Thanks to fibre optics, communications travel much more quickly and efficiently than through traditional channels. Used to transmit electronic data over the Internet, as well as phone conversations and radio and TV broadcasts, this technology now makes it possible to transport vast quantities of information.

However, fibre optics needs a network to transmit all that data. Enter Kim, a Design Specialist for the Vidéotron Business Network's External Network, a supplier of telecommunications products and services that's affiliated with the Vidéotron Group. The network currently comprises more than 6,000 kilometres of fibre optics in Quebec, with nearly 3,000 kilometres in the Greater Montreal area. Kim is on the team that's "building" the fibre optics highway, section by section.

"My work involves linking several buildings or clients, depending on the project. I also negotiate agreements with our sister company, Vidéotron, so we can use part of their cable network. I purchase the fibres we need for the project or to keep in reserve for further extensions of the network. In fact, what I do is connect people to other people," she says.

For example, Kim worked on the installation of a private fibre optic network linking various schools belonging to the same school board. Direct from their classrooms, students now have rapid access to multimedia applications, the information highway, and new information and communications technologies.

Kim also arranges for cable hook-ups - the equivalent of interchanges on the highway. "Splicing is done by fusion, which means connecting fibre optic cables along a predetermined trajectory. I have to ask the network supplier to do that work when necessary." In a way, what Kim is requesting is permission for her cables to "cohabit" with the supplier's cables over a certain distance.