Rural broadband may soon be on its way to Grey County, but The Blue Mountains (TBM) mayor is skeptical it will serve the more sparsely populated rural areas.
SWIFT, (Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology) is a non-profit regional broadband project that was initiated by the Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus to subsidize the construction of high-speed broadband networks across Southwestern Ontario.
SWIFT is currently overseeing a $209 million Southwestern Ontario broadband expansion plan that aims to connect 22 per cent of the region’s underserved premises over the next three years. The company released the tender for the Grey County portion of the project on June 22.
“The concept is good. It is a badly needed service for our rural areas. However, looking at what SWIFT has accomplished to date and the projects that have been done to date, I have started to develop some concerns about the execution,” says TBM Mayor Alar Soever.
Soever explains he's doubtful the truly rural areas will get high-quality broadband service.
“When you look at these areas, they are semi-rural, small towns, beachfront communities, where they can pick up quite a few customers without extending out into the rural areas,” he says. “If you really want to get internet access to rural areas, like Duncan, I don’t think they will ever be served under this program.”
Grey County Warden Paul McQueen said access to high-speed internet is "crucial" for business, education and "our overall way of life."
“Grey County is excited to know residents across our county are one step closer to greater access to reliable high-speed broadband service with the advancement of the SWIFT project in our area,” says Grey County warden, Paul McQueen.
According to Soever, of the project’s SWIFT has tackled so far, only four of the 11 projects are serving areas with less than 1,000 residential homes.
“There are 11 projects so far, in Norfolk, Wellington and Lambton counties. But, if you look at the projects, only four of the 11 are in really rural areas,” Soever says. “SWIFT is just an intermediary there. It is another level of administration and bureaucracy. I think it is going to target the low-hanging fruit, which you can see from the projects that they have done today.”
The RFPs for Grey County portion of the SWIFT project will close on July 10, and includes a total investment of $15 million worth of infrastructure.
The RFP is asking pre-qualified service providers to submit network designs and proposals to address broadband service gaps in eligible funding areas.
Each proposal will be evaluated based on predefined assessment criteria, which includes: the ability to provide 50 Mbps down, 10 Mbps up (50/10) service or greater; number of premises passed; future scalability of the network; and service provider contribution proportion.
“SWIFT, through its public and private partnerships, is advancing the expansion of high-speed networks across our region to close internet service gaps,” says Barry Field, executive director for SWIFT.
The overarching SWIFT project has a total $209-million price tag, which is being paid for with an investment fund that includes a collective contribution of $17.6 million from the 14 partner-municipalities and $64 million each from private sector, province and federal governments.
The project was approved for funding under the New Building Canada Fund – Small Communities Fund, a joint federal and provincial infrastructure funding program.
On top of his concerns surrounding the program's ability to deliver to TBM’s rural communities, Soever is calling for a review of the program’s expenditures.
“We would like more transparency and accountability. I do not feel well-informed and the more I look into it, the more questions I have. It seems to be another layer of bureaucracy that is spending a lot of money," he said.
However, Grey County CAO, Kim Wingrove says despite how the program will roll out, the 15-to-one return on investment the county will see with this project should be considered a win.
“Grey County has put in slightly more than one million into the SWIFT program and will receive, under the RFPs that are out right now, in excess of 15 million dollars,” Wingrove said. “So, we are seeing some significant investment in infrastructure based on the investment that we have made.”
Deputy Mayor Rob Potter says TBM council will be striking its own SWIFT-related task force at a meeting scheduled for next week.
“I would like to know more about what kind of say we will have with these projects, what kind of say our ratepayers will have and what kind of reporting we will get in return,” Potter said.
Wingrove noted that an embargo on SWIFT’s public and partner communication was recently lifted, and county staff intend to invite SWIFT's executive director back to the county council table to provide further project details in the near future.
