It's only a few short years until Northumberland County sees results from the Eastern Ontario Regional Networks Cell Gap project, county council heard at its June meeting.
The news came in a presentation from EORN Chief Executive Officer David Fell, who recalled that the process had begun in 2014 and should be completed by 2025. That process included the selection of Rogers Communications as their partner in the project.
Fell expressed confidence in Rogers in meeting the goals of achieving 99% coverage in Eastern Ontario where people live, work and travel to the extent that they can make and receive cell-phone calls – and 95% coverage to permit people in this area to e-mail and access web and social-media services.
This will involved upgrading about 300 towers in the region and adding probably 300 more. In Northumberland County, 20 existing sites will be upgraded and 10 to 20 more will be added.
For those concerned about the use of Huawei equipment, Fell said, Rogers will be using Ericsson equipment instead.
The $30- million project will be funded 50% by Rogers. In addition, the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus will kick in $10-million, of which Northumberland County is providing $668,867. The remainder will be split evenly between the provincial and Federal governments. Administration costs thereafter are estimated at 6%.
Fell had a long list of benefits to the region, beginning with the increased competitive capacity the improved connectivity will afford.
“There will be a significant amount of Rogers employees and contractors in the region, staying in hotels, buying equipment, gas and food – it's a distinct economic benefit,” he added.
“One of the other reasons we were very pleased with Rogers – they have committed to working with EORN and to bring community-benefit opportunities.”
Rogers Senior Director of Project Management Sameer Sheth expanded on that, mentioning subsidized internet for seniors and families with children, as well as such opportunities as Ted Rogers Scholarships and Ted Rogers Community Grants.
Sheth said that the project will cover 11,000 km. of major roadways – where people live, work and travel – in 113 municipalities and Indigenous communities. He predicted the the creation of 3,000 new jobs and $420-million in economic growth.
“We see it as a responsibility to lift up the communities where we work and live,” he said.