BRUCE COUNTY, Ont. — Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology Inc. (SWIFT) announced last Friday construction has started on a $1.3-million high-speed broadband infrastructure project in Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation located in Bruce County, Ont.
Funded by the federal and provincial governments through SWIFT, the project will bring fibre Internet service to 297 homes and businesses within the community, according to a SWIFT press release.
Independent ISP GBTel was awarded the contract in November 2020 as part of a larger SWIFT funding announcement for Bruce County.
GBTel is receiving $859,181 in combined federal-provincial funding to service 30 kilometres of underserved roadways within the First Nation territory, according to the approved projects page on SWIFT’s website.
An Ontario government press release says the federal and provincial governments have each invested more than $429,000 in the project.
“Construction of the high-speed fibre-optic project is forecasted to be complete with service fully available to all locations within the network’s footprint by June 2023,” reads SWIFT’s release.
“This is a collaborative project with significant work being provided by GBTEL, SWIFT and the community leaders of the Chippewas of Nawash,” Richard Gils, president of GBTel, said in the release.
“This project is an exceptional example of how a First Nation’s community can work with a public-private partnership to radically enhance the telecommunications services absolutely essential to the growth of a First Nation’s rural community,” Gils added.
