UXBRIDGE, ON – The governments of Canada and Ontario announced Wednesday an investment of over $22 million to help bring high-speed Internet access to more than 1,400 homes in 10 rural communities in the Regional Municipality of Durham, located east and northeast of Toronto.
Internet service provider Vianet will work in partnership with Durham Region to deliver high-speed connectivity to homes in the communities of Ashburn, Columbus, Courtice, Greenbank, Leaskdale, Manchester, Myrtle Station, Raglan, Sunderland and Uxbridge, according to a press release from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.
“Vianet is very excited to be a part of this broadband funding announcement, by both the federal and provincial governments, to bring true fibre optic high speed to the rural areas of Durham Region,” Brian McCullagh, Vianet’s director of business development, said in the release. “Building fibre optic networks in rural areas is costly and complex, but with governments and private companies all contributing, the broadband gap between rural and urban Canada will be overcome. Vianet looks forward to doing its part.”
The joint government funding for this project is part of an existing partnership between Ontario and Canada, announced in July 2021. The two levels of government have committed a combined $1.2 billion in funding to bring high-speed Internet access to more than 280,000 homes across Ontario. The federal portion is coming from the $3.225-billion Universal Broadband Fund.
Through broadband funding initiatives such as this, the federal government aims to have 98 per cent of Canadians able to access high-speed Internet by 2026, and 100% by 2030. The Ontario government’s goal is to have reliable high-speed Internet access in every community in the province by the end of 2025.
