Telecommunication & Media

a Bell investment of approximately $400 million to expand broadband Internet access in urban and rural 

areas of Hamilton, the largest digital infrastructure investment in the City's history. Over the next five years, 

Bell and a Bell-funded team of City of Hamilton staff will bring direct fibre network connections to more 

than 200,000 homes and business locations throughout the City with zero cost to taxpayers. The network 

will provide consumers with access to data speeds up to 1.5 gigabits per second, the fastest home Internet 

speeds in Canada. Working in partnership with the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce's Digital Infrastructure 

Task Force, gaps in digital infrastructure across the community were identified. Subsequently, the City 

worked to increase investment in digital infrastructure to address the gaps. As part of the plan to enhance 

Hamilton's standing as a Digital City, Mayor Eisenberger requested that broadband speeds be enhanced for 

all of urban Hamilton, business parks and major commercial areas, and rural areas in the community. In 

addition to premium network support for the City's business community, the Bell project includes the 

expansion of high-speed Bell Wireless Home Internet service to 8,000 homes in rural Hamilton. This 

innovative 5G capable technology delivered over Bell's advanced LTE wireless network provides 

broadband residential Internet access for small towns, farming communities and other less populated 

locations. Bell will work in close cooperation with the City and local contractors, including Aecon, Telecon 

and Sentrex, to employ innovative techniques to minimize disruption to residents and businesses 

throughout the project. The majority of the network build will consist of new fibre installed underground, 

with additional fibre located on Bell, Hydro One and Alectra Utilities poles.