An innovative pilot will enable access to broadband for underserved homes and businesses in the Brighton area
BRIGHTON, ON, March 25, 2022 /CNW/ - Today, Hydro One Limited (TSH: H) ("Hydro One") announced a new pilot project that will enable access to broadband in the Municipality of Brighton and surrounding areas. The pilot will use the reach of the utility's existing electrical infrastructure, and a network of fibre cables provided by Acronym Solutions Inc. (formerly Hydro One Telecom), to enable high-speed internet for nearly 1,450 homes and businesses in the area.
"At Hydro One, we continue to embrace innovative solutions to energize life for our customers," said David Lebeter, Chief Operating Officer, Hydro One. "The past two years have underscored how important internet connectivity is to economic productivity and ability to access work, education, health and other critical services. Hydro One was first created to build power lines to bring electricity to rural and northern Ontario, and we're proud to use the reach of our network to facilitate and enable broadband in the Brighton area."
"With more than 20 years of experience managing the telecommunications network that enables Ontario's electrical grid, Acronym is well-positioned to support this innovative pilot program," said John Papadakis, President & CEO, Acronym Solutions Inc. "We're excited to help the residents and businesses of Brighton reach their full potential."
"Our government is finding new and innovative ways to bring access to high-speed internet to every home and business in the province, and this pilot project in Brighton is another example of how we will achieve our goal of 100 per cent connectivity by the end of 2025," said Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure. "By leveraging existing infrastructure and removing barriers to high-speed internet expansion, more Ontarians will be able to access better and faster internet services sooner."
"All communities deserve access to reliable and high-speed internet access" said Todd Smith, Minister of Energy. "By working with partners like Hydro One to use existing electricity infrastructure to rapidly expand high-speed internet to as many as 1,450 homes and businesses in Brighton we are accelerating our work to connect all communities by 2025."
"It is important for Ontarians to have access to reliable internet services," said David Piccini, MPP for Northumberland—Peterborough South and Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. "This announcement today shows our government's commitment to bringing high-speed internet access to our community, while using innovative ways to get this done more quickly."
"As Brighton grows, the need for our citizens to access high-speed, reliable internet services grows too," said Brian Ostrander, Mayor of Brighton. "Over the past two years we've seen people migrate out of the larger urban areas with the anticipation that they will be able to work from home. With this announcement, Hydro One's pilot project, will make that vision a reality and will enhance our ability to drive Brighton's local economy forward. We are grateful to our provincial and utility partners in helping make Brighton a hub for reliable high-speed internet services!"
Hydro One proudly serves the Municipality of Brighton as its electricity service provider. Through this rural broadband pilot, the utility is providing a cost-effective solution to enable broadband.
Hydro One's five-year Investment Plan includes investments in taller and stronger poles. The company is committed to continuing to work with government and private sector partners to enable broadband.
Hydro One Limited (TSX: H)
Hydro One Limited, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, is Ontario's largest electricity transmission and distribution provider with approximately 1.5 million valued customers, approximately $30.4 billion in assets as at December 31, 2021, and annual revenues in 2021 of approximately $7.2 billion.
Our team of approximately 9,300 skilled and dedicated employees proudly build and maintain a safe and reliable electricity system which is essential to supporting strong and successful communities. In 2021, Hydro One invested approximately $2.1 billion in its transmission and distribution networks, and supported the economy through buying approximately $1.7 billion of goods and services.
We are committed to the communities where we live and work through community investment, sustainability and diversity initiatives. We are designated as a Sustainable Electricity Company by the Canadian Electricity Association.
Hydro One Limited's common shares are listed on the TSX and certain of Hydro One Inc.'s medium term notes are listed on the NYSE. Additional information can be accessed at www.hydroone.com; www.sedar.com or www.sec.gov.
Acronym Solutions Inc.
Acronym Solutions Inc. is a full-service information and communications technology (ICT) company that provides a range of scalable and secure Network, Voice & Collaboration, Security, Cloud and Operations Solutions. We support Canadian businesses, large enterprises, service providers, healthcare providers, public-sector organizations and utilities. We leverage our extensive network expertise to design and build customized, fully scalable solutions to help our customers grow their businesses and realize their full potential. With more than 20 years' experience managing the communications system that enables Ontario's electrical grid, Acronym is uniquely positioned to understand the mission-critical needs of any business to deliver the innovative and reliable services that respond to the changing demands of businesses, and support rapid growth and digital transformation initiatives.
Forward-Looking Statements and Information:
This press release may contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Words such as "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "attempt", "may", "plan", "will", "can", "believe", "seek", "estimate", and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking information. These statements are not guarantees of future performance or actions and involve assumptions and risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking information. Some of the factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from the results expressed, implied or forecasted by such forward-looking information, including some of the assumptions used in making such statements, are discussed more fully in Hydro One's filings with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada, which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Hydro One does not intend, and it disclaims any obligation, to update any forward-looking information, except as required by law.
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SOURCE Hydro One Limited
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