Cogeco interested in bringing fibre for high speed internet to Addington Highlands

Jeff Green | Oct 03, 2019

As the world moves towards an even more wired state, readying for 5G technology that will make driverless cars a reality in some locations, “fibre is king” said Grahame Soley from Cogeco, in a presentation to Addington Highlands Council on Tuesday afternoon (October 1) in Flinton.

Soley came to Council as a follow-up to a request from Cogeco that Council has already endorsed.

“This is kind of a reverse,” Soley said when he started, “usually I come to make a presentation and then ask for a letter of endorsement and a non-disclosure agreement, but in this case those things have already been done, thank you for that. I am here now to talk about how we can work together.”

A federal-provincial granting program is pending, which will provide incentives for companies to invest in fibre optic cable that can deliver the new standard for high-speed internet (download speeds of 50megabits per second and upload speeds of 10megabits per second) in rural and remote regions of Ontario and Quebec.

“Cogeco is investing a billion dollars in this because, if the government is willing to pay 70% or a more, we want to be able to have the funds ready to jump in, and we want to do as much engineering as we can. We want to learn as much as we can about what is on the ground and what the needs are in places like Addington Highlands, in order to make a strong bid when the time comes,” he said.

Cogeco has decided to focus on Lennox and Addington, Hastings and Northumberland Counties and that is why Soley has been criss-crossing the region talking to politicians at the township and county level about the project and seeking information about the key locations for fibre within a community, “things like township offices, libraries, businesses, new developments that are being planned, so we can fine tune our plans.”

He said that when the details about the focus of the funding under the upcoming Universal Broadband and Accelerated Investment Initiative, Cogeco and all the other companies wising to bid will have to react.

“If the program focusses on the most remote locations, it will look different than if it wants to start where there is a higher population,” he said.

Cogeco has a fibre network within the 401 corridor, including fibre in Napanee and Loyalist Township, but is looking to expand into Stone Mills and Addington Highlands with the support of federal grants.

He said the company is looking at the possibility of extending branch lines off the main fibre line, in order to make services available in as wide an area as possible.

Reeve Hogg asked if Cogeco is working within the Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) program which has just received federal funding to match a provincial funding commitment.  Soley said that while EORN’s focus is mainly on cell gap coverage for phone service, this is a broadband Internet initiative.

“We have met with EORN officials because the two programs should support each other,” he said.

Finally, he said that supporting the Cogeco initiative does not tie the townships hands.

“If some other company comes along, I would encourage the township to help them out as well. It will increase the chances of a project coming to Addington Highlands, which would be good for residents and good for the township.”

Township to proceed with bylaw enforcement

Council was about to go in Camera, but before doing so Reeve Hogg asked two women who were at the meeting, what had drawn them to attend. It turned out they were Loir Ellerbeck and Maureen Martin, the owners of the Mazniaw Lakeside Resort. They had heard that the matter of the township seeking a $3,000 remedy for a noise bylaw infraction, from the public showing of a Tragically Hip DVD video, was on the agenda. Hogg told them to wait outside for a few minutes, and they were then invited in to the in-camera session as a delegation. They stayed for a few minutes, and found out that letters of support for them had been submitted to the township. But they were discouraged because they had questions about the case that had not been answered during the meeting.

When the incamera session ended, the township reports that Council had “received an update from the township solicitor regarding a contravention of the Township’s Noise By-law including letters of support for the defendant.”