HASTINGS COUNTY, Ont. – The Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) announced today it will be receiving $71 million from the federal government in order to help pay for a project which will help fill gaps in mobile broadband coverage in the region.
The cash will come from the Rural and Northern Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Plan.
The funding, combined with the provincial government’s equal commitment of $71 million to the project plus $10 million from the Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus, “clears the way for a $213 million public-private partnership to improve both the reach and quality of mobile broadband services in the region,” announced a press release Thursday.
Mobile carriers, who will be selected through a competitive bidding process, are expected to provide the balance of the funding.
Highlighted in the press release were the gaps in coverage which noted 10% of the population still has no mobile voice service, let alone anything else. As well, 20% do not have access to a network which can provide standard definition video, typical mobile app use or video app calling while 40% of the area can’t stream HD video via mobile.
“The gaps are the result of market failure,” asserts the release, and so this “public-private partnership will reduce carriers' infrastructure costs, creating a stronger business case to improve services and meet the CRTC's basic services goals.”
Phase one of the project will involve the building 317 new telecommunications towers and an additional 32 local Internet access points to improve overall mobile coverage for residents of Eastern Ontario. Phase two will identify the capacity gaps that result from heavy user-traffic, upgrade equipment to reduce network overloads, and improve service quality in rural communities, explains the release.
Once completed, the project will improve mobile coverage for over 1.1 million residents in 102 communities in Eastern Ontario. The new network will allow businesses to grow and reach new markets, with a potential to create more than 3,000 full time jobs over ten years.
EORN is a non-profit created by the Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus (a joint advocacy group of the municipal governments in the region), which already has a $175 million fixed broadband network funded by the federal, provincial and municipal governments and private sector service providers.
