City supports bringing high-speed Internet to underserved areas of Oshawa

The City of Oshawa is supporting an application from Rogers Communications for federal funding to bring high-speed Internet to some areas of Oshawa.

Rogers has submitted an application under the Federal Government’s $1.75 billion Universal Broadband Fund to connect eligible homes and businesses in Oshawa to Rogers’ high-speed Internet network.

According to the city, the households are primarily in the rural areas of Oshawa, and the application would also see connection for businesses in the Northwood Business Park.

The City says there are no associated costs to the municipality of community members in connection with the application.

Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter says the city looks forward to working with Rogers to support this important application that will “extend the city’s fibre backbone to the Northwood Business Park and rural areas of the city, including Columbus and Raglan.”

“This initiative supports the mandate of the Mayor’s Economic Recovery Task Force that is identifying actions to support the full recovery of the city’s economy and opportunities to support local businesses impacted by the pandemic,” he says.

In 2018, Oshawa City Council adopted a Broadband Strategy that identified many residents in rural and remote areas that did not have access to broadband Internet services that are comparable to those offered to the vast majority of Canadians in terms of speed, capacity, and quality.

If Rogers’ application is approved, the project will extend broadband capabilities, providing residents and businesses in underserved areas with better access to government services, e-commerce and Internet-based resources; impact the community’s economic and employment growth, social development, resiliency, ongoing viability, and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic; and improve access to essential services, including tele-health, distance learning, social inclusiveness, and telework.

Furthermore, the project will provide more opportunities for residents and businesses to participate in the digital economy; and connect and facilitate the development of small businesses and entrepreneurship and facilitate industrial applications.

The federal government announced the launch of the application portal for the $1.75 billion Universal Broadband Fund in November 2020 with a goal of bringing high-speed Internet to 98 per cent of Canadians by 2026.