Projects

EORN is currently focused on the Cell Gap Project Project, which will improve the reach and quality of cellular services throughout eastern Ontario.

EORN is leading the implementation of a $300-million Cell Gap Project to significantly improve cellular coverage and capacity across eastern Ontario. With new infrastructure now constructed and sites continuing to come into service, the project is delivering enhanced and expanded wireless connectivity to rural communities across the region.

The Government of Canada, through Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, and The Province of Ontario, through the Ministry of Energy and Mines, are investing up to $71 million each toward the project. The Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus’ municipalities and most municipalities within the Eastern Ontario Mayors’ Caucus (EOMC) collectively contributed $10 million to ensure rural communities are better connected.

Rogers Communications is delivering the network upgrades and new tower builds through a competitive procurement process and has invested more than $150 million to construct and enhance wireless infrastructure throughout the region.

Together, these investments are expanding cell coverage, improving public safety, and supporting economic growth across the region.

This map shows towers that are part of the EORN Cell Gap Project.

By the end of the Cell Gap Project, our aim is to achieve:

While the project will expand cell data coverage and capacity to support the use of typical smartphone apps and streaming video, the project also has the potential to:

• Improve safety so people aren't left stranded with “no signal.”
• Provide greater choice to residents in areas where traditional broadband isn't available.
• Ready the region for the next evolution of technology.

The project can be divided into two main areas of focus. The first focus is on completing "uplifts" or "upgrades" to existing cellular towers by adding new antennas and radios. This extends the reach of their coverage and increases the capacity for users.

Installing this new equipment requires an assessment of the tower and may include work to strengthen it. Data links to the tower will be upgraded if needed. Once the physical work is complete, each upgrade is tested and brought into full service with minimal interruption of existing services.

Here are the number of upgrades completed to date:

The second area of focus is on building new towers to expand service where there is limited or no service. While some of these new towers will be installed on existing infrastructure, such as a tower owned by a third-part telecommunications company, the majority of new towers will be new construction from the ground up.

Both the federal and provincial governments have contributed $71 million each while an additional $10 million has been contributed from the members of the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC) and most municipalities within the Eastern Ontario Mayors' Caucus (EOMC). Rogers Communications has been selected through a competitive bidding process to improve the coverage and capacity of cell networks in the region and will be contributing to the balance of the funding.

In partnership with the Province of Ontario and local internet service providers (ISPs) this very last premise (VLP) project is an effort to close the digital divide in eastern Ontario. This partnership, with five local ISPs (Kingston Online Services, Storm Internet Services, WTC Communications, IGS Hawkesbury and NRTC Communications), will deploy a mix of next-generation Fixed Wireless and Fibre-to-the-Home technologies, including the construction of 11 new Fixed Wireless towers, upgrades to 13 existing towers, and the deployment of approximately 248 kilometers of fibre to close broadband gaps in eastern Ontario. The project, valued at more than $22 million, will provide high-speed internet access to almost 3,000 premises.

The EORN Gig Project was a proposed initiative to bring ultra-fast internet to homes and businesses across eastern Ontario. The project aimed to deliver Gig-level speeds (1 Gbps) to help rural communities keep pace with growing demand for reliable internet for business, education, health care, and everyday services.

EORN developed a regional business case and detailed engineering work for the project and submitted it to the federal and provincial governments. The proposal would have used a public-private partnership model to expand fibre and other broadband infrastructure across the region.

After reviewing broadband needs across the province and country, both governments chose to move forward with their own large-scale broadband programs. As a result, the proposed EORN Gig Project did not proceed.

EORN continues to support these investments and advocates for strong broadband infrastructure across eastern Ontario. The research, planning, and regional coordination completed for the EORN Gig Project helped highlight the connectivity needs of rural communities and informed future broadband expansion in the region.