Bruce County continues on board to bring high-speed Internet to everyone

Bruce County council recognizes that working with the community to bring fibre-optic connectivity to every citizen, farm, business and organization, is critical to prosperity in this area.

While attending the Western Ontario Warden’s Caucus in Simcoe County, warden Paul Eagleson was pleased to support the continued leadership from Bruce County on the South Western Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) board.

Eagleson announced past warden Mitch Twolan’s continued leadership as a director of the SWIFT project.

"Having involvement in the leadership of the SWIFT project will ensure that the plan to connect more than 350 communities and more than 3.5-million Ontarians will best meet the needs of residents here,” said Eagleson.

Bruce County was a founding partner in SWIFT and continues to invest in this initiative. Council approved an annual contribution of $172,018.40 for five years, in June of 2017.

“With the ever-growing demand for connectivity, providing ultra-high speed broadband is just as critical to rural economic development now," said county chief administrative officer Kelley Coulter. "It's similar to connecting electricity to residents was in the 1950s.”

SWIFT is a project that was initiated by the Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus in 2011. The goal is to provide ultra-high speed broadband for everyone.

Also during the meeting, Twolan was appointed to the Economic Development Committee of Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus which will be launching a new Economic Development Strategy for the region.

Coulter was reappointed as Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus treasurer for the 2018 fiscal year.