GRAVENHURST - An ideal cottage country, the ward 2 area of Gravenhurst now has some of the best creature comforts of home.
The not-for-profit group Muskoka Community Network has announced that fixed wireless access to high-speed Internet has arrived for residents and businesses of Muldrew, Loon and Turtle lakes in Gravenhurst. Lola Bratty, Ward 2 councillor, said she’s pleased local residents, cottagers and businesses will be joining in the high-speed Internet age.
“This area has not had reliable high-speed Internet until now. We have worked hard over an extended period of time to make sure the businesses and residents in this area receive this service,” she said.
Businesses and residents who require service from this network should contact a participating Internet service provider.
Participating providers on this network can be found on the Internet at www.corebroadband.ca/index-2.html. Muskoka Community Network executive director Rob McPhee explained the group also provides classroom-style workshops for businesses, organizations and individuals, as well as providing online training through its virtual training centre. He said there are more than 900 titles to choose from in the virtual training centre, including word processing, accounting, spreadsheets and even graphic design, and he hopes people in the new regions covered will try it out.
Subscribers to this online learning environment include businesses, government and individual residents.
“All you need is a high-speed Internet connection and a desire to learn,” he said.
The online courses are free to Muskokans at www.mcnet.ca/vtc. Additionally, Muskoka Community Network works closely with small and medium-sized enterprises to develop their e-business presence through the Broadband for E-Business and Marketing program at www.mcnet.ca/beam.