Highlands East Mayor Dave Burton says progress is being made to expand mobile and broadband coverage. Burton is on the Eastern Ontario Regional Network’s board of directors, which has been tasked with closing high-speed internet and cellular coverage gaps in the region. The Ontario government committed $71 million towards the project in April. Burton says he was in Ottawa last week meeting with Eastern Ontario M.P’s to make a case for a contribution from the federal government.
Burton adds that he feels that building up the region’s high-speed internet and cell coverage capabilities is as important as infrastructure.
The total cost of the initiative is around $213 million according to E.O.R.N. officials with the remainder of the balance to come from the private sector. Last year, E.O.R.N Co-lead Jim Pine said once the funding is in place, it will take four-to-five years to close the gaps.