Ontario provincial and federal funding will help provide high-speed internet access for over 1,500 homes, farms and businesses in Brant County.
By Andrew Joseph, Farms.com; Image via www.pixabay.com
On April 20, 2022, OMAFRA (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs) announced that the Brant County is in line for an upgrade to better broadband internet access that will unite over 1,500 farms, homes and businesses.
The plan is for every community in Ontario and Canada to have high-speed internet access by 2025.
Expected to be completed by May of 2023, the governments of Canada and Ontario are each spending $3 million to support construction of new broadband infrastructure. It will provide access to high-speed internet to over 1,500 homes, farms and businesses in the communities of: Harrisburg, Harley, Fairfield Plain, Burtch, Newport, and Middleport.
These new connections will help farms and businesses to attract new customers, grow their operations and create new jobs, and will also enable people in these areas to connect online to work, learn and pursue opportunities.
“For communities to remain vibrant and resilient in our increasingly digital world, reliable access to internet is a necessity,” said Bryan May, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defense and Member of Parliament for Cambridge, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities. “The construction of a new fibre optic network will bring modern internet access to over 1,500 homes, farms and businesses in Brant County.”
“Our government is getting it done and delivering on its commitment to provide access to high-speed internet throughout rural Ontario,” said Lisa Thompson, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
She continued: “Building new broadband infrastructure in Brant County will help build Ontario and strengthen rural communities by helping people stay in touch with loved ones, enabling them to access the supports they need, while providing a much-needed boost to the local economy.”
The completion of this projects will provide farms and businesses the ability to attract new customers, grow their operations, create new jobs, and stay competitive in today’s digital marketplace. It will also help more rural Ontarians work, learn, access essential services and stay in touch with family and friends, no matter where they live.
“Raising a family and living or working in a rural community should not be a barrier to internet access,” said Will Bouma, MPP for Brantford - Brant. “I’m really pleased to see this project in Brantford-Brant as it will help connect many more businesses and residents to the high-speed internet they need. This investment will bring new opportunities for these areas and builds on our government’s efforts to expand high-speed internet access throughout Ontario.”
The deal to expand broadband services was contracted to Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) Inc., a not-for-profit corporation, initiated by local municipalities to address connectivity in Southwestern Ontario.
“Today, in partnership with the governments of Ontario and Canada, we are pleased to announce that construction of new high-speed broadband infrastructure has begun in Brant County to bring greater connectivity to more than 1,500 homes and businesses,” said Gary McNamara, SWIFT Board Chair. “This milestone in SWIFT’s regional broadband expansion plan is another step in the right direction to achieving the level of connectivity in Southwestern Ontario that is required in today’s highly connected world.”
More than $255 million has been invested by the Governments of Canada and Ontario and the private sector, to bring high-speed internet to more than 58,000 households and businesses in Southwestern Ontario through SWIFT.
The Ontario government is committing nearly $4 billion in broadband infrastructure to connect every region of the province with access to high speed internet by the end of 2025.