The Warden of Huron County and the General Manager of Tuckersmith Communications Co-operative are both optimistic about the recent announcement of 180-million dollars of Federal and Provincial funding to help bring broadband service to rural communities throughout Southwestern Ontario.
The project, called the SWIFT project was initiated by the Western Warden's Caucus but Huron County council and the independent service providers in Huron County have had some reservations about whether the project would actually provide anything the local providers hadn't already provided – specifically service to the more remote homes – and whether the local providers would be allowed to bid on any of the work done under the SWIFT banner.
TCC General Manager Rob Van Aiken says the agreement seems to recognize the work that the independent providers have already done and will also provide them with an opportunity to be involved in the project going forward.
Van Aiken says he also hopes local providers and county officials will have a say in how money is spent in Huron County.
Warden Paul Gowing says now that the Federal and Provincial governments are contributing to the program it makes sense for Huron County to be in.
The concern of Huron County from the beginning of the SWIFT initiative was that the money would go to other counties to provide what Huron County already has and it would be years before Huron County actually saw any upgrades.
