19,000 rural homes covered in Bell’s internet expansion
Township of Woolwich has 1,300 households covered in rollout
WOOLWICH — More than 19,000 households in rural areas around Waterloo Region will have access to wireless home internet as a result of Bell’s April expansion.
Bell has accelerated the rollout of its new wireless home internet service in rural Canada in response to COVID-19, and is expected to reach more than 137,000 houses in Ontario and Quebec by the end of the month.
“Our accelerated rollout to 137,000 additional rural households in 180 individual communities this month is both an immediate response to COVID-19 and part of our work to connect even more rural Canadians for generations to come,” said Mirko
Bibic, president and chief executive officer of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada, in a news release on Thursday.
Houses in agricultural regions, smaller towns and other rural locations will have access to internet speeds of up to 25 megabits per second, with the potential for faster connections in the future.
Maryam Monsef, minister of women and gender equality and rural economic development, said in a statement that Canadians need to stay connected, now more than ever.
“We will get through these trying times by taking care of our neighbours and staying together, apart,” she said. “This announcement helps more Canadians do that.”
Installation requires no human-to-human contact, with technicians able to work from outside the home.
A 100-gigabyte usage pack is available for $49 a month and a 350-gigabyte option is available for $59 a month.
“Access to the internet is something in the rural townships we’ve been advocating for through different measures,” said Woolwich Township Ward 1 Coun. Patrick Merlihan. “Especially
during this time, with people being home, having access to information is certainly a good thing.”
The expansion means more than 1,300 homes in Woolwich Township will have access to reliable wireless internet.
Merlihan said households and businesses have been forced to find expensive workarounds in the past, and the expansion of access could “level the playing field” for rural businesses.
He gave the example of Bloomingdale, a small community just outside Waterloo, which he said has been very limited in the types of services they have been able to tap into.
Nathan Gibson, spokesperson for Bell, confirmed Friday Bloomingdale is one of the areas covered.
“It’s wonderful news,” said Woolwich Township Mayor Sandy Shantz, who previously sent in a letter of support for the expansion. “I think COVID-19 is highlighting how important it is that these pockets are filled in.”
Families can check online at bell.ca to see if their household is included in the expansion.