HAVING COMPLETED THE procurement phase of its regional broadband expansion program, Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) today provided an update saying it has awarded 95 contracts representing total investments of $268 million in broadband infrastructure to bring high-speed Internet access to 63,254 households and business across Southwestern Ontario by 2023.
“Through the program’s competitive procurement process, SWIFT has increased the project’s total infrastructure investment spend by 36% to deliver an additional $71 million in broadband internet improvements above and beyond the initial $197 million targeted investment goal,” reads SWIFT’s press release.
The number of premises passed will also exceed the program’s original target of 50,000 homes and business by 27%.
Contracts were awarded to 19 different Internet service providers, with 55% of the subsidies going directly to local service providers who live and do business in Southwestern Ontario communities, says the release.
“We’re proud of the program’s achievements, the ongoing support we’ve received from our municipal partners and for the positive response and strong partnerships we have formed with the service providers throughout the project’s region,” said Barry Field, executive director of SWIFT, in the press release. “With the procurement phase of the project now complete, we will be shifting our focus to network implementation in an effort to continue to work towards accelerating the rollout of services as quickly as possible so that residents can be brought online as soon as possible.”
Some of the SWIFT program’s highlights include:
- 5,221 kilometres of fibre-optic cable will be laid to service more than 4,100 kms of roads throughout the region.
- Collectively, the project will bring high-speed Internet access to 345 communities, including four First Nations.
- To date, of the projects awarded, 37 have begun construction, with four projects now fully completed and offering service.
- Construction in the remaining project areas will begin over the coming months with all SWIFT-funded networks expected to be up and running by June 2023.
- In total, the SWIFT program will increase access to high-speed connectivity for 30% of the underserved population within its project area, an increase from the target goal of 23%. As a result, 90% of the population in Southwestern Ontario will have access to speeds of at least 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload, the Universal Service Objective set by the CRTC in 2016.
For more on SWIFT’s project update, please click here.
