New fibre route planned for Highway 37 after northern B.C. telecom outages

Catherine Garrett · CBC News

· Posted: Aug 21, 2026 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: August 21

New details are being revealed about transport fibre route coming to a northern B.C. highway, CBC News has learned, after three recent telecommunications outages in the region reignited discussion about network resiliency. 

Telecom provider CityWest told CBC News it is planning on building a route along Highway 37 called the Northern Resiliency Project. 

It will establish a new and physically separate telecommunications path through the north, the company said, giving network traffic another way to move in the event of an outage. 

Highway 37, known as the Stewart-Cassiar Highway, stretches over 870 kilometres between the Kitwanga Junction on Highway 16 to the Yukon border.  The new fibre route will start in Dease Lake, B.C., and end in Watson Lake, Yukon.

• 3 major outages renew concerns about northwest B.C.'s communications network

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CityWest is responsible for providing internet, television and home phone service across a broad swath of northwest and northern B.C. — including areas like Prince Rupert, Haida Gwaii and Vanderhoof.

Fibre optic cables do not contain copper targeted by thieves, CityWest explained — however, they can interconnect with other telecommunications infrastructure along the route.

If that supporting infrastructure is damaged by copper theft, the disruption can affect the larger network and interrupt service for fibre customers.

The company is developing the project in partnership with Tahltan Nation Development Corporation. The route will also be available to other telecom carriers seeking additional resiliency, it added.

3 outages in 4 months

On Aug. 11, internet service for thousands of CityWest customers west of Prince George was knocked out after the company experienced a disruption to Rogers transport infrastructure that it uses in Alberta. 

It is believed to have been a result of cable theft, and complicated by the backup route being damaged in a wildfire in the B.C. Interior. 

• Northwest B.C. faces 3rd large-scale internet outage in months

• Telus restores internet, cell service in northwest B.C. after cable theft causes outage

Thieves have disrupted Telus service in the northwest twice since May by damaging or attempting to steal copper cables in northern B.C.

CityWest says the new infrastructure will be installed underground, making it less visible and less exposed to risks such as theft, wildfire, vehicle collisions and wildlife damage.

WATCH | Telus outage disrupted in May:

"For many, many years we had one line out and and when that one line was severed, we had no options," said Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond.

"We've now got several paths out and [CityWest] are adding to it and, and we need it. I applaud them for doing that."

Equipment sites along the route will also include redundant power systems designed to maintain operations during extended power outages. 

The route is expected to be operational by the end of 2027.