Metro Optic, Crosslake Fibre and Utilities Kingston to Build Fiber Optic Cable from Montreal to Toronto

Metro Optic, Crosslake Fibre and Utilities Kingston announced today their plans to build a new fiber optic cable system from Montreal to Toronto.

The project will be developed by Maple Leaf Fibre Ltd., a joint venture of two leading independent Canadian providers of fiber optic network capacity, Crosslake Fibre ULC based in Toronto, Ontario and Metro Optic based in Monteal, Quebec.

The Maple Leaf cable system will have a terrestrial segment between Montreal, Ottawa, and Kingston and a submarine segment through Lake Ontario between Kingston and downtown Toronto.

Maple Leaf has partnered with Utilities Kingston as strategic investor and development partner to optimize route design and accelerate time to market. Utilities Kingston plans to use the cable system to further enhance its state-of-the-art fiber optic services.

Providing a physically diverse route from other cable systems, the Maple Leaf cable system will have a high fiber count and offer commercially-available dark fiber between Toronto and Montreal. Deploying advanced fiber optic technology along this optimized route will yield critical performance benefits to its users, the company says. The project has been in development for several months, has material customer backing and is estimated to be completed during 2H19.

“This is a truly exciting opportunity to develop much needed Internet Infrastructure along one of the busiest routes in Canada,” stated Mike Cunningham, CEO of Crosslake Fibre. “We are thrilled to be working with great partners and believe that Maple Leaf Fibre has ideally positioned itself to provide a new, innovative solution in the Canadian wholesale marketplace.”

Maple Leaf will own and operate the system as an independent operator, giving the company flexibility to provide innovative commercial solutions to customers. As a carrier-neutral provider, the company will offer dark fiber strands to carriers, data center operators, ISPs, OTTs, cable MSOs and government-sponsored advanced network projects, among others.

“Canada is uniquely situated as a gateway for high-capacity data flow between Europe, the U.S. and Asia. The Montreal-Toronto route is critical to reach Europe through the Maritimes, the major U.S. trading hubs of New York and Chicago to the South, and Asia to the West,” said Michael Bucheit, CEO of Metro Optic.

“This project will provide new and existing businesses in Kingston with even faster and more reliable broadband connectivity – connecting them directly to centers in Toronto, Montréal and Ottawa. Fiber access is at the heart of strengthening our community’s competitive advantage, in particular with its potential to attract an enterprise-class data center, contributing to a smart and livable 21st century city. That’s why we’re pleased to support this initiative for Kingston,” said Jim Keech, President and CEO of Utilities Kingston.