GoFred Inks Deal with F6 Networks to Extend its Gigabit Reach throughout Atlantic Canada

In a move designed to enhance Fredericton’s position as global leader in the ICT sector, Mayor Brad Woodside announced a strategic partnership that connects the City’s GoFred fiber optic network to the F6 Networks’ regional fiber backbone, bringing its clients gigabit data services at the lowest cost in Atlantic Canada.
Described as a high-speed bridge confirming Fredericton as a premier place to do knowledge-based business, this ground-breaking initiative means users of the GoFred service, a product of the City’s telecommunications company e-Novations, can access gigabit hyper-connectivity throughout the GoFred and F6 networks at no additional cost, thereby extending its fiber optic network from centers within Atlantic Canada to Boston, Montreal, Toronto and beyond.

“This is a major economic development play that will deliver future jobs to our community. It confirms Fredericton as a global leader in gigabit connectivity, and positions the City perfectly to attract foreign direct investment from ICT and knowledge-based companies looking to establish or outsource their product development divisions,” said Mayor Woodside.

“Companies typically pay anywhere from $2000-3000 a month for this type of speed on a long-term contract. GoFred provides the same service for $200 a month.  In fact, we haven’t found anyone on the North American continent who can beat it. It sets us apart in terms of value proposition. It’s a real competitive advantage,” he said.
The agreement formalizes a GoFred-F6 peering agreement. Any user connected to the GoFred network can now access the managed cloud and hosting services provider, such as Cirrus9.  As of today, GoFred network subscribers will have gigabit connectivity to Cirrus9 included in their existing Internet package (at no additional cost).
“By extending our Open Access connect solutions, F6 is playing a vital role in the delivery of ICT infrastructure. With the introduction of an industry leading Ciena optical transport platform, capable of multiple 100Gbps wavelengths, F6 has connected our global backbone link at the Cirrus9 datacentre to the GoFred network” explained Tom Rivington, CEO of F6 Networks.

“The City of Fredericton has provided a major tool in our toolbox to attract foreign direct investment to the community.  This initiative aligns with our fundamental plans to grow the economy through attraction of companies expanding their product and market development activities” said Larry Shaw, CEO of Ignite Fredericton & Knowledge Park.
“We will now be able to more effectively export a near-shore development service. We are investing in our local talent and putting agile teams in place to deliver custom solutions globally right out of Fredericton. Being part of this initiative will remove additional barriers as well as enable us to bring more cost effective solutions to our customers. It also allows us to help guide the development of new services based on where we see the industry moving” commented Mike LeBlanc, CEO of Blue Spurs.

ABOUT OUR PARTNERS:
e-Novations (GoFred), the municipally-owned fiber optic network, consists of 400 kms of fiber optic cable in Fredericton connecting to hundreds of end point customers. The fibre optic network evolved as a result of City Council’s vision to invest in intellectual infrastructure 15 years ago, from which the City’s free wifi network, Fred-eZone, was established.

F6 Networks delivers Connect Solutions that enable their customers to build robust, secure, and cost-effective networks. F6 owns and operates an open access, high capacity fibre network connecting New Brunswick to the Northeast U.S., and soon expanding to Nova Scotia and Quebec.
Cirrus9 is an Atlantic Canadian-owned service provider operating multiple data centres.   The company offers highly available, Tier III-class data centres, Canadian data residency, managed, semi-managed and cloud solutions, IP telephony and data security compliance.  The company serves both public and private sector clients in varying industries like automotive, energy, finance, healthcare, telecom, to name a few.

Blue Spurs is a full service IT company specializing in custom web, mobile, and cloud based solutions.