September 2026 Newsletter
- New office sign
- New tower serving Crawford Bay
- East Shore Reading Centre Fast WiFi Hotspot
- Community Corner WiFi Hotspot update
- Fibre to the Home Project Update
- Feedback wanted on new Tower cam
- Feedback wanted on new phone system messages
New Office Sign – Celebrating over 20 years of service!
The old office sign had gotten worn out after 20 years of service, so we decided to refresh it with a new message celebrating the milestone that ESIS has been serving our community since 2005!
New Tower Construction!
The South side of Crawford Bay, including Fishhawk Bay, has been served by an Access Point site on the East side of the bay for over a decade, and that site never had a real tower – only a cedar pole – until this year, when we erected a new tower, named EDM after landowner Ed Draper. The new tower and cabinet were constructed as part of the Columbia Basin Trust-funded Wildfire Resiliency Project, and this tower is the first in ESIS’ network to feature fibre-optic backhaul, meaning very high bandwidth capacity is soon to be available to subscribers connected to this tower site. Thanks to the Draper Family, Columbia Basin Trust, Sullivan Stone, Turlock Electrical Contracting, and the Riondel Cable Society for helping to make this project a reality!
High Speed WiFi now available at East Shore Reading Centre
The East Shore Reading Centre, located at 16234 King Rd in Crawford Bay, now has one of the fastest WiFi hotspots available on the East Shore, courtesy of the East Shore Internet Society! During the Reading Centre’s opening hours, the public is welcome to come and use the WiFi hotspot to download, upload or stream at up to 300 Mbps. This means that a person could transfer 50 GB of data in less than 1/2 hour.. something which would take much longer on a slower connection. Currently, the Reading Centre has an older desktop computer available for the public to sign in and use, but users are also welcome to bring their own portable computer or device and connect to the WiFi Hotspot. Users must accept the Terms of Service before use, and the service is not to be used for transferring prohibited material, such as copyrighted content.
The Reading Centre’s hours of operation are:
- Tuesdays from 12-3pm
- Thursdays from 10am-12pm
- Saturdays from 12-3pm
Communty Corner got a WiFi Upgrade
Did you know that ESIS has provided a free WiFi hotspot at Community Corner for over 10 years? That location, hosted by the Crawford Bay Hall & Parks board, recently got an equipment upgrade which will allow more users to connect to the hotspot from further afield (including the Pavilion in Crawford Bay Park). Future plans for this hotspot include both a free-to-use service and a faster speed pay-per-use service, which will allow users to pay a small fee for instant access to high-speed broadband.
Fibre to the Home Update
ESIS’ fibre-optic subscriber base has steadily grown over the last year, and we currently serve over 100 households with high-speed fibre service. Our active fibre service area as been slow to expand however, as the limitations imposed by BC’s Ministry of Transport and Transit have required ESIS to re-evaluate our choice of methodology to install fibre along Highway 3A and Riondel Rd, and to submit significant project change requests to the project funder, the Federal CRTC. These changes come with detailed budgetary reviews and the review process takes time, however we remain confident that the fibre to the home (FTTH) project will continue in 2027.
Feedback wanted on new Towercam
On April 21st, 2026 the long-serving ESIS Towercam went down. Having provided many, many hours of time-lapse footage of Kootenay lake, the West arm, and Pilot Bay, the old cam finally gave up the ghost. We have since replaced it with a newer camera, and we’d like to know what you think. ESIS’ webcams are viewable 24/7 on our website at https://eastshoreinternet.ca/ferry-cam-kootenay-bay/
ESIS phone system refresh!
If you’ve ever called ESIS’ toll-free number at 1-844-776-3747, you’ve likely experienced the slow-but-steady voice of ESIS’ telephone answering system. Well we have now updated the phone system with a new, upbeat vibe! Give us a call at 1-844-776-3747, check it out and let us know what you think! Feel free to leave a message for Tech Support (press 1), New Service (press 2), or Billing (press 3). If you call the latter during office hours, the wonderful Lauriss, a real person will answer your call.
ESIS office hours are Mon-Wed, from 9am – 1pm.
Billing and Tech Support will return your call if you leave a message, Mon – Fri. from 9am – 5pm.
