Bell is bringing its all-fibre network to Chatham-Kent, Ontario

Bell is bringing its fibre to the premises (FTTP) service to the municipality of Chatham-Kent in Ontario.

The fibre network will offer internet speeds of 1Gbps now and up to 40Gbps in the future. It will also power Bell’s Fibe TV and Alt TV services. More than 38,000 residences and businesses in the area will have direct connections to Bell’s fibre network.

The municipality, located in southwestern Ontario on the shores of Lake Erie, is home to more than 100,000 people. The FTTP rollout will begin in Chatham and expand to nearby Blenheim, Ridgetown, Tilbury and Wallaceburg.

“Municipal officials and staff were quick to recognize the benefits this next-generation communications infrastructure will bring to both residents and businesses, and we look forward to their continued support as we begin this major project,” said Bell’s vice president of network, Bruce Furlong.

“Enhanced communications capability is one of the keys to the future and a strategy I’ve been working on for our communities,” said Randy Hope, mayor of Chatham-Kent.

Bell is funding the project with construction beginning this summer. The telecom company will have to deploy over 270 kilometres of cable. Bell will install cables underground and on utility poles.

Bell will attempt to minimize disruption to residents by employing special installation techniques and by notifying residents before work begins in their neighbourhood. Any drilling will be completed on municipal rights-of-way, not on private property.

Customers can expect the first connections to begin in the fall.

This is part of Bell’s ongoing fibre rollout. The telecom company has already deployed or announced plans to deploy fibre in the Greater Toronto Area, Oshawa, Orillia and Clarington, Ontario.