(Lambton County, ON) December 15, 2020 –Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) is pleased to report that Execulink Telecom has begun construction of a new fibre-to-the-home network in Lambton County to improve broadband services in the communities of Lambton Shores and Plympton-Wyoming.
“SWIFT continues to drive forward with its broadband expansion plans in Lambton County,” said David Mayberry, SWIFT Board Chair. “In a time when access to high-speed internet is critical, we are pleased to be working with our community leaders and private sector investors to provide better broadband services to help businesses continue to grow and communities to thrive.”
“Seeing these projects break ground and make progress towards completion is very exciting,” said Lambton County Warden Kevin Marriott. “This area is one of many in Lambton County seeing increasing development of new homes and subdivisions. Having fast, reliable broadband services here, and across the entire county, will certainly help attract new residents to the area, provide an essential service to current residents and help our local businesses continue to grow regardless of where they are located in the county.”
Execulink Telecom, which entered into a funding agreement with SWIFT to deploy more than 50 kilometres of fibre-optic cabling to bring better connectivity to 990 homes and businesses, has now broken ground on the high-speed infrastructure project.
“Our partnership with SWIFT is allowing us to tackle the ongoing challenge of providing access to fast and reliable Internet in underserviced rural communities within Southwestern Ontario. We look forward to increasing accessibility to reliable, high-speed Internet and expanding our Fibre footprint in Lambton County,” said Ian Stevens, President and CEO, Execulink Telecom.
SWIFT has awarded $1.5 million in federal and provincial funding to support the $2.2 million joint venture which is expected to be completed, with services available by mid-2021.
“SWIFT is proud to be partnering with Execulink to bring greater access to high-speed services to many more residents living in the Lambton Shores and Plympton-Wyoming areas,” said Barry Field, Executive Director, SWIFT. “The work that is being completed will benefit underserved populations within the region and is one of several projects that has been approved to expand high-speed broadband services within the County of Lambton.”
Today’s announcement is part of SWIFT’s $209 million broadband expansion plan that aims to bring better broadband access to approximately 50,000 underserved homes and businesses across Southwestern Ontario.
Additional Information:
Lambton County Project Overview
Quick Facts:
- SWIFT, in partnership with the federal and provincial governments and private sector investors, announced a combined investment of $17.6 million to deliver high-speed internet to more than 4,500 underserved homes and businesses within the County of Lambton.
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