WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Pembina Trails, a major school division in Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada), announced today the launch of the fastest, most powerful fiber optic educational network in Canada.

The new 'dark fiber' network consists of 44 kms (27.3 miles) of fiber optic cable, providing virtually unlimited bandwidth, and the introduction of Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, over this network has the potential to provide savings of some $200,000 per year.

Students now have access to information at a speed 850 times faster than at home with DSL or cable Internet service, and the potential to link with other fiber optic networks at libraries and universities around the world. Robust security features are integrated, and the entire network is maintained in-house.

"There is no limit to what this system can provide," says Don Reece, director of information technology for Pembina Trails. "With fiber linking us to global information portals, like the Manitoba Research Network and CANet3, we will be truly virtual, providing our students and staff with ultra fast pathways to educational resources, second-to-none in the world."

Objectworld Communications Corp.