Dempster Highway fibre optic line cost could soar to $80M, twice the original estimate

An engineering report recently done for Northwestelfound the cost of a proposed fibre optic line up the DempsterHighway couldbe more than double the original estimate.

The plan, first proposed in 2015, would connect Yukon toa fibre optic line runningup the Mackenzie Valley to Inuvik, providing Yukonwith a backup link to Southern Canada.

• Yukon to build fibre optic line along Dempster Highway to N.W.T.

• 'Not going to make those mistakes again': Dempster fibre link proponents hold community meetings

The former Yukon Party government estimated it would cost $32 million, but arecent report by Ledcordescribes costs that could soar to $80 million.Northwestel said the report was a summary of a year and a half of work done to date.

Steve Sorochan, director of technology and telecommunications with the Yukon government, saidan earlier 2015 report looked atthe cost per kilometre.But the new report, he said,covers all aspects of the job.

"This is actually looking at taking soil samples, understanding the terrain, how many culvertswhich means how many times you have to drill underneath things which adds cost to the build," he said.

Sorochan saidsome financingfor the project could come from the federal government's "Connect to Innovate" program. Thatprogram could pay for 50per cent of the construction cost.

The Yukon government has also applied to the federal government's small communities fund, for an additional 25 per cent.

A second option

The territory is also consideringa second possible route for the fibre line, along the South Klondike Highway to Skagway, Alaska, then on to Seattle.

If the government chooses that150 kilometreroute from Whitehorse, itwould only own the line as far as the U.S. border.

Sorochan saidthe territorycouldreceive funding for construction of the line along that route, but the federal government won't cover any operating bandwidth leasing costs. Using the route would mean the Yukon government would have to lease bandwidth from U.S. carriers such as AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile to connectto Seattle.

Still, he saidYukonis seriously considering the route, in light of the cost of the Dempster route.

Right now, the territoryhas only one fibre optic line connecting it to the rest of Canada.

Cable cuts in the past along the Alaska Highway have beena big inconvenience for business and residential users. The cuts affect diagnostic equipment at the Whitehorse hospital that rely on a connection to southern hospitals andshut down debit and credit card services, forcing many businesses to close during the disruptions.

Minister of Economic Development Ranj Pillai says the territory needs a redundant line.

"What I'm trying to do, and our department is tryingto do, our government is trying to do, is reduce the risk, get a clear understanding of what this project looks like and get redundancy in place," he said.

Officials have notsaid when they will decidewhich route to go with.