Huron County's CAO says the announcement by the federal government just before Christmas recognizing broadband as an essential service, could be the opportunity county council has been looking for to bring broadband service to Huron's most remote homes.
Huron County is part of the Western Warden's SWIFT project, designed to bring broadband service to all of Southwestern Ontario.
But Brenda Orchard points out the SWIFT project does not address what is called the last mile and Huron's local telecoms have already provided most of Huron County with the service the SWIFT project offers.
Orchard says a committee has been created to work on a grant application under the new federal program and they're hoping they can meet the deadline for applications of March 13.
Orchard says for many people broadband service is the equivalent of highways in the past and is a necessary service. She says the challenge has been to find a way to provide incentives to service providers to deliver that service to the most remote rural communities.
