Happy Holidays from Cybera!

(We’re dropping the price of our Internet Buying Group, again)

As we head into the holiday season (and finally draw this year to a close!), Cybera is pleased to offer some good news for 2021: we are dropping the price of bandwidth in the Internet Buying Group from $1.30 per Mbps to $1.20 per Mbps. This eight per cent decrease represents the 15th major price drop for the program since it was launched in 2012.

The Internet Buying Group was created to address a serious need in Alberta’s public sector landscape: the skyrocketing bandwidth costs faced by educational institutions. The program works by pooling members’ internet traffic, and negotiating a bulk bandwidth rate from a commercial Internet Service Provider. The end result is a high-speed internet service delivered at a reduced cost.

Combined with Cybera’s Peering service, the Internet Buying Group has saved the public sector nearly $14 million over the last seven years.

But more than cost savings, the program offers other valuable services for Alberta organizations.

“There are a number of intangible benefits that have emerged from the Internet Buying Group,” says Barb Carra, President & CEO of Cybera. “As well as receiving free IPv6 traffic, group members also get hands-on support from our network team, which includes cybersecurity monitoring and help with addressing cyber attacks.”

“Members are also a part of a community of connected institutions from across Alberta, whose feedback plays in to how Cybera’s network services evolve.”

Cybera staff are now looking at how to enhance the Internet Buying Group going forward. If you have any ideas for new services that we can develop, please contact projects@cybera.ca.