Kamloops, British Columbia, November 6, 2010 — Cathy McLeod, Member of Parliament for Kamloops–Thompson–Cariboo, today announced details of the third round of projects in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories conditionally approved for funding through the Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians program. These four latest projects (three in British Columbia and one in the Northwest Territories) will soon connect 454 households in the province and 584 in the territories to broadband Internet networks.
"I am delighted to announce that more families, businesses and individuals in British Columbia will soon have access to broadband Internet for the first time," said MP McLeod. "Our government is committed to creating new economic opportunities for northern and rural Canadians by expanding high-speed digital networks into their communities."
Canada’s Economic Action Plan provided $225 million for the development and implementation of a strategy to extend broadband coverage. By far the biggest component of this strategy is Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians, an initiative that targets Canadians living in unserved and underserved areas. This latest round of conditionally approved funding builds on earlier project announcements, on May 9, 2010 and July 6-15, 2010. Together, these three rounds of announcements will make broadband connectivity available to nearly 250 000 Canadian households.
For the individuals, families and businesses that will soon have access to broadband Internet, important economic and social benefits, including telehealth, business opportunities and distance learning, will become available. More broadly, broadband Internet access will encourage economic development, spur innovation and improve the quality of life in hundreds of communities across Canada.
More details, including the areas covered by these projects, are available on the Broadband Canada website.
For further information (media only), please contact:
Lynn Meahan
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Tony Clement
Minister of Industry
613-995-9001
Media Relations
Industry Canada
613-943-2502
On November 6, 2010, the Government of Canada announced the third round of projects in British Columbia and the second round of projects in the Northwest Territories to receive conditional funding approval through the Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians program. The four projects conditionally approved in this round reflect a total investment of approximately $173 789 in the province and $966 781 in the territories. Collectively, they will offer broadband Internet access to approximately 454 households in British Columbia, and 584 in the Northwest Territories.
The following companies are conditionally approved for funding as part of today’s announcement:
- Davinci Broadband, Inc.
- NorthwesTel Inc. (one project in BC, one in NWT)
- TTQ Contracting Corporation/Douglas First Nation (Xa’xtsa) Band
More details on today’s announcement, including the areas covered by these projects, are available on the Broadband Canada website.
Combined with those projects announced in Round 1 on May 9, 2010, and in Round 2 between July 6 and 15, 2010, Broadband Canada will soon bring high-speed broadband Internet connectivity to 32 497 households in British Columbia, with a total investment of $19 665 228 in the province, as well as 1 691 households in the Northwest Territories for a total investment of $ 1 854 145 there. While this is the last round of major announcements under Broadband Canada, additional investments involving more geographic areas, regions, provinces and companies may be made in the near future.
As part of Budget 2009 — Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the Government of Canada provided $225 million over three years, beginning in 2009–10, for Industry Canada to develop and implement a strategy to extend broadband coverage. By far the biggest component of this strategy is Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians.
The program aims to extend broadband service to as many unserved and underserved Canadian households as possible. As communities vary greatly in size, this program focuses on connecting households. This method provides a clearer understanding of service availability for Canadians: the fact that a community has broadband access does not always mean that service is available to individual households.
