(Bruce, ON) June 01, 2021 – Today SWIFT announced that construction has now begun on two fibre-to-the-home projects in Bruce County to bring improved internet access to more than 350 homes and businesses throughout the Municipality of South Bruce, within the Township of Huron-Kinloss and in the village of Formosa.
“Today’s announcement marks the beginning of construction on two more SWIFT funded projects in Bruce County and we are proud to be partnering with local internet service providers, such as Huron Telecommunications and Wightman Telecom, to bring improved broadband service to many more rural residents living within the Municipality of South Bruce and throughout the Township of Huron-Kinloss,” said Barry Field, Executive Director, SWIFT. “In total SWIFT has awarded funding to support eight high-speed fibre-optic projects, three of which have now begun construction, to bring greater connectivity to more than 5,220 underserved homes and businesses throughout Bruce County.”
Huron Telecommunications has started construction of a $1.3 million high-speed broadband network to provide service to nearly 130 homes and businesses in the rural areas located east of Lucknow in the Township of Huron-Kinloss and the Municipality of South Bruce.
Work is also now underway in the village of Formosa located in the Municipality of South Bruce, as Wightman Telecom has begun construction of a $1.1 million high-speed fibre-optic network to bring fast, reliable internet service to more than 220 homes and businesses within the community.
Construction of both high-speed internet projects are slated to be completed with service fully available by the spring of 2022.
“The construction of broadband infrastructure in the Municipality of South Bruce and the Township of Huron-Kinloss is underway, and more people and businesses in the county will soon have access to fast, reliable internet service,” said Ernie Hardeman, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. “This is an important step forward in our plan to connect every community in Ontario to broadband internet by 2025.”
“The continual progress in bringing fast and reliable internet access to our communities positions Bruce County as an attractive location for newcomers and development, which positively impacts our economic prosperity. I am proud to see these projects coming to fruition, allowing families and businesses access to such an essential service,” said Bruce County Warden Janice Jackson.
“HuronTel is pleased to begin construction on this project, expanding our fibre optic network to a large under-served area of Bruce County,” says Ryan McClinchey, General Manager at HuronTel. “This project, with the support of SWIFT, builds on HuronTel’s commitment to serve the residents and businesses in our small towns and rural communities with much needed high-speed internet.”
For more information on SWIFT funded projects, including construction completion dates, please visit our approved project page to learn more.
Quick Facts:
- SWIFT, in partnership with the federal and provincial governments and private sector investors, announced a combined investment of $16.3 million to deliver high-speed internet to more than 5,220 underserved homes and businesses within Bruce County.
- In April, SWIFT announced that GBTEL had started construction of fibre-optic network in the Municipality of South Bruce to bring improved broadband service to more than 250 homes and businesses located between Sauble Beach and Allenford in the Town of South Bruce Peninsula.
Additional Information:
Bruce County Project Overview
About SWIFT:
Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) is a non-profit regional broadband project initiated by the Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus to subsidize the construction of high-speed broadband networks across Southwestern Ontario.
The project was approved for funding under the New Building Canada Fund – Small Communities Fund (NBCF-SCF), a joint federal and provincial infrastructure funding program, and leverages additional funding from municipal partners and private sector investors to improve access to broadband services across the region.
Media Contact:
Melissa O’Brien
[email protected]
Manager, Communications and Stakeholder Relations
Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology
226.256.1640