City of Hamilton hits the gas on Internet speeds

HAMILTON, ON – The City of Hamilton has increased its internet speed at City facilities by a factor of 10 to ensure it can meet the increasing data and online service demands of residents at City facilities.

Over the last two years, 115 city sites have received new or upgraded broadband fibre connections, increasing the connectivity service at many facilities from 100 Mbps to 1000 Mbps.

The increased speed will ensure residents connect to City services, and ensure Hamilton is future-ready to deliver and improve City services that support residents as the demand for broadband increases.

The work supports the City’s Economic Development Action Plan: 2021-2025, as one of the Plan’s key priorities speaks to enhancing digital infrastructure and services.

The infrastructure work was installed at a cost of $567,000 and was led by Hamilton Community Enterprises (HCE), a facilities-based technology company held by Hamilton Enterprise Holding Corporation. On the City-side, implementation was managed internally by the City’s Information Technology Division.

The upgrade includes many existing municipal buildings such as recreation, community, seniors and customers services centres, arenas, libraries, fire and police stations and City Hall with many locations offering free Wi-Fi access inside the buildings. A complete list of the 76 City of Hamilton facilities that offer public Wi-Fi currently can be found at www.hamilton.ca/wirelessnetwork.

The City continues to advocate for increased broadband investment in the community. In addition to the $400 million investment by Bell Canada to bring direct fibre network connections to 200,000 homes and business locations throughout the community, with support from the City, there have been several internet/broadband expansion plans announced for Hamilton’s rural areas from various internet service providers.

Quick facts

• The City of Hamilton’s Wi-Fi map shows all city locations with public Wi-Fi Access.
• A tabular list of City of Hamilton’s Wi-fi location is available via open.hamilton.ca.
• The City of Hamilton received international recognition for its efforts to build an “Intelligent Community”. Actions over the next five years will focus on enhancing infrastructure and services.