet isn't just big for local businesses wanting to be better connected to the world.

"Access to high speed internet or fibre network has become a core service, it's no different than a phone ages ago," she says. "People can't function in today's day and life without reliable high speed internet."

Both councillors believe when the annexation finally finishes its process, the plans of fibre optic need to be at the forefront.

"Just going through that annexation process we've got a bunch of green filled land that currently is in our town boundaries to start moving some of that forward," Thorn says. "Because it's pennies on the dollar to fibre in at the beginning where as to try and retrofit already developed areas it becomes significantly more expensive."

Thorn says with what the Town is working with now for connection speeds isn't efficient for the future.

"Five MB/S is not high speed internet, 10 is not high speed internet. To me a minimum standard we should be seeing is 100 MB/S, I can see a value of 1 GB depending on the business. So we need to start moving that forward that it becomes a general utility, it's just installed no different when we install gas lines."

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