Haldimand County Provides Update On Broadband Internet Project, Launches Public Survey

Haldimand County’s Broadband Internet Project is moving ahead. Currently, individual consultations are being facilitated with the 3 pre-qualified internet service providers (ISPs) – KWIC Internet, Metroloop Inc. & Xplornet. In conjunction with this consultation process, a public survey has been launched to collect resident feedback on technical, financial and service-related aspects of internet service.

The Broadband Internet Project was initiated in 2019 after Haldimand County Council formally adopted 8 corporate priorities for the 2018-2022 term – one of these being facilitating the delivery of high-speed, reliable internet service to all Haldimand County residents.

With assistance from a third party Technical Consultant, staff have prepared a draft Project Agreement (PA) and Negotiated Request for Proposal Agreement (NRFP) outlining all technical and financial project requirements including: 1) the technical feasibility of proposed service deployment, 2) service deployment timelines and 3) a comprehensive cost analysis. These components are of critical importance and will guide evaluations of all pre-qualified internet service providers (ISPs) moving forward.

The public survey is intended to gather feedback on community needs and what is important in terms of high-speed internet access. The survey asks residents to provide information about their current internet service, including average monthly cost, data limits, reliability and customer service satisfaction.
Residents are encouraged to have their latest bill or service contract on hand to answer some of the questions in greater detail.

Residents who do not currently have internet access may request a physical copy by calling 905-318-5932. Staff will send copies via mail and residents may return completed surveys to the Haldimand County Administration Building in person (via the secure drop box located on the Chippewa St. side of the Administration Building) or mail.

Community feedback collected from the survey will be used to inform & finalize the Project Agreement & Negotiated Request For Proposal documents, which will be issued to the successful proponent in late May. The survey will remain open until April 17.

For more information on the Broadband Internet Project, visit HaldimandCounty.ca/broadband/. To access the survey directly, visit surveymonkey.com/r/HCbroadband/.