High-speed internet will soon come to hundreds of households in the Town of Bancroft.
In an announcement from Bay of Quinte MP Neil Ellis on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, the Feds will invest over $700,000 to bring high-speed internet to homes in Bancroft and parts of Prince Edward County. The money came from the Universal Broadband Fund, which is aiming to quickly get Canadians on a high-speed network. On top of that, Bell Canada will invest $1.6 Million to connect around 870 households with fibre-optic cables and increase wireless broadband coverage in Town. A spokesperson for Bell predicts that these improvements will be noticed by residents either by the fall of 2021 or early next year.
Mayor Paul Jenkins says that at this point in Bancroft’s development, the announcement is timely and important. With new housing projects coming to Town and seasonal residents taking up living here full time, the topic he is asked the most about is access to broadband. From the information Jenkins has, he predicts that this funding will cover up to 90% of broadband users in the geographical Town of Bancroft. Jenkins called the moment a tipping point, as he believes improved internet speeds are essential to the new way of conducting business.
However, he stressed that for outlying areas, there was still work to do, and pledged his continued support for the Eastern Ontario Regional Network’s Gig Project, which plans to connect 95% of Eastern Ontario to high-speed internet. MP Ellis said that the project was on the Minister’s desk and more announcements related to broadband will come around in the coming weeks.