(Perth County, ON) February 9, 2022 – SWIFT today announced that construction has begun in Perth County to bring fibre-to-the-home connectivity to 407 homes and businesses throughout the Township of Perth East and within the municipalities of North Perth and West Perth.
“SWIFT is proud to partner with local internet service providers as we work to further expand high-speed broadband infrastructure throughout Perth County and across Southwestern Ontario,” said Barry Field, Executive Director, SWIFT. “Together with Mornington Communications, Tuckersmith Communications and Wightman Telecom, the SWIFT program is driving greater fibre connectivity throughout Perth County’s rural and underserved areas to deliver fast reliable internet service to many more homes and businesses within the region’s municipalities.”
Mornington Communications, which was awarded funding through the SWIFT program to support the expansion of broadband infrastructure in Perth County, begun construction in September on a fibre-to-the-home network to service 202 homes and businesses along parts of Perth Road, 107, Perth Lines 40, 43 and 47, between Hampstead and Shakespeare in the Township of Perth East.
With construction of the fibre-optic network well underway, homes located in the project area along Line 43 now have access to high-speed connectivity as Mornington Communications has begun turning up service to residents in the area. Residents located in the remaining underserved project area will continue to be brought online in a phased approach as the buildout of the high-speed network continues to progress.
Construction of the new network is expected to be fully completed with service available to all locations within the funded project area by March 2022.
“I have always advocated for better service to rural Ontario. That’s why I am very pleased to announce that broadband will be extended to more rural and small communities here in Perth-Wellington,” said Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. “Hundreds of families and businesses will benefit from these expansion projects. That’s why I am pleased that our government is helping to build critical infrastructure needed to support communities in Perth and Wellington counties.”
“Broadband continues to be an essential utility in our everyday lives. Ensuring reliable access to high-speed internet across Southwestern Ontario levels the playing field allowing our rural residents and businesses to thrive. I am pleased to see the continued investment in our region and progress toward reaching these important project milestones. This is an important step toward improving rural broadband coverage across Perth County,” said Perth County Warden Jim Aitcheson.
Tuckersmith Communications has also started construction on a fibre-to-the-home network in the Municipality of West Perth to bring improved high-speed internet service to 114 rural underserved homes and businesses located throughout the communities of Slabtown, Bornholm and Willow Grove.
Construction of the new broadband infrastructure is expected to be completed with service fully available to all residents within the SWIFT funded project area by August 2022.
Work is also underway in the Municipality of North Perth as Wightman Telecom has begun construction on a fibre-optic network to bring high-speed connectivity to 91 homes located within the residential development of The Village Park located east of Listowel. Service is expected to be available to all locations within the SWIFT funded project area by March 2022.
For more information on SWIFT funded projects, including construction completion dates, please visit swiftruralbroadband.ca.
Quotes:
“As a co-operative, Mornington strives to bring fast, reliable Internet to our local communities. We’re proud to bring Fibre technology to our Amulree project; an area considered mostly under-served will soon have access to Internet speeds of up to 1 Gig.”
– Chelsea Smith, Brand Manager, Mornington Communications
“Tuckersmith Communications is pleased to partner with SWIFT in Perth County. This will allow us to extend our fibre network to many underserved rural residents.”
– Ian Mathew, Board Chair, Tuckersmith Communications
Additional Information:
Quick Facts:
- SWIFT, in partnership with the federal and provincial governments and private sector investors, has committed a combined investment of $6.6 million to bring high-speed internet service to 874 underserved homes and businesses throughout Perth County.
- In total, SWIFT has awarded 97 contracts to support the expansion of broadband infrastructure throughout Southwestern Ontario to bring more than 63,000 homes and businesses across the region improved access to high-speed internet. Local projects are underway, with 56 projects in the construction phase and 14 projects completed.
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, Caledon and the Niagara Region.
The project was approved for funding up to $127.4 million 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 bring 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
