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Work slows to install high-speed internet in Mono

February 15, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Mono residents are wondering when exactly Rogers Communications will make good on its efforts to improve high-speed internet.

The company said in July 2022 that more than 1,600 Mono homes will get better high-speed internet service. Officials from the telecommunications company had plans to weave fibre optic cable throughout the rural municipality. More than 315 kilometres of fibre will stitch at least 1,609 homes to the World Wide Web.

At least, that was the idea.

Underserved homes and businesses were supposed to be able to avail of high-speed internet by the first quarter of 2023. It was expected that the service would have no data cap, which would have yielded 100 per cent unlimited service.

Deputy Mayor Fred Nix said during council’s regular meeting on Feb. 13 that it was his understanding the work was to be done last year. Residents have emailed and phoned councillors to ask about a status update.

“I have no information on that,” Nix said. “I thought they were going to have all the construction done by the end of 2023. They’re obviously nowhere near that target.”

Matt Doner, the town’s director of public works, said work permits had been prepared for components of the project last year. But those permits weren’t picked up.

“They’re much slower than they anticipated working in the south end,” Doner said.

The project has made it as far as the Third Line, Fourth Line, Fifth Line, Sixth Line, and 5 Sideroad.

“That’s kind of where they finished off,” he said. “We did recently receive 71 permits (applications) that we’re working through to try to process those as timely as we can.”

Doner said town staff are reviewing where Rogers is proposing to install fibre optics cables, the depths, the offsets from properties and asphalt.

“It’s not the Town of Mono that’s in the driver’s seat here,” Nix said.


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