Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus Awards Contracts to Connect 70,000 Households to Eastern Ontario Broadband Network

KAWARTHA LAKES, Peterborough County, Northumberland County, ON, May 22, 2012 /CNW/ - The Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus has awarded a Local Access Contract that will provide more than 70,000 homes and businesses improved access to high-speed Internet to a region including portions of the City of Kawartha Lakes and Peterborough County, as well as the northeastern corner of Northumberland County.

Bell Aliant, Xplornet Communications Inc. and Nexicom will extend high-speed access across the 6,100 square-kilometre area:

• Bell Aliant will provide wired or DSL service to more densely populated areas, primarily around the lakes in both Peterborough County and the City of Kawartha Lakes.
• Xplornet will extend access via wireless Internet by upgrading more than 30 existing structures and building three new sites.
• Nexicom, a well-established regional telecommunications company, will upgrade 27 of their existing sites in order to extend the reach of their wireless Internet access services, particularly in the eastern part of the zone. They will also provide a wired Internet access option to the community of Mount Pleasant, involving about four kilometres of new fibre optic cable.

The combined solution will provide customers with state-of-the-art technology, a wide range of options up to 10 Mbps or more, and competitive, urban pricing.

"We are extremely pleased to announce this contract," said Mel Campbell, Chair of the EOWC. "Each company provides a solution that complements the other. It demonstrates how using a mix of technologies and suppliers, we continue to make steady progress on our goal of expanding high-speed broadband Internet access across Eastern Ontario."

Satellite services will provide the balance of high-speed coverage in the area. Satellite access remains the best fit technology for very sparsely populated areas or regions with difficult terrain. Contracts have already been signed to deliver high-speed via satellite at improved pricing across Eastern Ontario.

This is the eighth of several contracts that will be awarded to deliver high-speed Internet through wired and fixed wireless services as part of the Eastern Ontario regional broadband project. The $170 million project is funded by federal, provincial and municipal governments and private sector investment. Work to build a massive, 5,500-km fibre optic network is already underway.

"We are making excellent progress in building a new regional network that will allow our residents and businesses to prosper," added Dave Burton, Chair of Eastern Ontario Regional Network Inc., (EORN). "Connecting to the Internet with higher speeds will open new doors for our communities in terms of quality of life and economic growth."

EORN is a not-for-profit organization established by the EOWC to manage all contracts awarded as part of the project.

Starting in the summer of 2012 and completing in the fall of 2013, a variety of service packages will be offered, ranging from 1.5 Mbps to more than 10 Mbps. These speeds will enable users to stream video and other innovative applications that will support various sectors, including business, health and education.

Disponible en français.

Lisa Severson
Communications & Stakeholder Relations Officer, EORN
613-213-8520
[email protected]