BRANT COUNTY, Ont. – The governments of Canada and Ontario announced last Friday they are providing more than $3.1 million in combined funding for a now-completed broadband project in Brant County, as part of Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology Inc.’s (SWIFT) initiative to bring high-speed internet access to underserved homes and businesses in Southwestern Ontario.
The project, providing high-speed broadband access to 1,639 households and businesses in Brant County, was completed earlier this year by Xplore, which was awarded the contract for the $9.4-million project in January 2021 by SWIFT. Xplore started construction in March 2022 on the broadband infrastructure, comprised of 127 kilometres of fibre cabling running along roadway throughout the county. The project was completed in July 2023, according to SWIFT’s approved projects webpage.
The communities benefitting from the new access to high-speed internet service include Harrisburg, Harley, Fairfield Plain, Burtch, Newport and Middleport, according to an Ontario government press release.
In SWIFT’s own press release Friday, the non-profit organization said Xplore’s broadband infrastructure was deployed in four separate areas including: Harrisburg and northeast of Paris in the northern portion of the project area; the community of Onondaga and areas east of Cainsville and Brantford in the eastern portion of the project; the communities of Newport and Burtch, as well as an area west of Mount Pleasant along Pleasant Ridge Road/County Road 7 in the central portion of the project; and the communities of Cathcart, Harley, Fairfield Plain, Northfield and Kelvin in the southwestern section of the project area.
“We’re pleased to see the positive impacts the newly installed network infrastructure will have on the residents and business owners in Brant County,” said Barry Field, executive director of SWIFT, in the organization’s press release. “The completion of this project is set to bring transformative, long-term change to the communities — creating opportunities and breaking down previous digital barriers.”
“The successful completion of the high-speed broadband project in Brant County marks a significant achievement, underscoring the effectiveness of collaborative initiatives in addressing the digital divide in Southwestern Ontario,” Gary McNamara, SWIFT’s board chair, said in the government release.
More than $255 million has been invested by the governments of Canada and Ontario and the private sector to bring high-speed broadband access to more than 63,000 households and businesses in Southwestern Ontario through SWIFT by the end of 2023, according to the release.
