A 5G moment in Maxville: Rogers and EORN celebrate the first new towers to bring wireless connectivity to Eastern Ontario

Nov 7, 2022 Articles

Maxville, a small farming community of 800 people south-east of Ottawa, “boomed” in the 1880s when Canadian Atlantic Railway established a station there. In Maxville – and rural communities all over Canada – the railway lines used to connect this remote village to its neighbours, to bigger towns and cities, and the world beyond.

Now, reliable wireless access is the key to those vital connections.

Rogers is proud to light up the first new wireless towers built in partnership with the Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN), delivering 5G mobile service to Maxville, Greenfield, Glen Robertson and Wendover, Ontario and surrounding areas.

The largest wireless private-public partnership in Canadian history, Rogers and EORN are working together to bring wireless connectivity to underserved communities across Eastern Ontario. Through this partnership and supported by EORN with $150M in government subsidies, Rogers is investing more than $300M to uplift more than 300 wireless sites with 5G service, and the commitment to also build more than 300 new sites. An event in Maxville celebrates the first set of new towers.

Through this partnership, infrastructure will be expanded and upgraded, bringing connectivity to 70,000 people in the 113 municipalities and Indigenous communities within Eastern Ontario. These new towers are part of a multi-year project that will bring consistent wireless connectivity to 99% of Eastern Ontario’s residents and businesses, building vital 5G infrastructure for a safer, more prosperous, and connected future. With the power of 5G, Eastern Ontario farms can monitor livestock and soil samples, local municipalities can improve infrastructure and deliver services more efficiently, and children’s educational opportunities will expand with new capabilities.

Over time, the project is creating local jobs and sparking economic growth; the ultimate impact extending to all residents through enhanced public safety, with reliable connection to emergency services and eliminating cell signal dead zones along rural and remote roadways.

For Eastern Ontario residents and businesses, the impact will be transformative:

99% of the region’s demand area will have access to mobile voice calling service
95% of the region’s demand area will have access to service that enables standard definition video, typical mobile app use, and video app calling
85% of the region’s demand area will have access to high-definition services that allow HD video streaming
Expected to deliver consistent and reliable voice call coverage on 11,000 kilometres of major roadways, including Highway 401
More than $300 million injected into local infrastructure, and as much as $420 million in local economic growth
More than 3,000 potential new jobs

The Eastern Ontario cities and communities participating in the project include Kingston, Belleville, Quinte West, Smiths Falls, Gananoque, Prescott, City of Peterborough, Pembroke, Cornwall, County of Frontenac, County of Haliburton, County of Hastings, City of Kawartha Lakes (single tier), County of Lanark, United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, County of Lennox and Addington, County of Northumberland, County of Peterborough, United Counties of Prescott and Russell, Prince Edward County (single tier), County of Renfrew, and the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry.

This initiative is key part of Rogers’ ongoing commitment to expand service and improve connectivity for underserved communities, including rural and remote regions.