MONCTON – Thanks to the next phase of a deal announced today by the province, 73,000 more rural New Brunswick households will have access to high speed Internet service from Xplornet, which is upgrading its broadband service there.
The phase two goals are:
- Provide 63,000 rural households with access to internet service with up to 100 Mbps
- Provide an additional 10,000 rural households located in remote areas of the province with access to satellite service with up to 25 Mbps
- Ensure 97% of rural households in New Brunswick have access to broadband internet at the universal service objective speed or higher (50 Mbps download, 10 Mbps upload), while the remaining three per cent of rural households receive broadband internet by satellite.
The project’s second phase will cost $131 million, with Xplornet investing $91 million and the balance coming from the Rural and Northern Communities stream of the federal Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. It is meant to be completed by the end of 2022.
Phase one was funded in 2018 with a $10-million non-repayable contribution from the province and a $20-million investment by Xplornet and is now complete, says the province.
“As a result, major upgrades to the province’s rural broadband have commenced and 10,000 rural households and businesses have access to faster and more reliable internet service,” reads the New Brunswick release.
“Upgrading rural broadband is part of the province’s broader strategy to update its digital infrastructure,” said the minister responsible for economic development and small business, Arlene Dunn, who is also minister responsible for Opportunities NB, in the release. “We are exploring several ways to embrace new technology such as 5G in our recovery plan for the province.”
“Enabled by substantial investment in the capacity and expansion of Xplornet’s LTE fixed wireless network in recent years, the launch of 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload speed plans to over 150 communities in New Brunswick means that rural residents will now be able to take full advantage of online technologies enabling remote work, telehealth, e-learning and entertainment streaming,” says a release from Xplornet.
“Our work with the Province of New Brunswick and the Government of Canada have helped make our home province a leader in Internet connectivity,” said Xplornet CEO Allison Lenehan. “We are grateful for their support and are excited to get to work on making this next-generation network a reality.”
