The RFP is expected to close on September 26th with contracts being awarded and agreements in place later this Fall.
On August 2nd, SWIFT issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the design and construction of a $12.1million high-speed broadband infrastructure project in Wellington County.
Internet Services Providers (ISPs) that have been prequalified through SWIFT’s Request for Prequalification (RFPQ) process have been invited to submit network proposals aimed at connecting business facilities, public buildings and residences in underserved areas within the County.
“Access to affordable and reliable internet service is vital to the economic and social well-being of our region, its residents, business owners and youth,” says Barry Field, SWIFT Chief Operating Officer. “Today’s announcement confirms that we are moving in the right direction to address the region’s connectivity challenges as we continue to work with local ISPs to expand broadband infrastructure into underserved communities.”
The Wellington County RFP is now available to SWIFT’s prequalified ISPs for review on bids&tenders™, an electronic tendering service.
The RFP is expected to close on September 26th at which point SWIFT will evaluate all compliant proposals based on pre-determined evaluation criteria, which include the following factors:
- Premises/households passed
- Number of fibre kilometres constructed
- Technology scalability towards symmetrical 1Gbps service
- ISP contribution proportion
- Residential rate for 50/10 service
- Timeline to complete project
- Connection to sites of public benefit
- Ability to meet project objectives
SWIFT’s evaluation process is scheduled to take place early October with contracts and agreements being award and announced later this Fall.
The SWIFT initiative will be delivered in a phased approach starting with three initial projects, one each in the counties of Norfolk, Wellington and Lambton.
Upon the successful completion of the project’s procurements in the initial three counties, SWIFT intends to move forward with the next phase of its initiative to ensure the expansion of high-speed connectivity throughout the remaining communities in Southwestern Ontario.
Quick Facts
- Estimated cost to ‘fiberize’ all underserved areas in Wellington County is $168 million.
- $12.1 million will begin the initial first steps in the process to address connectivity challenges within Wellington County, however not all household/premises located in underserved areas (50/10) within the region are guaranteed to be connected during this phase of the project.
- SWIFT was approved for funding up to $127.4 million under the Canada-Ontario Small Communities Fund (SCF), a joint federal and provincial infrastructure funding program. SWIFT is leveraging additional funding from municipal partners and private sector investors to bring the total project investment to $209 million.
