For Immediate Release
Apr. 3, 2009, 10:30 a.m.
Broadband Project Serving Kingston-Area Communities
Rural Schools, Homes And Businesses Can Get High-Speed Internet
The City of Kingston's plan to bring broadband services to rural schools, businesses and residents is now complete. The infrastructure project was funded and supported by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; the Limestone District School Board; Utilities Kingston; OmniGlobe Networks; Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation; and the Kingston Economic Development Corporation.
"We were very pleased to participate in this project to make broadband services available to the rural areas of our region," said Gerard Hunt, Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Kingston. "We couldn't have done it without help from the provincial government."
The Province of Ontario contributed $480,000 to the Kingston-area broadband project through Rural Connections... The Ontario Municipal Rural Broadband Partnership Program.
"Our government understands the importance of affordable and accessible broadband services to rural communities. Through this partnership, we are making it easier for residents in the Kingston area to access education and skills training, government information and services, and health care," said John Gerretsen, MPP for Kingston and the Islands.
"As a consequence of this project, Utilities Kingston is now delivering broadband services to students, teachers and administrators in all the schools in the Limestone District School Board," says Jim Keech, President and CEO of Utilities Kingston. "Providing broadband infrastructure to our community-based organizations is a key part of our mandate."
According to Wayne Toms, Manager of Information Technology and Planning for the Limestone District School Board, "this broadband access is critical to students, teachers, and administrators and we are very pleased to have it available to every school."
Residents and businesses in the communities of Selby, Godfrey, Mountain Grove, Plevna, and Cloyne will also get access to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet services. "The new broadband service delivered by our OmniGlobe Broadband division supports a wide range of advanced applications including high-speed Internet access, and Voice over IP (VoIP) and Virtual Private Network (VPN) services," says Jason Neale, OmniGlobe's CEO. "The introduction of broadband access will create new and exciting opportunities for local residents and businesses, which now have access to the same services readily available in urban areas."
"Lack of access to broadband can be a barrier to a community's economic and social well-being. The Frontenac Community Development Futures Corporation realizes this and provided $75,000 of funding towards the wireless towers in Plevna and Cloyne as part of its ongoing commitment to see that all residents and businesses in our county receive access to broadband services," stated Anne Prichard, Executive Director, Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation. "These funds were made available through the Eastern Ontario Development Program".
"The broadband initiative will have a positive impact on the residents and businesses in our area that will ultimately benefit the entire community," added John Paul Shearer, Director of Business Development, Kingston Economic Development Corporation.
About Rural Connections... The Ontario Municipal Rural Broadband Partnership Program
The Government of Ontario is committed to building strong, sustainable rural communities. A modern, efficient and reliable broadband system is part of the plan. In 2007, the province announced $10-million for Rural Connections ... the Ontario Municipal Rural Broadband Partnership Program to enable rural municipalities in southern Ontario to build and sustain broadband capability in their communities. In 2008, the successful pilot program was expanded with an additional $30-million to further the reach of broadband services to rural residents of southern Ontario. For more information, please visit ontario.ca/rural/.
About the City of Kingston
Kingston is a thriving and beautiful historic city, equi-distant from Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Syracuse, where the St. Lawrence River meets Lake Ontario and the Rideau Canal (a UNESCO World Heritage site). Its 117,000 community-minded citizens enjoy an outstanding quality-of-life enhanced by superb intellectual, recreational and creative opportunities and supported by excellent health care facilities and an ever-improving civic infrastructure. The four pillars of sustainability - social, economic, environmental and cultural - serve as guiding principles for the Corporation of the City of Kingston as it embraces its community's vision of making Kingston Canada's most sustainable City. Kingston also boasts several landmark City facilities built to achieve LEED(tm) green building certifications, a burgeoning alternative energy sector and a post-secondary community spawning cutting-edge hometown businesses. For more information, please visit the City's website: www.cityofkingston.ca.
About the Limestone District School Board (LDSB)
We proudly serve close to 22,000 students at 55 elementary schools, 11 secondary schools, and Limestone Community Education Centres in the Townships of Central Frontenac, Addington Highlands, North Frontenac, South Frontenac, Loyalist and Stone Mills, as well as the Town of Greater Napanee, the City of Kingston and the Frontenac Islands. The Limestone Board offers several unique programs for elementary students in the Arts, French Immersion or for the academically advanced. Our locally developed Focus, Co-Op and Apprenticeship programs give secondary students the opportunity to experience work, while earning credits. For more information, please visit the LDSB website: www.limestone.on.ca.
About Utilities Kingston (UK)
Utilities Kingston is an Ontario Business Corporation responsible for the management of the City of Kingston's water, sewer, and gas, assets, and the electricity assets owned by Kingston Hydro. In addition UK owns and manages broadband networking services for the City of Kingston. Kingston Public Utilities Commission, which was the predecessor of Utilities Kingston, was founded in 1904. Currently, Utilities Kingston employs 180 people. For more information, please visit the UK website: www.utilitieskingston.com.
About OmniGlobe Networks
Based in Montreal, Quebec, OmniGlobe Networks is a global telecommunications company that provides reliable and affordable cellular, wireless broadband Internet and VoIP services to geographic regions around the world where terrestrial telecommunications are unavailable, unreliable or just too expensive. Combining the most advanced wireless, satellite and cellular technologies with its own proprietary network management and bandwidth optimization techniques, OmniGlobe's solution enables Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and local operators to offer fast, reliable broadband Internet services to consumers and business customers. In partnership, OmniGlobe provides the research and development, network design, equipment, installation, and 24/7 monitoring; while local operators handle service agreements, first line customer support and billing. For more information, contact OmniGlobe Networks at 315 Brunswick Blvd, Suite 200, Pointe-Claire, QC H9R-5M7, Canada, tel: 514-693-8949, e-mail: info@omniglobe.com, or visit the website at www.omniglobe.com. Interested subscribers are invited to contact OmniGlobe Broadband via email to info@omniglobebroadband.com or telephone at 1-888-365-OMNI(6664). Alternatively, interested parties may submit their contact information online at www.omniglobebroadband.com.
About Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (FCFDC)
The Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation is a non-profit organization. Its mission is to stimulate community and economic development throughout the Frontenacs. Run by a volunteer board of directors and funded by Industry Canada, the Frontenac CFDC offers free business advice, workshops and commercial financing to entrepreneurs and those looking to start businesses in the Frontenacs. The Frontenac CFDC also provides support to initiatives that are designed to stimulate economic development in the County of Frontenac, and business planning assistance to community organizations. For more information visit www.frontenaccfdc.com or call 613-372-1414.
About KEDCO
The Kingston Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO) is the business development and marketing arm for the City of Kingston. KEDCO works collaboratively with local and regional strategic partners to achieve prosperity by marketing the sustainable economic advantages of Kingston. KEDCO is instrumental in business attraction and retention, acting as a liaison between government and business, as a liaison between compatible businesses and as a conduit for the access of key resources. For more information, please visit the KEDCO website: www.kingstoncanada.com. Media contact: Cindie Ashton, Communications Officer, City of Kingston, 613-546-4291, ext. 3116 or 613-329-3462 (cell). Or call the media hotline at 613-546-4291 ext. 2300.
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Media contact information:
OmniGlobe Networks: Elsa Lebey, Marketing Manager, 514-693-8949 ext. 203 or elebey@omniglobe.com
City of Kingston: Communications Sustainability & Growth Group, 613-546-4291, ext. 2300 or communications@cityofkingston.ca
