ESSEX COUNTY, ON – The governments of Canada and Ontario announced last week they are providing more than $3.1 million in joint funding for three fibre broadband projects bringing high-speed internet access to a total of 1,915 homes, farms and businesses in Essex County, Ont., located east and southeast of the Windsor area.
The funding is being provided as part of Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology Inc.’s (SWIFT) broadband expansion plan for Southwestern Ontario.
SWIFT originally awarded the contracts for these fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) projects in October 2020. TekSavvy Solutions was awarded contracts for two projects to bring high-speed internet connectivity to homes and businesses in Stoney Point and Lighthouse Cove, respectively. Cogeco Connexion was awarded a contract to deliver high-speed fibre connections to premises in the community of Marentette Beach.
According to SWIFT’s approved projects webpage, the three projects were all completed during 2022.
“We’re thrilled to see the completion of these high-speed fibre-optic networks in Essex County,” SWIFT’s executive director, Barry Field, said in a SWIFT press release. “The newly established infrastructure will provide significant benefits to residents and local businesses, including improved access to online services, increased productivity, and enhanced opportunities for economic growth. We’re grateful for the hard work and commitment of everyone involved in bringing these projects to completion and look forward to the positive impact they will have on the region for years to come.”
In Stoney Point, TekSavvy constructed an FTTH network spanning 26.6 kilometres of roadway to provide high-speed internet access to 948 homes and businesses located along portions of the Lake St. Clair Shoreline and along County Road 2 between Deerbrook and Lighthouse Cove. The federal and provincial governments are providing approximately $1.7 million in funding toward the cost of this project, which has an approximate value of $3.7 million.
In Lighthouse Cove and the surrounding areas east of Stoney Point, TekSavvy completed construction of a 23.5-kilometre fibre network to bring high-speed connectivity to 473 homes and businesses. The two levels of governments are contributing about $687,000 toward this project’s $2.1-million approximate cost.
Cogeco Connexion has built a fibre network spanning 24.1 kilometres of roadway to connect 494 previously underserved homes and businesses in Marentette Beach to high-speed Internet access. The main fibre route of the network runs along parts of Point Pelee Drive, Mersea Road 12, Mersea Roads B, D and E, Marentette Beach and E Beach Road, servicing rural areas southeast of Leamington and north of Point Pelee National Park, SWIFT’s press release explains. The government funding totals a little over $784,000 for this project, which has an approximate cost of $1.6 million.
“More than $255 million has been invested by the governments of Canada and Ontario and the private sector to bring high-speed internet access to more than 63,000 homes and businesses in Southwestern Ontario through SWIFT by the end of 2023,” an Ontario government press release says.
