The Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) completed a 5,500 kilometre fibre optic backbone, the organization said Friday. The group of public and private organizations aims to provide 13 rural communities with high-speed Internet access by early 2014. At a news conference in Gananoque, Ont., webcast online, EORN said the fibre optic backbone will help bring high-speed Internet of 14.4 Kbps and 10 Mbps to 95 per cent of homes and businesses in eastern Ontario. Steven Fletcher, federal minister of state for transport, said the government contributed $55 million to the project. David Burton, chair of the EORN, said the 5,500 kilometres line is a “milestone” for the $170 million project, which began about seven or eight years ago. “The backbone is the foundation by...