LONDON – Rural broadband funding organization SWIFT today announced a new round of funding and that one project approved earlier this year has begun construction.
Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology awarded $2.6 million to Brooke Telecom Co-operative of Inwood, Ont. to implement a fibre-to-the-home project to connect approximately 530 households and businesses in rural areas between Petrolia, Wyoming, Watford and Alvinston, all communities just east of Sarnia.
“Today, as we award funding for a fifth project in Lambton County we can now proudly say that collectively more than 4400 homes and businesses, approximately 50% of the underserved premises in the County will now have access to some of the fastest, most reliable broadband available anywhere. Congratulations Lambton County this is truly an outstanding achievement,” said David Mayberry, SWIFT board chair, in the press release.
“We want to squeeze every last dollar out of the funds that have been made available to SWIFT to expand broadband in southwestern Ontario, however after initially awarding contracts in Lambton County some money was left on the table,” said Barry Field, executive director of SWIFT. “With the strategic investment made by the County of Lambton, SWIFT was able to leverage the unspent funds to award a fifth project that otherwise
wouldn’t have happened.”
Brooke Telecom, which replied to SWIFT’s initial Lambton County Request for Proposal (RFP), will also invest more than $2.7 million into the project and will receive more than $770,400 in federal and provincial funding to deploy fibre along a 150 kilometres of underserved road by the end of 2022, explains the release.
“Brooke Telecom’s mission is to deliver communication services to our local communities with exceptional customer experiences and this project will allow us to continue to do this for our existing co-operative members as well as provide the opportunity to expand our rural fibre services,” said Geoff Greening, general manager, of Brooke Telecom (which Cartt.ca profiled here in 2017). “Recent experience has proven the value of these investments for the sustainability of rural communities and the residents and businesses that call these communities home.”
SWIFT also announced today construction has begun on a project announced in January which will see Execulink Telecom build a fibre-to-the-home project in Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, just northeast of Sarnia (the groundbreaking ceremony is pictured above).
Execulink will deploy fibre along more than 35 kilometres of underserved roads within the First Nation to provide high-speed internet access to more than 900 homes and businesses by December 2020.
“Working in cooperation with many partners has brought us new relationships and new technology,” said Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point Chief Jason Henry, in the release. “As a result, Kettle and Stony Point First Nation will continue to grow and foster the resources in the region and beyond.”
“Providing access to fast and reliable Internet in underserviced rural communities within Southwestern Ontario has been an ongoing challenge,” added Ian Stevens, president and CEO of Execulink. “Unpredictable access to dependable Internet has negative impacts on work, education, connectivity, and entertainment. It’s time that those who call Kettle Point home receive the awesome experience they deserve.”
Once complete, the newly installed $2.7-million network will deliver up to gigabit speeds across its entire footprint.
