SWIFT intends to award 90% of the project’s contracts by the end of 2020.
Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) is pleased to announce that the municipally-led broadband expansion project has now officially issued approximately $197 million in Request for Proposals (RFPs) to expand broadband access throughout Southwestern Ontario.
The release of the RFPs is part of SWIFT’s continued commitment to increase access to fast, reliable high-speed internet services throughout the region.
The regional project is being delivered in a phased approach and as a result in January 2020, SWIFT in partnership with the federal and provincial governments and private sector investors announced a combined investment of $35 million to deliver high-speed internet to more than 10,700 underserved homes and businesses across the counties of Norfolk, Lambton and Wellington.
Now in the third phase of its broadband expansion plan, SWIFT is on track to close all Phase 3 RFPs before the end of 2020 and intends to award 90% of the project’s contracts by the end of 2020 and 100% by January 2021.
All selected and approved projects will be announced once SWIFT has completed its evaluation assessment and has executed contracts with the Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
To view SWIFT’s full tendering schedule, including procurement values, closing dates and RFP status updates, click here.
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 the total project investment to $209 million to improve access to broadband services across the region.
