Our team focused on the maintenance of the CGL network and preparing it for winter now that construction is completed on all our repeater sites. Apparently, BC winters can get tougher each year. As our crews battled last winter to remove ice from our mountain top infrastructure, we were told that the weather was far worse than normal. Then this winter began with a bang that saw extreme icing by the end of November. Just a few days after removing the ice from the tower on Little Elizabeth another storm came through to blanket the tower again. The site is stable due to the redundant link and diesel generator until we can access the site again.

Adjustments on the west end of Section 8 required a change to the existing 2-way radio system. Rigstar replaced the Kenwood digital repeater system with a new Motorola SLR5700 Moto TRBO system to accommodate their existing fleet.

Service was delivered to the last camp along the Coastal GasLink Pipeline project with the commissioning of Merrick Lodge. This required 2 additional mountain top repeaters to be constructed south of Chetwynd to deliver 300Mbps symmetrical. The sites are operating with no disruptions and are powered only by solar and wind.

As we are experiencing one of mildest winters in Calgary, that hasn’t been the case on the mountain-top sites in northern BC. The ice and frost on the towers look amazing but reminds us of how extreme the conditions are and the reason for over-engineering the structures. We have 3 of the 4 sites in full operation but not without a few bumps along the way. One of the sites had a Pine Martin (extremely cute animal) access the shelter through a vent and proceeded to chew some of the cabling inside that caused the site to go down temporarily. The Mount Morice site has seen an unusual amount of ice and frost, which has made for additional maintenance trips to remove the build-up.

Final preparations of the tower foundation at Little Mount Elizabeth (SCCM-1) were completed in mid-September and required additional engineering. Once completed our team was able to pour the foundation and finish constructing the tower. Currently 2 of the 4 sites are operating at full capacity and the 3rd site requires final alignments and commissioning.

Scheduling activities was delayed further due to unstable weather (heavy precipitation). The entire month of July, Rigstar managed 4-days of accessibility to Little Mount Elizabeth where we completed the drilling and grouting for the tower foundation. While Little Mount Elizabeth was not able to progress, we scheduled the larger 212 HP helicopter for the shelter lifts at Thermal Peak & Corona Peak. We planned both lifts for one day, as the larger helicopter availability was not always local to the area. Both shelters were long lined and set in place on August 10, 2020.

Early April, amidst the uncertainty of a world-wide pandemic, investigation of the other 3 tower sites began. The entire project team came together and following all protocols, mitigated the risks to an acceptable level for everyone involved. The crew found 2 sites that were mostly wind-blown and accessible to begin work, while the 3rd site, nearest to Kitimat was still under 1.5 meters of snow. April 8th, survey of the first site on Thermal Peak, overlooking P4 site and west side of Icy Pass, was completed and pins were installed defining all anchor points for the tower foundation as well as the shelter platform foundation. On the same day, survey was completed for the site on Corona Peak, overlooking P2 site.

It has taken almost a year to obtain land permits and licensing to start construction of the site. This location is essential for servicing three of the camps: Huckleberry, 9A, and P2 with high-speed Internet and will provide additional two-way digital coverage for the east end of section 8. The Rigstar team, along with our valued contractors will be constructing a 12-metre tower to support the equipment required to commission all three-microwave links. This tower will use solar as the primary power source and a shelter will be constructed on top of a 3’ platform at the base of the tower. The complete construction process is scheduled to last 2-months due to the level of complexity associated with the tower build:

• Shorter days – limit the working hour
• Additional safety measures and emergency response planning
• Continuous snow removal of the construction area
• Hoarding required to protect the workers from the elements
• Hoarding and heating required to pour and cure the concrete
• Hoarding and heating required to cure the grout for several days
• Additional materials require multiple Heli-lifts to the mountain top

Rigstar, along with our valued contractors successfully installed our first Mountain Top Repeater. The repeater is designed to withstand extreme weather conditions and will service the Hunter Creek camp and surrounding area.

Rigstar’s Tower Division constructed its 1st Permanent Tower for the CGL project. The 150’ tower is designed to support multiple radio and cellular infrastructure for the camp.

Camp 9A presents several challenges due to the remoteness of the site. Rigstar has setup a temporary satellite system to service the camp. Our Engineering Team has designed a microwave network to deliver accelerated Internet speeds to the camp. The network consists of a Mountain Top Repeater that is currently under construction.

Rigstar deploys its full list of services with temporary Internet to the Hunter Creek Camp, while providing 24/7 Network Support.

Rigstar hires local Project Manager, John Steward from Smithers, BC to lead our Network Team in the field. Rigstar successfully deployed telecom services to the 1st site along the 670-kilometre pipeline route. Our team worked tirelessly with CGL and the Prime Contractor to meet the expedited schedule. Construction also begins on the Digital Two-way Radio system.

Rigstar allocated resources to the project and appointed Jim Marshall as the Senior Project Manager. Mr. Marshall had successfully managed and designed complex Telecom projects throughout the United States, Mexico, South Korea, South America, Germany, Russia, and Canada. Jim was very dedicated to the project and at his own leisure he visited the CGL route on one of his last motorcycle tours. Upon his return, Jim worked on the final design and successfully structured a TV option with one of Canada’s major cable providers. Sadly, James Edward Marshall unexpectedly passed away shortly after the project was awarded to Rigstar. In his loving memory, Rigstar along with the CGL Team have dedicated one of our Mountain Top Repeater sites on Mount Morice in his honour.