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Eight more communities in rural Ontario to benefit from access to high-speed internet

Today, the governments of Canada and Ontario announced a joint investment of over C$4 million to bring high-speed internet access to more than 400 homes in the communities of Crosshill, Dorking, Hawkesville, Heidelberg, Linwood, Millbank, St. Clements and Wellesley.

Residents can use the new interactive online map, launched earlier this year by the Ontario government, to see where provincially funded high-speed internet projects are planned, are currently under way, or have been recently completed.

Since the start of the year, the federal and provincial governments have been making  investments in similar large-scale fibre-based projects totalling at least C$120 million.

Earlier this month, the governments of Canada and Ontario invested more than C$71 million to bring high-speed internet to 22,000 homes in rural Eastern Ontario.

The projects are part of the Canada-Ontario broadband partnership, announced in 2021 to connect more than 280,000 homes across the province by 2025 through a historic joint investment commitment of more than C$1.2 billion.

While Bell copped the contract for most of the previous large-scale fibre based projects, this one went to Mornington Communications, an independent cooperative telco provider headquartered in Milverton, ON.

“Mornington is thrilled to work in partnership with the Government of Canada to bring true high-speed Internet services to more of Wellesley Township,” said Kenneth Taylor, general manager of Mornington Communications. “One of Mornington’s core principles is to connect the underserved, which aligns perfectly with the Universal Broadband Fund. We’re eager to break ground and start construction!”

The release says that today’s investment builds on the government of Canada’s progress toward ensuring that 98 per cent of Canadians have access to high-speed internet by 2026, and 100 per cent by 2030.

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