Pelee Island fibre internet gets a step closer

By Greg Coulter

Local marine contractor Cobby Marine is supplying key transportation services to assist IT International Telecom, contracted to install two lengths of submarine fibre optic cables from the mainland to Pelee Island, made possible through nearly $20M in funding from the Government of Canada’s Universal Broadband Fund (UBF) and the Government of Ontario’s Improving Connectivity for Ontario (ICON) program.

Infrastructure installation on the mainland began at the start of this year with construction on the island taking place since early April.

This past weekend, runs of 22 and 25 km saw cables laid using Cobby’s Vida C tug and barge system manned with specialized personnel, tooling and machinery from IT International.

Formed in 1995 and world-renowned, IT International Telecom Inc. is an ISO-certified marine network installer offering desktop study, marine route survey, engineering design, installation, and maintenance services for submarine cable systems, successfully completing projects in over 70 countries.

Construction of the network is currently scheduled to be completed in March 2025.