Since the 2010 funding announcement, BCNET has been working feverishly to design phase I of the network expansion plans for new metro centers in Kelowna, Kamloops and Surrey. With aggressive goals of completing Phase I by December 2005, BCNET has been scoping out locations, providers and community players.

Designing Networks for the Future

The blueprint for BCNET’s 2010 project envisions networks that are easily transitional, to meet the current and future internetworking needs of community members. Demands for network speed, flexibility and bandwidth will grow over time, and the network architecture will be built to meet these demands. BCNET will be providing “fibre-ready” capability in each new community, ensuring capacity upgrades for higher-performance networks can be easily achieved. By 2010, BCNET has mapped out gigabit lightpaths between cities, providing more bandwidth and speed than ever before.

Phase I - Constructing the Hub

Part of the initial phase of the project is to build new data hubs or “Transit Exchanges”. Designed by BCNET, these Transit Exchanges provide costs savings to members and affiliates who connect at the exchange, as they can share data at this hub with no traffic fees. The process of building a Transit Exchange involves identifying suitable physical sites in the community to house the Exchange. Negotiations are still under-way for site locations in each of the communities.

Phase I of the 2010 project plans to build Transit Exchanges in Kelowna and Kamloops with gigabit capacity. Kelowna and Kamloops will be connected through the Vancouver Exchange, giving them the ability to collaborate with researchers and educators across the province and around the world. Surrey Exchange plans are still being scoped and BCNET is engaging community members to share ideas and opportunities to get connected.

Linking-up

Once the Transit Exchange hubs are built in each community, BCNET will connect research and education institutions to their regional Transit Exchange. In Kamloops, Thompson River’s University along with Royal Inland Hospital and Thompson Rivers Water Treatment Facility will connect to the Kamloops Exchange. In the Kelowna region, UBC Okanagan will be connecting along with Okanagan College, Kelowna General Hospital, Interior Health Authority and the BCIT Aerospace Facility to the Kelowna Exchange.

Reaching out to the Community

To involve community members, BCNET will be inviting public and private sector community leaders to participate in a BCNET Advanced Networks Executive Focus Group. The goal of creating Executive Focus Groups is to educate and share information about the benefits of advanced networks to the community and provide a forum for exchanging information about the project.

For more information about the BCNET 2010 Project, visit the BCNET website at www.bc.net