Network to roll out in rural, urban areas at same time
CORBYVILLE, ON – Rural homes and businesses in Eastern Ontario will soon have access to a 5G-ready hybrid fibre-wireless network through a combined $36 million investment led by Xplornet Communications and the Federal Government’s rural broadband program Connect to Innovate.
The project, which will begin immediately and be completed by 2020, will deploy over 450 km of fibre to build a network spanning 21 communities in the region. This will bring 5G-ready Internet technology with download speeds of up to 100 Mbps to 35,000 rural homes and businesses, including 38 institutions and one Indigenous community, in the counties of Northumberland, Hastings, and Lennox and Addington, located between Brighton and Napanee, in Eastern Ontario.
Speaking Wednesday in Corbyville, a community within the City of Belleville, Xplornet president and CEO Allison Lenehan said that the company will use its licensed 3500 MHz spectrum holdings to bolster the fibre infrastructure by deploying small cells and the latest wireless technology.
“Our focus remains unchanged – to serve rural communities – towns like Corbyville. We want rural Canadians, wherever they choose to live, to be able to connect to what matters,” Lenehan said during the announcement. “This investment will build a state-of-the-art, 5G-ready network, ready to be deployed in Eastern Ontario – at the same time as urban Canada.”
The ratio of private to public investment for the initiative is almost 3 to 1, with the Feds contributing $10.8 million and Xplornet picking up the remaining $25.2 million.
Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains was also on hand for the announcement, as was Bay of Quinte MP Neil Ellis and Mike Bossio, MP for Hastings–Lennox and Addington.
“In my travels across our large rural riding, I have seen so many entrepreneurs and community organizations that have the talent and the passion to compete on a global scale, but they need the tools to do so", Bossio said. "Today’s investment will unleash their potential to innovate and will level the playing field. Our government understands how important Internet connectivity is to sustaining our rural communities, and I am proud of today’s demonstration of our commitment.”
In photo: Xplornet Communication president and CEO Allison Lenehan at Wednesday's announcement
