Rogers and the Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) have flipped the switch on 5G at 40 new cell tower sites across eastern Ontario, bringing reliable service to 14 communities that have long dealt with spotty or nonexistent coverage.
The new towers are part of the $300 million EORN Cell Gap Project, a joint effort between Rogers, the federal and provincial governments, and local municipalities to plug the coverage gaps that have frustrated rural residents and businesses for years.
The latest rollout spans a wide stretch of the region, covering the City of Kawartha Lakes and the counties of Frontenac, Haliburton, Hastings, Lanark, Lennox and Addington, Northumberland, Peterborough, Renfrew, Leeds and Grenville, and Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. Three First Nations communities are also now connected: the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan, Curve Lake First Nation, and Hiawatha First Nation.
The project has been moving quickly. Rogers has already upgraded 311 existing sites with 5G and brought 274 brand new towers online. The remaining new towers are expected to be finished by August 2026, at which point the partners will have built 346 new sites from the ground up.
The practical benefits go beyond faster phones. Better coverage on rural roads is expected to improve navigation and emergency response times, and local businesses that have struggled with unreliable connections stand to gain the most.
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