Four large-scale fibre projects awarded this week will deliver faster internet speeds to parts of Lambton County.
County of Lambton IT Manager Robert Wilks said the projects in Lambton Shores, Plympton-Wyoming, St. Clair Township and Kettle and Stoney Point First Nation will provide high-speed fibre-optic broadband services to more than 3,900 households and businesses.
"Council and staff have been working with SWIFT (Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology Inc.] for over five years now to try and improve internet services," said Wilks. "Last year when we were selected to be part of one of three pilots, that was great news, and now with this announcement knowing that the funding and the projects have been awarded, we finally get to see some shovels getting into the ground in 2020."
Fibre will be deployed along more than 127 kilometres in Lambton Shores and Plympton-Wyoming. The communities of Ravenswood, Gustin Grove, Cedar Point, Glendale Beach, Hillsborough Beach, Highland Glen, Springvale, Jericho, and Jura are included in the project. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.
The project in Kettle and Stoney Point, where some areas are still dependent on dial-up connectivity, is expected to be up and running by the end of this year.
In St. Clair Township, 80 kilometres of fibre will bring more reliable services to people in Babys Point, Port Lambton, Sombra, Wilkesport, Avonry, Mooretown and Brigden by the end of 2021.
"We still have a lot in southern Lambton and central Lambton that needs to be looked at. From a numbers perspective, I believe SWIFT estimated somewhere around 8,700 premises that were underserved with broadband. So, roughly 46 per cent of people that don't have internet today are going to be helped."
The broadband infrastructure projects are collectively valued at $11.4 million.
SWIFT has awarded $6.5 million in provincial and federal funding for the projects, which will also be supported by two service providers, Cogeco Connexions and Execulink Telecom.
