$32.5M cost for Chatham-Kent to get high-speed internet

High-speed fibre broadband coming to Chatham-Kent and surrounding communities with service provider TekSavvy to develop the network in the area.

The municipality of Chatham-Kent is working with the provider with plans of connecting 38,000 residents and businesses in the region.

The connection will start in Chatham, then work its way to Blehnheim, Ridgetown, Tilbury and Wallaceburg.

"Whether you're talking agriculture or advanced manufacturing, the reality today is you can't have an economy that's going to be competitive in a world environment if you don't have high-speed fibre," said Don Shropshire, the chief administrative officer for the municipality of Chatham-Kent.

'Still doing dial-up'

Businesses have been contacting the municipality asking for aboost to information technology.

"We've realized along with many other parts of the country, fibre is not a nice-to-have, it's really a part of essential infrastructure like roads or water," said Shropshire. "If you don't make those sort of investments you're doing to be left behind."

The cost will be split between TekSavvy, who intends to invest $26 million over 18 months, and the municipality, which plans to invest $6.5 million.

Construction has already begun on the project, but it will still take time to finish before it goesfurther out into the municipality.

"Up until this point we have been hearing a lot of frustration. We have a lot of places that are still doing dial-up."

It may take three years for places like Tilbury to get high-speed fibre.