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High-speed Internet to more communities will help bridge digital divide

ROCK Networks to build a broadband network that will bring reliable and affordable high-speed internet to 60 communities throughout the region between Nairn Centre and Echo Bay, including the City of Elliot Lake, St Joseph Island and Manitoulin Island
ElliotLakeToday Staff
2024-06-24-hughes-high-speed-internet
Carol Hughes, MP for Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing, is celebrating the recent funding announcement of the Huron Shore and Manitoulin Island Community Owned Fibre Infrastructure Corporation (H&M COFI) project.Photo supplied

NEWS RELEASE
MP CAROL HUGHES
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SUDBURY – Carol Hughes, MP for Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing, is celebrating the recent funding announcement of a major investment in new fibre broadband infrastructure across Northern Ontario through ROCK Networks, a subsidiary of PomeGran Inc.

“This is a massive project that will help bridge the digital divide for people across Northern Ontario,” said Hughes. “I had been a huge advocate for the ROCK Networks’ and Huron Shore and Manitoulin Island Community Owned Fibre Infrastructure Corporation (H&M COFI) project for years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when it was very clear that people in this region weren’t always equipped with the broadband services they needed to work or learn from home.”

Ottawa-based ROCK Networks, who has partnered with H&M COFI on community engagement, will build a broadband network that will bring reliable and affordable high-speed internet to 60 communities throughout the region between Nairn Centre and Echo Bay, including the City of Elliot Lake, St Joseph Island and Manitoulin Island. The project is being funded by a joint investment of over $97 million between the federal government, through the Government of Canada’s Universal Broadband Fund, and the provincial government, through the Improving Connectivity for Ontario (ICON) program. It’s expected to reach over 18,000 households, including more than 2,500 Indigenous households, once completed.

“This project will create good-quality jobs and will be a huge benefit for families and businesses throughout Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing,” said Hughes. “It’s going to help bridge that digital divide that is frequently felt in our small towns and communities in the North. I want to thank Michael Groh and Joe Hickey from ROCK Networks who continued to push for this project, and Georges Bilodeau, the Board Chairperson for H&M COFI, whose diligence ensured this project took off.”

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EDITOR'S NOTE: The original version of this release incorrectly identified H&M COFI (Huron Shore and Manitoulin Island Community Owned Fibre Infrastructure Corporation) as partnering with Ottawa-based ROCK Networks to build a broadband network to bring affordable high-speed Internet to people in Northern Ontario. In fact, Ottawa-based ROCK Networks is the lead on the project. 

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