The $17 million project, fully funded and executed by Bell Canada, will bring fast, reliable internet to 7,000 underserved homes and businesses in the West Niagara town. Photo credit: Bell
Canada’s largest communications technology company is helping the Town of Lincoln get up to speed with its internet connectivity.
On Monday, Bell announced a major expansion of pure fibre internet service to homes and businesses across Lincoln. Part of the company’s capital expenditure for investment in next-generation network infrastructure, the expansion program will bring all-fibre broadband access to approximately 7,000 locations throughout the town by 2024.
“We are proud to bring our pure fibre connection to over 7,000 households and businesses in the Town of Lincoln,” said Bruce Furlong, Senior Vice-President of Network at Bell.
“Residents need fast and reliable Internet connections more than ever to stay connected at home or at work.”
Fully funded by Bell, the new broadband program will provide fast and high-capacity 100 per cent fibre connections with internet download and upload speeds of up to 3 Gbps.
The entire project will cost an estimated $17 million and run throughout 2023 and 2024.
“Providing greater and improved broadband access to residents and businesses in Lincoln has been a top priority for Council and Staff over the past several years,” said Sandra Easton, Mayor of Lincoln.
“Bell’s investment is most welcome and much needed for our community, and through our partnership with Bell, thousands in Lincoln are expected to benefit from improved internet access, a necessity for residents and businesses alike.”
Residents of Lincoln, as well as many other parts of West Niagara, have suffered from poor internet connection for years.
Internet connectivity and broadband access has been a featured topic on the Town’s public engagement site ‘Speak Up Lincoln’, as well as the subject of a comprehensive report from economic development staff to Council.
Lincoln CAO Mike Kirkopoulous indicated municipal staff were instrumental in getting Bell to commit to the infrastructure investment.
“Town staff played a key role in this broadband expansion by working closely with Bell to identify the need and work on an expedited permitting process in order for Bell to install the new infrastructure,” said Kirkopoulous.
“This investment to bring broadband internet to Lincoln has been an important element of our workplan – thank you to Bell for this historic announcement for our community.”
Regional Councillor for Lincoln Robert Foster has also been a long-time champion of bringing enhanced internet connectivity to rural communities around southern Ontario in his capacity as executive board member on the Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) project.
SWIFT is a non-profit municipally-led broadband expansion project created to improve internet connectivity in underserved communities and rural areas across Southwestern Ontario.
SWIFT, in partnership with the federal and provincial governments and private sector investors, has invested $21.2 million on four major projects to bring high-speed internet service to thousands of homes and businesses across Niagara.
