PETERBOROUGH and TORONTO – Rogers Communications, the federal government, the province of Ontario, and the Eastern Ontario Regional Network, today announced a $300 million partnership which will bring wireless connectivity to 99% of Eastern Ontario’s residents and businesses.
Rogers will invest over $150 million in this project, the largest wireless private-public partnership in Canadian history says the company, to upgrade and expand the region’s wireless telecommunications infrastructure over five years.
The federal and provincial governments are each investing $71 million to the project, with a $10 million contribution from the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus and Eastern Ontario Mayors’ Caucus, which make up EORN.
The network upgrades and expansion will cover 113 municipalities and Indigenous communities. “It is exciting to be part of this partnership with government that has the potential to create more than 3,000 new jobs, as much as $420 million in local economic growth, and vital 5G infrastructure for a safer, more prosperous, and connected future,” said Rogers president and CEO Joe Natale in a press release.
The work is expected to eliminate dead zones on rural highways, if you’re a Rogers customer, and improve accessibility to public and emergency services.
“Rogers has exceeded our expectations in terms of their investment to improve the region’s cellular infrastructure, demonstrating their commitment and passion for a stronger eastern Ontario,” said Murray Jones, EORN chair.
Work on the infrastructure expansion begins in spring 2021 and is expected to continue through 2025. Rogers will build more than 300 new cellular towers and upgrade another 300-plus existing towers over the course of the project and by the end, 99% of the region’s demand area will have access to mobile voice calling service, 95% of the region will have access to service that enables standard definition video, typical mobile app use, and video app calling, 85% of the region’s demand area will have access to high-definition services that allow HD video streaming, and consistent, reliable voice call coverage will be delivered on 11,000 kilometres of major roadways, including Highway 401.
