Faster Internet in Toronto for over 1 Million Homes and Businesses
By Lucas on Jun 26, 2015
Last year, Toronto was awarded Intelligent Community of the Year by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), and this year, Toronto hosted the ICF’s 2015 Summit. Without a doubt, Toronto is on its way to being one of the smartest cities in the world, especially since Bell just announced that it is bringing gigabit-per-second (gbps) Internet speeds to the city!
"As we plan for the future, we need to invest in our city and put in place the infrastructure required to keep Toronto competitive," says Mayor John Tory in a release via newswire.ca. "The rollout of Gigabit Fibe is a testament to Bell's commitment to investing in Toronto. This is Canada's largest gigabit Internet infrastructure project, creating 2,400 jobs for our city. I'd like to thank Bell Canada for investing in Toronto and delivering services that meet the needs of today and the future."
The major infrastructure project, completely funded by Bell, is part of a larger countrywide project to connect certain portions of Canada with what’s being called Gigabit Fibe. The whole expansion of the service will stretch from Ontario to Quebec and to Atlantic Canada, and will cost approximately $20 billion. Bell’s commitment to Toronto will cost about $1.14 billion, making it the country’s largest gigabit infrastructure project.
The initial build out will connect 50,000 homes and businesses in Toronto by this summer, and when all the work is done, over 1.1 million homes and businesses will be connected to the super fast Internet service. Also, as part of Bell’s continued support of the United Way, all of United Way Toronto’s Community Hubs initiatives will be serviced with Gigabit Fibe.
"Bell Canada has served Toronto since 1880, and we're proud to continue our legacy of communications leadership by bringing the fastest Internet speeds to consumers and businesses across Canada's largest city,” says George Cope, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bell Canada and BCE Inc. “Gigabit Fibe is a revolutionary broadband communications service that puts Toronto out front as a world-class Smart City. Network leadership has been the bedrock of Bell's rapid transformation in recent years. Our existing high-speed fibre network is already driving fast Fibe TV and broadband Internet growth, and Canada's largest 4G LTE wireless network is supporting tremendous increases in smartphones and mobile data usage. Gigabit Fibe is key to accelerating Bell's leadership in home and business Internet services, and to supporting widespread access, innovation and economic benefits for Canadians into the future."
To give you an idea of what’s possible with gbps Internet speeds, Rizwan Jamal, President of Bell Residential Services explains how “you can download 100 photos or songs in 3 seconds, an entire HD movie in 7 seconds, or the whole 14GB of Orphan Black in HD – shot right here in Toronto – in less than 2 minutes.” Of course, a super fast Internet connection doesn’t only benefit our entertainment potential, but also our blossoming businesses, our educational facilities, our healthcare services, and so on. It is going to be easier and quicker than ever to share new ideas and create new enterprises in Toronto.
Even though Toronto was awarded ICF’s Intelligent Community of the Year Award, Toronto doesn’t really stand up to many of the Asian and European regions when it comes to Internet speeds. A few of the places with the fastest Internet speeds in the world include South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Sweden, and Switzerland. And frankly, Toronto doesn’t place in the top 10; Canada barely makes it into the top 20. But, with Bell’s billion dollar commitment, it seems like Toronto and a few other Canadian cities will help boost Canada’s average connection speed.
We’re really looking forward to seeing how this new infrastructure improves the livability and economy of our favourite city and our home! Businesses and corporations already want to be located in Toronto because that’s where people want to live, and now that there will be a faster Internet connection, we won’t be surprised when there is a sudden surge in population and new employment opportunities!
Feature image: View from 365 Church by Menkes
