OmniGlobe Networks was selected based on its successful bid to the public tender issued in October last year. The project, which is part of a $10 million Ontario government initiative awarded to 18 rural municipalities, is designed to provide affordable, accessible and reliable broadband access for residents and businesses located in rural areas and is made possible through funding provided by the Rural Connections - Ontario Municipal Broadband Partnership Program of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA).

Ideally located between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, the City of Kingston is a major hub of eastern Ontario. Ranked 4th in the annual list of "Canada's best places to live", it is considered a preferred investment destination for knowledge-based industries and for research and technology centres. The city, which already provides broadband access to the urban parts of Kingston through their subsidiary Utilities Kingston, submitted an application for provincial funding in partnership with Kingston Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO) in an effort to improve the broadband network in the rural areas of the City of Kingston, the County of Lennox & Addington and the County of Frontenac.

"Providing rural communities access to broadband connectivity is instrumental to the economic development of the region," explained the interim Chief Administrative Officer Gerard Hunt.

"The broadband initiative will have a positive impact on the residents and businesses in our area" added the Manager of the KEDCO Entrepreneurship Centre Lindsey Fair, "which will ultimately benefit the entire community."

"We are pleased that the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (FCFDC) was able to provide funding through the Eastern Ontario Development Program to help the construction of broadband infrastructure in Cloyne and Plevna so this project could come to fruition. The availability of high-speed Internet service to these communities is critical to their economic competitiveness." stated, Anne Prichard, Executive Director, Frontenac CFDC.

OmniGlobe Networks, which is already working with several other communities in rural Ontario to reduce infrastructure gaps in the region, will deliver on its mandate by providing a new network that will successfully deliver high speed Internet connectivity to residents and businesses throughout the Kingston area. In partnership with Utilities Kingston, the company will be investing in the project, and will be responsible for building, operating and managing the network.

"We are very excited to work with the City of Kingston, their subsidiary Utilities Kingston and KEDCO on this project" commented Dr. Jason Neale, OmniGlobe Networks' CEO. "The introduction of broadband access will create new and exciting opportunities for local residents and businesses, which will now have access to similar services to those readily available in urban areas."

"We are looking forward to working with OmniGlobe Networks to fulfill this important rural infrastructure initiative that is assisting us to provide broadband services to schools in Plevna, Mountain Grove, and Cloyne. Furthermore, we couldn't have done it without the commitment and support of the Limestone District School Board." added Jim Keech, Utilities Kingston' CEO.

The network will support traditional Internet applications such as web browsing and e-mail together with advanced applications such as Voice over IP (VoIP). The project has already commenced and subscribers will start to receive high speed Internet services during the summer under the company's service named "OmniGlobe Broadband."

The Government of Ontario is committed to building strong, sustainable rural communities. A modern, efficient and reliable telecommunications system is part of the plan. The $10-million Rural Connections - the Ontario Municipal Rural Broadband Partnership Program was announced in the 2007 Ontario Budget and is targeted toward rural municipalities in Southern Ontario that are in a high state of readiness to build and sustain broadband capability in their communities. 

Based in Montreal, Quebec, OmniGlobe Networks is a global telecommunications company that provides reliable and affordable satellite, cellular, wireless broadband Internet and VoIP services to geographic regions around the world where terrestrial telecommunications are unavailable, unreliable or just too expensive. OmniGlobe Networks deploys and manages Internet and value-added services such as VPN, VoIP and videoconferencing using wireless technologies to serve communities that are located beyond the reach of conventional telecom providers.

Kingston is a thriving -- and stunning -- 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). Kingston is enjoying a building boom ($1 billion in the last five years) and boasts three new City facilities built to meet LEED standards, a burgeoning alternative energy sector and a post-secondary community spawning cutting-edge hometown businesses. Its 117,000 neighbourly and 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 improving civic infrastructure.

Keywords: ontario ministry of agriculture, utilities kingston, omniglobe, rural municipalities, city of kingston, telecommunications infrastructure, kedco, economic development corporation, government initiative, preferred investment, unserved areas, Wireless VOIP