Case Study
COS + Arcadis + Calix + Clearwater County: Empowering Rural Alberta with an Open Access FTTH Network
How Clearwater County Is Using Open Access to Bridge the Digital Divide
Clearwater County in west-central Alberta is building a county-owned Open Access fiber network to deliver reliable, high-speed connectivity across a large rural area—while enabling competition and protecting long-term public value.
Facing unreliable broadband and limited provider choice, the County adopted a multi-year Open Access strategy that separates infrastructure ownership from service delivery. The result: shared fiber infrastructure, multiple ISPs, and 24/7 operations without scaling County staff.
Working with Arcadis (Woven), Clearwater County secured substantial provincial and federal funding and is rolling out a phased FTTH deployment. At the core of the wholesale platform is COS Business Engine, which automates ISP onboarding, provisioning, settlements, and the branded customer portal marketplace.
Through a unique integration between COS Business Engine and Calix Cloud, the network delivers a consistent in-home Wi-Fi experience across providers—allowing residents to switch ISPs with zero touch, no truck rolls, and no disruption.
The project is now well underway, with backbone and last-mile construction progressing and the customer portal live for resident registration and ISP selection.
Learn how Clearwater County combined public ownership, Open Access automation, and ecosystem partnerships to deliver affordable, future-proof broadband:
Clearwater County in west-central Alberta is building a county-owned Open Access network to close the digital divide and enable competition across multiple last-mile technologies. Arcadis (Woven) was selected to design and project-manage the FTTH rollout after helping secure substantial provincial and federal grants. The County is in the process of selecting an operator that will operate the 24/7 NOC. At the core, COS Business Engine automates the wholesale platform, driving communications to stakeholders, promoting engagement to the community, aggregating demand, powers ISP integration, the customer portal, and real-time operational workflows.
More Resources on the Topic
- Open Access With COS Business Engine
- Whitepaper: Dare to Share Your Infrastructure
- Visit our website dedicated to Municipal Broadband
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