Nine months ago, the Hiboo Networks team kicked off the new year with a shared goal: make 2024 a milestone year for digital connectivity in Ottawa-Gatineau.
Since the beginning of our journey, we’ve set out on a mission to create a differentiated connectivity experience for businesses in Canada’s Capital Region. What does this look like in action? This year, we’ve advanced our mission through expanding our advanced fibre optic network and partnering with community organizations to bridge the digital divide in Ottawa.
As we enter the final few months of the year, we are thrilled to share our progress to date—and preview what's still to come before we close out 2024.
Ultra-fast business fibre is now lit in Kanata
Hiboo Networks owns and operates the only fibre network specifically built by and for the National Capital Region. As a facilities-based provider focused solely on serving our region, we can deliver custom fibre optic Internet, Ethernet, and Wavelength Services that truly meet the needs of businesses here. We’ve taken significant steps to deploy our fibre infrastructure, starting in the vibrant neighbourhood of Kanata North.
This year, we officially lit up several buildings in Canada’s largest tech park (and home to Hiboo’s headquarters). As a hub for technology and innovation, the Kanata North tech park is shaping Canada’s future. By bringing much-needed network diversity and redundancy to the tech park, we’re ensuring all businesses here can have uninterrupted connectivity.
We’ve deployed more fibre strands than all incumbents combined—and our network is still growing. Our high-speed, ultra-low latency network has the capacity to support and safeguard the most demanding applications, including SaaS, Unified Communications, and secure transactions with customers and employees. We are proud to invest in Kanata North’s connectivity infrastructure and support the next generation of visionary startups.
Hiboo team members Jason and Blair showcase our first fibre cable access chamber, installed this year in Kanata North.
Throughout 2024, we've also been honoured to earn the trust of new customers and seamlessly migrate them to our fibre network. By providing fast, reliable, and secure connectivity, we're helping our customers unlock new opportunities and stay competitive in today's digital world.
"Hiboo Networks’ advanced fibre solutions and local expertise has significantly enhanced our network performance,” shared Jack Gulas, Managing Director at Improving Ottawa. “We are thrilled to work with a local provider who is so passionate about supporting businesses in Ottawa."
We welcome businesses to visit our headquarters, tour the location of our fibre cables, and learn how our network can accelerate their growth.
Bridging the digital divide in our community
At Hiboo, our commitment to the region of Ottawa-Gatineau is extremely important. Empowering and enriching the lives of our neighbours and our community is at the core of everything we do.
Over the past year, our team has been working in partnership with Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), National Capital FreeNet, and Ottawa Community Housing (OCH) to launch the Community Wi-Fi Project. This pilot project will help to bridge the digital divide in Ottawa by offering free, secure, and fast Wi-Fi, focused on helping those living with low incomes.
Going live this fall, Hiboo Networks is proud to be providing fibre backhaul connectivity to two OCH buildings based in Vanier. Our network will deliver high-quality Wi-Fi to tenants and guests at 251 and 255 Donald Street in common spaces and outside both buildings.
“Hiboo Networks is pleased to work with National Capital FreeNet and CIRA on the Community Wi-Fi project that democratizes Internet access for all and enables the socio-economic benefits that go along with it,” said Christopher Emery, General Manager at Hiboo Networks.
We will be sharing more details about the Community Wi-Fi Project in the coming months—stay tuned!
What to expect for the rest of 2024
As we head into the last quarter of the year, we are excited to continue building momentum before we say goodbye to 2024.
Over the next few months, we will continue to invest to enhance and expand our network infrastructure to ensure high-performance internet connectivity for all our customers. Our team will also continue to engage with more local businesses to better understand their evolving needs for 2025 and beyond.
To cap off the year, we are excited to announce we will be hosting our annual year-end celebration in late November. Come meet our team, network with Ottawa-Gatineau’s business and community leaders, and celebrate Hiboo’s past year. Follow us on LinkedIn for updates. We hope to see you there!