New internet contract for City of Whitehorse far cry from high-speed

The City of Whitehorse is looking to upgrade its internet service to a level where it can "function efficiently" as an organization but it's a far cry from high-speed.

The city's current contract has expired and it's looking to sign a new deal, upgrading from 10 megabits per secondto 40 Mbps.

"We go to different meeting rooms in the building and we can't log on or we want to pull up a database... and it's taking forever," said City Manager Christine Smith.

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Two companies bid on a request for proposals Northwestelwas the winner.

"The administrative recommendation is that the City award the contract for city internet services to Northwestel Inc. for a three-year term for a total value of $240,940," the city's information technology specialist Victor Hopkins-LeCheminant told council Monday night.

Many city councillors had questions about the proposed deal, though.

"40 Mbpswould be high-speed internet?" councillor Jocelyn Curteanu asked.

"No, it will be the minimum level that we'll need to function efficiently," Hopkins-LeCheminant responded, adding that somewhere around 100 Mbpsis considered high-speed.

The main reason for not going high-speed is the cost.

"We do try and just get the services that we need at the most minimal cost so that we don't have to pass it on to taxpayers," said Smith.

Hopkins-LeCheminant told council the current budget allocation for internet services is $65,000 per year, so the new deal will require an additional $15,000.

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