YorkNet Celebrates First Connections in Town of Georgina

Newmarket – YorkNet, a corporation of The Regional Municipality of York, along with their partner, Galaxy Fibre, an affiliate of Community Network Partners Inc., celebrates a milestone moment by connecting their first customers to high-speed internet in the Town of Georgina.

"On behalf of York Regional Council, I congratulate YorkNet and Galaxy Fibre for making their first connections under the Universal Broadband Fund here in York Region,” said York Region Chairman and CEO Wayne Emmerson. “Expanding access to high-speed internet helps ensure our underserved communities can progress in this ever-evolving digital world. We thank our funding partners for helping to make this network expansion possible.”

YorkNet is a York Region-owned corporation that builds and operates a high-speed, dark fibre network across the Region to create equitable access to high-speed internet. YorkNet builds the fibre optic network, while Galaxy Fibre connects households to high-speed internet. Together they bring high-speed internet to underserved rural areas in York Region.

"We’re pleased to celebrate YorkNet and Galaxy Fibre’s first connections here in the Pefferlaw community within the Town of Georgina," said Town of Georgina Mayor Margaret Quirk, Chair of the YorkNet Board. "Access to reliable, high-speed internet is no longer a luxury, it is a critical requirement to ensure our residents and businesses can stay connected and succeed in today’s digital age. We remain focused on continuing this momentum and achieving our goal of connecting all corners of the Region with high-speed internet."

Significant funding from all levels of government has played a crucial role in the expansion ability of YorkNet and Galaxy Fibre’s connectivity. The Governments of Canada and Ontario committed more than $48 million through the Universal Broadband Fund. Together with investments from York Region and Community Network Partners Inc., the investment of nearly $120 million will help YorkNet expand its network by hundreds of kilometres, reaching thousands of underserved homes.

“For people in rural and remote Ontario, a dependable, high-speed internet connection can be lifechanging. It means new, better access to health care, education and help when you need it.” said Tony Van Bynen, Member of Parliament for Newmarket-Aurora. “I am proud of the work our federal government has done in funding the Universal Broadband Fund along with our partners The Government of Ontario and The Regional Municipality of York. Together, we are connecting communities and people and building a stronger more vibrant future.”

“Our government is continuing to make progress to ensure that every community across Ontario has access to reliable high-speed internet by the end of 2025,” said Kinga Surma, Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure. “Thanks to incredible partnerships with organizations like YorkNet, we are expanding local broadband infrastructure to connect thousands of residents and businesses in York Region to the reliable high-speed internet services they need.”

"We are making significant progress in enhancing connectivity in underserved areas of York Region by continuing our collaboration with YorkNet to provide high-speed internet to households in need,” said Lindsay Hodgkinson, President of Galaxy Fibre. “This partnership with YorkNet and the federal and provincial governments is a true testament to our commitment to delivering leading-edge services for York Region residents.”

With the initial in-home connections successfully completed, YorkNet and its partners will continue to expand its fibre network, enabling other eligible areas in York Region to connect digitally.

For more information on YorkNet's multi-year network expansion, visit yorknet.ca

The Regional Municipality of York consists of nine local cities and towns and provides a variety of programs and services to over 1.25 million residents and 57,000 businesses with more than 629,000 employees. More information about the Region’s key service areas is available at york.ca/RegionalServices

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Media Contact

Stephanie Crowley, Corporate Communications,
The Regional Municipality of York
Phone: 289-763-2598,
Email: @email