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Accelerated High-Speed Internet Program

Location:
Ontario
Project Type:
Commercial
Infrastructure Type:
Other
Client:
Ministry of Infrastructure

About Accelerated High-Speed Internet Program:

The Government of Ontario has committed nearly $4 billion to bring access to reliable, high-speed internet to unserved and underserved communities across the province by the end of 2025. This is the largest single investment in high-speed internet, in any province, by any government in Canadian history.

This investment will help ensure that every household and business, in every community, has access to the digital world. The Ontario government continues to move forward on  existing initiatives to help connect communities, while working closely with its partners. On April 12, 2021,  the Ontario Legislature passed the Supporting Broadband and Infrastructure Expansion Act, 2021 to help speed up construction of high-speed internet projects. To build upon this legislation, the Ontario government passed the Getting Ontario Connected Act, 2022, which further reduces barriers, duplication and delays.

To connect the remaining communities across the province, Infrastructure Ontario led a new, innovative procurement process that started in summer 2021. The transparent and competitive process enabled Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to bid for provincial subsidies through a series of reverse auction events for defined geographic areas, based upon requirements for high-speed internet infrastructure deployment, resulting in the Province helping to connect unserved and underserved homes and businesses. The Ontario government has signed agreements with eight ISPs to bring access to municipalities across Ontario.

Latest News

Project Status:

  • Request for Qualifications Issued: September 9, 2021
  • Request for Proposals Issued: November 30, 2021 
  • Contracts Awarded: August 4, 2022 

Contracts Awarded*

  • Bell Canada: Estimated total provincial funding of $483.8 million for up to 82,632 premises
  • Bragg Communications: Estimated total provincial funding of $69 million for up to 9,507 premises
  • Cogeco Connexion: Estimated total provincial funding of $74.3 million for up to 13,856 premises
  • Community Network Partners: Estimated total provincial funding of $150.2 million for up to 9,397 premises
  • Eh!tel Networks Inc.: Estimated total provincial funding of $24.7 million for up to 3,265 premises
  • North Frontenac Telephone Company: Estimated total provincial funding of $39.5 million for up to 3,682 premises
  • Rogers Communications Canada Inc.: Estimated total provincial funding of $171 million for up to 89,295 premises
  • Xplornet Communications Inc.: Estimated total provincial funding of $240 million for up to 54,679 premises

*Provincial funding and the number of unserved and underserved premises are subject to change based on final agreements.

Features

  • Support the government’s plan to connect every region in Ontario to reliable, high-speed internet by the end of 2025
  • Build consensus among the market on the viability of the strategy
  • Develop and lead the transparent and competitive procurement process to implement an innovative high-speed internet funding model, involving reverse auctions, with the winning bids from ISPs meeting the defined coverage and deployment requirements at the most reasonable price

Announcements