RIMOUSKI, QC – Telus is pushing forward with its fibre optic deployment in Eastern Quebec, announcing Tuesday an investment of $95 million in its wireless and fibre optic networks across rural communities in the province, including Greater Quebec City.
This investment includes a $25.7 million injection from the Feds’ Connect to Innovate and provincial Québec branché programs, which Telus said will help to boost the deployment of its ultra-high-speed and fibre optic networks to reach 34,000 new households and businesses in 80 remote communities.
More specifically, the $95 million in investments for 2019 will allow it to deploy its PureFibre network to homes and businesses in more than 70 remote and low-density communities in the regional community municipalities of des Chenaux, Côte-de-Gaspé, Haute-Côte-Nord, Haute-Gaspésie, L’Islet/Montmagny, Matapédia, Mitis, Mékinac, Portneuf and Sept-Rivières.
In addition, it will soon be able to connect the Lower North Shore communities of Blanc-Sablon, Middle Bay, Pakuashipi, Rivière-Saint-Paul, Saint-Augustin and Vieux Fort to high-speed Internet and LTE mobile phone service for the first time, plus upgrade its infrastructure with the latest LTE and small-cell technologies, including the addition of about ten new sites in the Beauce-Sartigan, Manicouagan and Sept-Rivières regions.
“Our 6,000 team members in Quebec eagerly tackle every technological hurdle when deploying high-speed networks in Quebec’s remote areas to bridge the digital divide,” said François Gratton, group president Telus and Telus Quebec chair, in the news release. “We believe every family and business should have an equal opportunity to prosper in our increasingly dynamic digital society no matter where they live. As we evolve toward the age of 5G technology, rest assured that we will continue to pursue our accelerated investments in every corner of Quebec, and we're pleased to do so jointly with government programs and incentive measures that foster investment.”
Between 2013 and 2021, Telus said that it will have invested more than $300 million to expand its PureFibre network in the eastern part of Quebec with $72 million in support from the federal and provincial governments.
