Written By Olena Riznyk
RIDGETOWN – Provincial officials gathered at the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown campus on April 9 to mark the completion of a rural high-speed internet expansion supported by a $49-million provincial investment.
The event brought together government representatives, local leaders and NFTC officials, who said improved internet access is increasingly important for farming, business, education and daily life in rural communities.
“We’re delighted to host this event here at Ridgetown because we are very much part of the rural communities this high-speed internet is designed to serve,” said Dr. Steve Loewen, interim director of the Ridgetown campus.
Loewen said modern agriculture now depends on tools such as robotics, crop sensors, weather sensors and large amounts of data that help farmers make management decisions.
Associate Minister Sam Oosterhoff said the project has connected more than 4,800 premises, with service reaching nearly 9,000 locations overall.
“This connectivity is more than a priority,” he said. “It’s not really just about being able to stream Netflix. It really is about economic development.”
He said internet service is now something communities need, not simply something they want, and said more work remains to connect households across Ontario.
Trevor Jones, MPP for Chatham–Kent–Leamington and Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness, called the announcement “about infrastructure and opportunity.” “Access to reliable, high-speed internet is no longer a luxury,” Jones said. “It’s essential for how we work, how we live, how we learn, and how we do business.”
Jones said stronger connectivity helps farmers use precision agriculture tools, helps businesses grow and improves access to education and health care.
Steve Pinsonneault, MPP for Lambton–Kent–Middlesex, said rural communities had often waited longer than urban areas for fibre internet service. “The urban areas always got the good fibre internet, but now we’re changing that,” he said. “We understand the importance of bringing it to the rural areas.”
After the event, in a brief interview for The Middlesex Banner, Pinsonneault said the benefits would be felt widely.
“The biggest takeaway is that connecting the rural communities is so important, so small business can prosper. Agriculture can prosper. Just the average person can work from home if they have proper connectivity,” he said.
NFTC Vice President Grant Roughley said the network was built in nine months, a faster timeline than originally expected, after cooperation between municipal, provincial and private-sector partners.
He said the fibre network would help Chatham-Kent and nearby rural areas compete with larger cities when it comes to high-speed connectivity.
In closing remarks, Loewen said technology now plays a growing role in education, research, entrepreneurship and agriculture, making reliable data connections increasingly important for rural Ontario.
