High-speed fibre optic internet connections are now available to the town of Waldheim, Saskatchewan, thanks to the community’s collaboration with local insurance firm My Mutual Insurance.
My Mutual Insurance has been part of Waldheim’s local community for more than 100 years. The insurance firm said that when it came to a point that its business growth meant it could move its headquarters to a larger centre somewhere else, My Mutual instead chose to stay in Waldheim and build a bigger facility.
As a way to further give back to the community it has grown with, My Mutual Insurance has chosen to help install fibre optic internet infrastructure in the town. Initially, the firm decided to upgrade its internet connection to better serve the needs of its policyholders. But the local community saw an opportunity to improve everyone’s internet connection at the same time, so they “proactively stepped up” to collaborate with My Mutual to extend the access of fibre optic internet to the entire town.
“This was shaping up as a rare opportunity to bring an increase in internet speed and service that could meet the goals and needs of all parties involved,” a statement from My Mutual Insurance said.
It reached an agreement with Redbird Communications to install the necessary infrastructure. The fibre optic internet installation project began back in August 2019, and was completed in April. Access to the fibre optic internet connection is now available to all Waldheim residents.
“My Mutual’s roots are rural. We have a strong contingent of people that have chosen to live in rural Saskatchewan. Having access to fibre ensures that we can continue to be viable, competitive and relevant,” said My Mutual Insurance CEO Valerie Fehr.
“We believe that working together is more effective than on our own. Partnering with the town of Waldheim and Redbird Communications to make fibre optics a reality only made sense,” commented My Mutual leadership team communications Chris Enns.
Enns also mentioned that while the project had its risks, “sometimes you need to step away from the safety of what is, to achieve what could be.”
“If we are serious about caring for those that trust us with their insurance needs, we need to take some risks to be able to deliver the best service possible,” he said.
