| Four rural Renfrew County Catholic Schools are now able to broaden their horizons through use of on-line learning tools previously inaccessible through dial-up internet access. Students at St. Michael’s in Douglas, St. Casimir’s in Round Lake, St. Andrews in Killaloe and St. Mary’s in Wilno are finally enjoying the benefits of high-speed Internet connections.
The installation of high-speed Internet access at the schools has been the focus of the local BRAVO (Broadband Renfrew Access Valley Ottawa) Task Force for quite some time. With the help of the Township of Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards, BRAVO was able to secure financial assistance from the Renfrew County Community Futures Development Corporation (RCCFDC) through the Eastern Ontario Development Program (EODP) to cover the costs of consultants, project management, and the purchase of equipment for the project. These funds were instrumental in levering funds from the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board to underwrite the cost of directing broadband signal to the four communities and installing receiving equipment in the schools.
Reztel, a Kingston-based Internet service provider, was attracted to the region on the strength of local funding to install the necessary equipment at the schools in September 2007. There is a spin-off effect as other institutions such as adjacent libraries and agricultural offices are able to take advantage of the newly directed broadband signal. Residents who were previously confined to dial-up connections in these communities will also benefit from the opportunity to subscribe to high-speed service. |
