It’s the first thing on the minds of people who are considering the possibility of moving to Kawartha Lakes – or any largely rural municipality. ‘How’s the Internet?’

Bell today announced the expansion of its Wireless Home Internet wireless broadband service to more communities in the Kawartha Lakes region and Peterborough County, including Kirkfield, Lindsay and Little Britain.

The new service will be expanded to other parts of the region later in 2019, including Bobcaygeon, Fenelon Falls, Kinmount, and Omemee.

“It’s the number one priority we always hear about as politicians,” says City of Kawartha Lakes Mayor Andy Letham, who attended the press conference in Little Britain along with Councillors Andrew Veale, Pat O’Reilly, Ron Ashmore, and Tracy Richardson.

“People want broadband – this is exciting news,” he said, noting it is important for private enterprise like Bell to step up like they have to try and address these concerns.

Bell Wireless Home Internet is designed to provide affordable broadband access (priced regularly from $69.95 to $79.95 depending on package) -- to residents in smaller towns and unserved and underserved rural communities. The 5G-capable technology operates in the 3,500 MHz spectrum band on Bell’s advanced LTE wireless network.

“These speeds are very similar to what I would get at home in the GTA,” says Karen Neave, senior product manager for Bell.

To install Wireless Home Internet, Bell technicians place a small antenna outside a customer’s home that connects to the Bell LTE network. Customers also receive a Bell home hub modem to provide fast Wi-Fi throughout the home. Wireless Home Internet can also be bundled with Bell Satellite TV, offering more than 250 live and on demand channels on tablets, smartphones, laptops and big screens with the Bell Fibe TV app.

The new service will not address the so-called ‘dead zones’ of cell coverage in Kawartha Lakes. However, organizers suggested their colleagues at head office should know about these to address them and encouraged the municipality to get in touch.