High-Speed Internet Coming To Bancroft And L'amable Area

The Town of Bancroft is among 15 successful municipalities moving forward with plans to build local broadband infrastructure thanks to a partnership with the Ontario government.

The Rural Connections Broadband Program provides funding to help rural municipalities build high-speed Internet projects in their communities. The program's goal is to bring broadband access to rural and remote areas currently under-serviced in southern Ontario.

The province will provide funding for one-third of the approved eligible costs of the project. The Bancroft to L'Amable project is eligible for $152,967.

Broadband combines telecommunications infrastructure and service to deliver more Internet information at speeds far greater than dial-up service.

QUOTES

"This announcement will give our businesses, students and teachers, healthcare professionals and citizens the hi-tech tools they need to succeed and do business," said Leona Dombrowsky, MPP for Prince Edward-Hastings and Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. "I am delighted that Bancroft and Faraday Township have partnered to bring forward a successful proposal which shows their commitment to community broadband expansion and to providing their citizens with the best technology possible."

"This is a wonderful opportunity for the Town of Bancroft," said Mayor Lloyd Churchill. "We have worked diligently to come up with an infrastructure strategy that would provide broadband connectivity to most of our residents. This announcement is a significant building block enabling our community to attract sustainable development."

QUICK FACTS

• Today's announcement of 15 new broadband projects amounts to a provincial commitment of $8.8 million. In the next four years, the Ontario government will invest up to $30 million in rural partnerships that will build rural Ontario's broadband infrastructure.
• Bancroft collaborated on this proposal with Faraday Township.
• In 2007, 18 projects marked the first wave of broadband infrastructure undertaken jointly by rural municipalities and the province. Thanks to the province's strategy, today's announcement brings the total to 33 projects.
  

LEARN MORE

About the Rural Connections Broadband Program

For more information, contact:

Sherry Persaud, Minister Dombrowsky's Office, 416-326-6439
Brent Ross, Communications Branch, 416-326-9342