Clearwater County residents will soon have a chance to connect their homes, farms and businesses to high-speed internet as the municipality opens its broadband fibre drop program.

Beginning Nov. 24, county-hired contractor AFL will start door-knocking across the region to sign up property owners for early-bird fibre installation.

The connection, which runs the line from the road to a property, is being offered at an introductory rate of $399 for the first 100 metres, with additional distance billed at $14 per metre during the construction phase.

The discounted rate is only available while work crews are active in each area. Once construction wraps up, the standard cost for the first 100 metres will rise to $1,500.

Door-knocking will begin in the Ferrier subdivision and continue through other communities from Monday to Saturday over the next two months.

Clearwater County has spent several years building the backbone of its rural broadband network.

According to the project portal, large sections of the system are now complete or under active construction, including areas around Crimson Lake, Nordegg, Horburg, Leslieville and south of Rocky Mountain House toward Strachan and Dovercourt.

Status of broadband construction as of Nov. 21, 2025. (market.cwcbb.ca)

Other portions — particularly north and northeast of Leslieville — remain planned but not yet built.

The county previously approved a multi-phase broadband expansion, though not all five originally envisioned stages have been constructed.

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Map of broadband “backbone” through the West Country. (Clearwater County)

County officials say the new fibre-drop program is meant to help residents prepare for the future of rural connectivity and take advantage of infrastructure funded in part by provincial and federal grants.

The new council — which includes five first-term councillors — is expected to receive a full update on the broadband project at a committee meeting on Nov. 27, including funding details, progress to date and options for next steps. Decisions on whether to advance remaining phases will rest with the current council.

More information about the project and service areas is available on the county’s broadband website.