Broadband infrastructure development in rural southern Ontario part of Ontario-Canada deal
Greater broadband access for rural Ontario
By Mark Hoult
Peterborough Cty. – One of the benefits of the recently signed $6.2 billion Building Canada Plan Framework Agreement will be greater broadband Internet access for residents of rural southern Ontario, says Peterborough MPP Jeff Leal.
The signing of the federal-provincial agreement “sets the stage” for a series of joint infrastructure projects and will enable rural communities in southern Ontario to apply for funding to expand high-speed Internet capacity under the Ontario government’s four-year $30-million Rural Connections Broadband Program, designed to provide Internet users in under-serviced rural communities with easier and faster Internet access, said Leal in a media release this week. He stressed that accessible, affordable and reliable Internet service is essential to promote social and economic development.
Better Internet service also makes government services and programs more readily available, he said, noting that the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is now accepting applications from rural municipalities under the Rural Connections Broadband Program.
Leal stressed that the new partnership formed by the signing of the Build Canada infrastructure agreement will bring Ontario citizens closer together. “There is no question that after months of negotiation, the province and the federal government have reached an agreement that will benefit all of Ontario,” he said. “This announcement is good for the riding of Peterborough, and will allow our local municipalities to advance a number of important projects.”
Ontario Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure George Smitherman stressed that “infrastructure is about more than bricks and mortar.
“Better broadband access may literally be out of sight but it is top of mind if we are to create a more cohesive, prosperous province and country where people can more easily connect with each other and information sources.”
Peterborough County Warden Ron Gerow said the county is already on the front lines in establishing broadband Internet networks. “We are the leader in Ontario when it comes to broadband conductivity,” he said.
Last year the county received $1 million in funding from the province to enhance its broadband Internet initiative. In partnership with Nexicom it has installed 23 new broadband towers, and plans to apply for funds to enter the next phase of tower construction, with a special commitment to focussing on what Gerow calls “the black holes” in the existing network. The gaps are areas where residents have not been able to get a signal from any of the existing towers. One such hole is in Belmont-Methuen Township, he said. The tower erected on Preston Road provides a broadband signal to residents of the Belmont and Round Lake areas, as well as some service to the Cordova Mines area. However, efforts are continuing to bring full access to Cordova, Gerow said, noting that a new tower will be constructed at the south end of Cordova Lake near the dam. A site has been identified, and the county is now waiting for the Ministry of Natural Resources to do an environmental assessment, he said. “This tower will take priority in the next grouping and should be up by the late fall or spring of 2009.”
Meanwhile the county and Nexicom are looking at options to provide broadband service to Sama Park, east of Havelock, Gerow said. And in Asphodel-Norwood, meetings with local landowners are taking place in efforts to find sites for broadband towers. At the same time Bell Canada continues moving forward with projects to enhance its DSL high-speed service across Peterborough County, Gerow said.
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Canadian Rural Broadband to Expand
By Brendan B. Read - July 25, 2008
More Canadian consumers, businesses, and institutions will have access to IP telephony, easier online commerce, telehealth, and to home working opportunities thanks just-announced and recent initiatives by the federal and Ontario provincial governments.
Eastern and southern Ontario rural communities will get more broadband access as part of $6.2 billion+ package of new infrastructure investments signed July 24 by the two governments. Officials will work with rural communities in those regions to identify potential projects to expand broadband coverage.
The deal, the Canada-Ontario Framework Agreement, will be administered by Building Canada, the federal government’s long-term infrastructure plan. It also includes road and transit investments that will help urban as well as rural employees access their workplaces.
Ontario is seeking the first group of local government applicants for rural broadband project funding under Rural Connections, a $30 million four-year rural broadband initiative launched in March 2008 that is aimed at the southern part of the province. The deadline for the first intake of applications is Sept. 18, 2008.There will be a second intake, the documentation for which is due Feb.12, 2009.
The province will contribute up to one-third of eligible costs, up to $1 million per application. Municipalities are responsible for securing the remaining share of the eligible costs from their own resources and/or from partner contributions.
Local members of parliament (MPs) were thrilled with the July 24 federal-provincial announcement.
Daryl Kramp, who represents the Belleville, Ontario area, told a radio station there that he has been working on the rural broadband brief and was glad to see it happen.
Guy Lauzon, whose district is in eastern Ontario, believes expanded rural broadband will have a positive impact on the communities in his area, which includes Cornwall.
“In this age of e-business and e-health, providing and expanding broadband services to rural communities in southern and eastern Ontario are key to ensuring the long-term health and prosperity of these communities and their residents,” says Lauzon.