Headline News

Mono residents still wait for Rogers’ high-speed internet, years after announcement

August 28, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Bringing high-speed internet service to Mono residents is not a town project.

And Mayor John Creelman said during the Aug. 26 council meeting that he believes that detail may be missed by residents in some corners of the municipality.

Residents and local businesses have been waiting over three years since provincial and federal money was earmarked for improved Internet service in Mono.

Rogers Communications has undertaken the project by way of a subcontractor, FusionTech Telecommunications.

“Work continues and I think anyone who has been driving Hockley Road has seen FusionTech trucks out there, bearing cable,” Mayor John Creelman said. “Obviously, the project is behind schedule. Behind the dates that were originally promised to us.”

Creelman said he’s maintained contact with Rogers officials as a means to encourage their faster approach toward completing the work. The town has a portal on the municipal website that illustrates the progress thus far and where road allowance permits have been issued for locations where installation is anticipated.

The town has a water tower that can accommodate communications technology to allow wireless Internet coverage. Service providers have been encouraged to negotiate with the town for an agreement for the tower space.

Councillor Elaine Capes wondered what information about the work people would like other than what’s on the town’s website portal.

“What is the type of information they want to better understand than what is already there?” Capes said.

“I sincerely think the problem is that people think it’s our project,” Creelman said. “It’s not our project.”

Rather, there’s a “promise” of provincial and federal funding to cover the wiring of Mono.

“We can put pressure on them, but we do not dictate the speed at which they work or their priorities in terms of where they roll it out,” Creelman said.

The mayor said he’s heard that about 200 residences have been connected to the service.

“I have to say it’s a huge disappointment, the way this has rolled out,” Coun. Ralph Manktelow said.

“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Creelman said.

“It’s not our problem, and it is our problem,” Manktelow said.

Manktelow was approached four years ago by a Rogers official who said the whole municipality would be wired for the service in little more than a year. He said there’s a length of cable reaching from his house into a nearby laneway. It isn’t attached to anything because there isn’t a main line there.

“It’s very disappointing,” Manktelow said.

“I have no reason to believe that they (Rogers) are walking back their commitment,” Creelman said. “It’s just taking an incredibly long time.”

Mike Dunmore, the town’s CAO, said residents can avail of FusionTech contact information from the town’s website.

“We still get calls for Hydro outages, Bell telephone outages, cellphones not working,” Dunmore said. “The town is normally the first public relations on utilities and that won’t stop.”

He said it isn’t a bad thing that the town’s Public Works Department officials correspond with residents. But there’s also information on the website about how to contact FusionTech directly.

Readers Comments (0)