New Westminster, BC – The City of New Westminster is happy to announce that, in collaboration with BC-Net, Douglas College’s New Westminster campus is now powered by the City’s BridgeNet fibre optic network. Douglas College is the first post-secondary institution to connect to the City-owned high speed infrastructure.

“We’re excited to connect Douglas College to our BridgeNet fibre optic network,” said Mayor Jonathan X. Coté. “I look forward to seeing how the college uses BridgeNet to improve the educational services they deliver.”

The new 1Gb fibre connection provides a direct link between the Douglas College New Westminster campus and the BCNET Internet Exchange located at Harbour Centre, Vancouver.

“Transitioning to BridgeNet supports Douglas College’s pursuit of fast, reliable, secure and seamless technology infrastructure that allows our students to focus on learning,” says Tracey Szirth, Vice President Administrative Services and CFO, Douglas College.

BridgeNet is capable of transmitting at 10Gb per second, which is at the top end of current broadband service availability in the marketplace. The City is also planning to connect the Justice Institute of British Columbia by the end of 2017.

“BridgeNet is the foundational component to the City’s intelligent city initiative,” said Councillor Bill Harper, Co-Chair of the Intelligent City Advisory Committee. “As a Smart21 community, our goal is to connect our community, improving access and increasing opportunities for businesses, residents, and institutions.”

To learn more about BridgeNet and the City’s intelligent city initiative, visit www.newwestcity.ca/intelligentnw

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Contact:
Blair Fryer, Manager of Economic Development
City of New Westminster
604-527-4559 or

In October 2016, the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) recognized the City of New Westminster as one of the world’s Smart21 Communities of 2017. The Intelligent Community Forum studies and promotes the best practices of the world's Intelligent Communities as they adapt to the new demands and seize opportunities presented by information and communications technology.